Forest land of Latehar Forest Division includes villages of Latehar, Lohardaga and Palamu Districts. Being the neighboring area of PTR-BNP-PWLS-MWS (Palamu Tiger Reserve - Betla National Park - Palamu Wildlife Sanctuary – Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary) forest of this division is rich in floral and faunal biodiversity. It is located in one of the India’s significant wildlife corridor that connects the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Singrauli District of Madhya Pradesh to Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary in Munger District of Bihar. The area of this division is an important watershed of Damodar (or Deonad), North-Koel, Auranga, Sukri and Amanat River and it is also interlaced with many rivulets, nallas etc.
The Latehar Forest Division is located in the Latehar district, the northwest corner of Jharkhand, in the Palamu region. Latehar Forest Division is surrounded by Palamu and Chatra districts in the North, Chatra, and Ranchi in the East, Lohardaga in the South, and the area of Palamu Tiger Reserve in the West. It lies between 23°31’ to 24°02’ North Latitude and 84°13’ to 84°57’ East longitude. It comprises Protected Forests, and Reserve Forests falling within the civil administrative blocks of Chandwa, Latehar, Manika, Bariyatu, Balumath, Herhanj, Garu, and Barwadih Blocks of Latehar district, Kisko and Pesrar Blocks of Lohardaga district and Satbarwa Block of Palamu district.
In recent years, Latehar Forest Division has also implemented various schemes and programs for the socio-economic development of the local communities. For instance, the division has provided training and support to the local communities for sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest produce such as medicinal plants, fruits, and nuts.
According to classification of forest types of India by Champion and Seth (1964) the forests of Latehar Forest division comes under: 5B/C1- Dry Peninsular Sal Forest; 5B/C2- Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest and 5E/2- Boswellia Forests. The forests dealt with in the scheme can be broadly classified as Sal Forests (5B/C1); Miscellaneous Forests and Salai Forests. The Sal Forests have Sal as predominant species with its associates like Asan (Terminalia tomentosa), Kend (Diospyros melanoxylon), Sidha (Lagerstromia parviflora), Piar (Buchanania lanzan), Dauntha (Anogeissus latifolia), Karam (Adina cordifolia), Kusum (Schleichera oleosa), Sandan (Ougenia ogeinensis), Galgal (Cohlospermum religiosum), Siris (Albizzia lebbek) and Salai (Boswellia serrata) making the understory. The undergrowth consists of Gardenia species, Woodfordia fruticosa, Zizyphus supp., Wendlendia exselsa, Symploos recemosa and Nyctanthus arbortristis. The miscellaneous forests conform Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest type 5B/C2 as classified by Champion and Seth (1964). Principal associates of Sal constitute the miscellaneous forests.
Latehar Forest Division adjoins the rich Palamu Tiger Reserve - Betla National Park - Palamu Wildlife Sanctuary - Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary area. The area is rich in faunal population like (migratory) Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulata), Common langur (Presbytis entellus), Spotted deer (Axis axis), Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), Indian wild boar (Sus scrofa critatus), Leopard (Panther pardus), Jungle cat (Felis chays), Civet (Viverricula indica), Common mangoose (Hrpestes edward), Wolf (Canis lupus), Hyena (Hyena hyena), Sloth Bear (Melursus urwsinus-Bhalu), Red jungle fowl, Common peafowl, Reptiles etc.The Latehar Forest Division plays an important role in the conservation of the region's natural resources and in promoting sustainable forest management practices. The division also works to create awareness among the local communities about the importance of conserving forests and wildlife.
History
The division encompasses places of spiritual and touristic significance which the locals held in high regard. The famous site of the areas are: Nagar Temple, Tapa Mountain, Nawagarh Fort, Kanti waterfall, Datam Patam waterfall, Lalmatiya Dam, Amjhariya hill and many more.
Geography and Climate
- Principal rivers and their tributaries in Latehar Forest Division are Damodar or Deonad, North-Koel, Auranga, Chaupat, Amanat, Sukri, Ghaghri, Gala, Karkat, Patam, Dhardhari, and others. Most forests of the Chandwa range and eastern and southern part of the Balumath range are drained by Damodar and form the upper catchment of the Damodar basin and the rest of the areas drain into North-Koel through its main tributaries of Amanat (Balumath range), Chaupat (Latehar range) and Auranga (Manika and Latehar ranges). River beds are generally rocky in most parts and carry a large volume of silt-laden water in rains but flow thin or dry up during dry months.
- The terrain is very undulating except for some plain parts of the Chandwa, Balumath, and Latehar ranges. Several high hills of Gondwana origin occur in this division. The slopes of hills are moderate to steep with varying aspects which influence the composition of crops significantly. This Region forms a part of the Chhotanagpur plateau comprising granitic rocks associated with large areas of sedimentary rocks. The elevation of the area varies from around 375 m to 550 m above mean sea level. The major part of the Latehar Forest Division is occupied by granitic rocks of the Archean age. The granite gneiss of this area is a part of an enormous intrusive mass known as Chhotanagpur Granite-Gneiss. It shows the usual wide variation from massive to highly gneissic foliation changing from N.N.W. to N.N.E. and then again N.N.W. Three principal bases of the Gondwana rocks are distributed in the east-west belt in the central part of the area. The disposition of the Gondwana rock is more or less parallel to the general structural trend of Archasanas. The different Gondwana coalfields falling within Latehar FD are Auranga Coalfield and North Karanpura Coalfield where large numbers of coal seam are known to occur. A complex series of highly calcareous gneisses and schist with impure, granular, crystalline limestone occur in the Olhepat-Diridag area. However, there is no well-defined zone of good-quality limestone. The parent rock and thereby the resultant soil affects the distribution of species in a forest. Soil is often found mixed with boulders and pebbles. Also often strata of Murom are found beneath the topsoil. Soil is loam, sandy loam, clayey loam, and at places clay. The mineral content and water holding capacity of the soil are very poor resulting in high run-off and erosion.
- Latehar FD areas have usual three characteristic seasons namely summer, rain, and winter with a mean annual rainfall of 1178 mm. The hottest months are May and June and the coolest are December and January. Raining season starts at end of June and lasts till September. However, rainfall varies greatly according to locality and sometimes from year to year. Generally, all the streams begin to dry up shortly after the rainy months.
Tourist Attractions
The famous site of the areas are Nagar Temple, Tapa Mountain, Nawagarh Fort, Kanti waterfall, Datam Patam waterfall, Amjharia hill, Lalmatiya Dam etc.