Durg: India’s largest man-made forest will be built in the next three years at an estimated cost of three crores on 885 acres of mine land in the Durg district of Chhattisgarh. Officials gave information in this regard on Sunday.
He said that this project would be completed under the supervision of the district administration at the abandoned Nandini limestone site. He said that through this an example will be set before the world that how mine land can be converted into a natural habitat for animals.
An official of the state government’s public relations department said, “The project is being run on the instructions of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Limestone was supplied from this mine to SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant but for the past few years, it is an abandoned place. There was about 17 km of forest area in the Nandini area before mining started. Now 80 thousand trees will be planted on 885 acres of land. The money will be given from the District Mineral Foundation.
Durg division’s divisional forest officer Dhammshil Ganveer said, “With this, the forest area in the area will increase by 2.5 thousand acres. It will act as a natural habitat for migratory birds and also for the eco-tourism experience. Work on this will start soon. The area has been a wetland where birds such as the Whistling Duck and the Openbill Stork have been observed. The area along the lake will be developed for the birds.
