Leading steel manufacturer Tata Steel continued its commitment to biological diversity with the inauguration of its fifth pond near its cold rolling mill (CRM) in Bara in the northeastern end of Jamshedpur on Friday.

In 2019, Tata Steel had embarked on a journey to rejuvenate near-extinct water bodies in the city as part of its sustainability targets and commitment towards the reduction of fresh water consumption with the development of five ponds at CRM Bara.

Tata Steel vice-president (corporate services) Chanakya Chaudhary, who inaugurated the fifth pond, said: “The new facility is synonymous with sustainability, greenery and biodiversity. The newly built pond will not only aid in rainwater harvesting but will also recharge the ground water table. This particular initiative is a testimony to the fact that manufacturing units can co-exist in an eco-friendly environment.”

With the completion of the fifth pond, the biggest among all water bodies at CRM Bara, the comprehensive water storage capacity at the facility has now become 220 million litres, with a total of 32 acres developed as water bodies.

This project serves multiple purposes of rainwater harvesting, collection and storage of surface runoff rainwater and treated water from CRM Bara as well as recharging groundwater and enhancing the natural beauty of the area.

A total of 19 acres have been landscaped and utilised as green cover with the planting of around 6,000 trees, enriching the biodiversity of the region.

On August 26, 2021, Tata Steel inaugurated the new rainwater-harvesting pond followed by groundbreaking of the rejuvenation of existing water bodies at CRM Bara complex. It resulted in the creation of a larger rainwater harvesting facility, improvement in the water table of the local area and increase in biological diversity.

Earlier on August 27, 2020, Tata Steel had rejuvenated the CRM Bara pond in Jamshedpur, virtually inaugurated by CEO and managing director Tata Steel T.V. Narendran.

Spread over 14 acres, the CRM Bara pond rejuvenation project was completed in a record time of one year. Earlier, CRM Bara pond consisted of one large and two small water bodies that were fast vanishing. The large water bodies that had disappeared are now cumulatively a scientifically designed reservoir with a capacity to accumulate 82,000 cubic metres of water.

The ground water table in the region has started rising with the implementation of the project, thus controlling the depletion of the ground water table. Planting of more than 5,000 saplings has enhanced the green canopy in the area attracting birds and butterflies to the pond and the thriving population of fish has started attracting migratory birds as well.

In October 2018, Tata Steel had set up a tertiary treatment plant at its Bara Sewage Treatment Plant, thereby making Jamshedpur the first city in India to recycle 100 per cent of its waste water. The facility will help prevent river pollution from domestic effluents.