Mining should be sustainable. This is being implemented by Hindalco Industries Limited, a metal flagship of Aditya Birla Group, which is responsibly mining bauxite from different parts of Lohardaga district of Jharkhand since early 1940s.

Paying back to nature in a big way while extracting the exhaustible natural resource, Hindalco is progressing in a exemplary manner at its Bagru bauxite mines, which is one of the oldest mines not only of India, but of Asia.

In line with its aspiration of sustainable and responsible mining, Hindalco is demonstrating some of the finest techniques at its flagship project at Bagru since 2018. There, a unique ‘Bio Park’ spead over 5.82 acres of mined-out area has been developed, which has become a popular tourist destination for people of Lohardaga and adjoining areas. This is a holistic approach combining land reclamation, water management and local economic development – all at one place.

 “We wanted to showcase that greening work and reclamation process of mines needs to be done differently. The concept includes planting many varieties of plants and create water bodies which can sustain in mined out reclaimed land,” said Bijesh Jha, head bauxite vertical of Hindalco.

Hindalco recently ranked as the world’s most sustainable aluminium company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices 2021, scoring 73 per cent against the global industry average of 30 per cent. This is the 2nd consecutive year that Hindalco is at the top of the DJSI Indices, Jha said.

Elaborating on the uniqueness of the bio park, the Jha enumerated the Nakshatra Van that depicts the Indian calendar’s division into 6 seasons, 12 astral signs and 27 constellations. “As per the Indian Vedic science all living creatures on this earth have a perfect balance and combination of the five elements- Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. To balance prosperity and well being within these five elements we are dependent on the 27 Nakshatras. These Nakshatras are depicted by specific plants and these plants benefit the lives of the people,” he said.

In this garden these species are planted keeping in mind the relation between moon sign and a particular plant as per Vedic science and astrology. The important plants planted in Nakshatra garden are Amla, Gular, Jamun, Khair, Jai Sita Ashok, Mango, Neem, etc.

There is also a butterfly garden at the Bio Park. The dedicated garden has been developed with the idea of increasing the count of butterflies in the area and it serves as a breeding area for them as well. The temperature at the plateau is also suitable for the breeding of butterflies. The garden consists of nectar plants and host plants for the butterflies. Some of the plant species which have been planted are Lantana, Cupia, Vinca, Lemon, and Curry leaf. The species of butterflies found in the garden are Lesser Grass Blue, Common Blue Apollo, Common Egg Fly, and Brown Pancy.

The park also has many medicinal plants, a spice garden along with strawberries and a tea garden. This garden serves as showcase for surrounding community that they also can grow these pants. The plantations have been done keeping in mind the suitable climatic conditions and also provide opportunities of income generation through their farming for the local people, the Hindalco official said.

A small plot of land has also been designed to feature the varities of rocks, stones, and boulders. At the Biodiversity Park in Bagru it has been built using mainly bauxites. The layover has been done in a way to make the place look more aesthetic.

“In the stored water at Mines we are doing fish and duck farming. The local people have been trained on fish and duck rearing at the park and they are making a living out of it. The varieties of fishes present in the pond are Catla, Rohu, Mrigal, Silver carp, Grass carp and Common carp. And the breed of ducks present in the pond is the Khakhi Cambal and White Peigon. This has been set up to provide a source of sustainable livelihood to the local people,” the company representative said.

To provide an integrated over all experience to the learners of such projects Hindalco has constructed a beautiful Bamboo Pavilion which also provides a facility to stay in this area. The Bamboo Pavilion is completely eco-friendly. The pavilion has been constructed using bamboo as the company believes that this is a sustainable material, which has many values and can also give a source of income through bamboo farming.

Let alone the greeneries and the water bodies, Hindalco has also set up a geodesic dome structure, kind of a planetarium, to provide an immersive experience for any visitor to know how mining is done, Jha conclude.