Simdega

The Simdega Forest Division is a forest administrative unit located in the state of Jharkhand, India. The division lies between 22°50.14” to 22°20.24” North latitude and 84°00.10” to 85°04.40” East longitude.

Simdega Forest Division was constituted as per the Forest and Environment Department order No: 252 dated –17.01.2004 from the Gumla Forest Division, Gumla as Simdega Forest Division, Simdega for the sake of development, conservation and protection of forest & its produce. This forest division was constituted into 05 forest ranges, 06 beats and 41 sub-beats. Jurisdiction of Simdega forest division consists of five Ranges viz. Simdega Range, Bolba Range, Bano Range, KolebiraRange and KurdegRange.

Simdega forest Division falls under Simdega district and ten blocks (Simdega, Bolba, Bano, Kurdeg, Kolebira, Pakartanr, T.Tangar, jaldega, Bansjor, Kersai) of Simdegadistrict. It is located in South West part of Chotanagpur bounded by Two defferent states Chhattisgarh (Jashpur) from west, Odisha (Sundargarh) from south. The total area of Simdega forest Division is 196802.56ha. but Notified forest area-123260.97 ha. and Notified and Demarcated forest area-55820.59 ha. and 70546.25 ha. is a notified but not demarcated forest land and 2995.34 ha. is demarcated but not notified forest thus demarcated forest land as-(Simdega Range-14744.51 ha, BolbaRange-12859.09 ha, Bano Range-8458.76 ha, KurdegRange-7608.04 ha and KolebiraRange-12150.19 ha).

Distribution and Area:

Presently the forest area of Simdega Forest Division is distributed in the following five Forest Ranges:

1. Simdega Range: - This Range has a demarcated forest area of 14744.51 ha. It consists of 2 beats, namely Thethaitangar and Kochedega, and thirteen sub-beats.

2. Bolba Range: - This Range has a demarcated forest area of 12859.09 ha. It consists of one beat, namely Bolbaand eight sub-beats.

3. Bano Range: - This Range has a demarcated forest area of 8458.76 ha. It consists of one beat namely Bano and six sub-beats.

4. Kurdeg Range: - This Range has a demarcated forest area of 7608.04 ha. It consists of one beat namely Kurdeg and six sub-beats.

5. Kolebira Range: - This Range has a demarcated forest area of 12150.19 ha. It consists of one beat namely Kolebira and eight sub-beats.

Geography: Location: Simdega Division is situated between 22°50.14” to 22°20.24” North latitude and 84°00.10” to 85°04.40” East longitude. It is bounded by Gumla district in the north, Sundargarh (Odisha) in South, Jashpur (Chhattisgarh) in the West and Khuntiand West Singhbhuin the East.

Topography: The most of forest area is upland tract having hills, plateau, valleys, long ridges and ravines with central block of hilly country extended from north to south. All the nalas & stream originated from the north west and central ridge draining to north east direction. Topographically the whole area is hilly, undulating and highly rugged. This continuous stretch of land, dotted with soaring cliffs and profound dales support the forests. The elevations of lofty main hills varying from 917 M to 140 M above mean sea level. The highly rugged area along the north eastern side of forest division is nearly impassible. The some area of tract connected trough the railway line by Ranchi-Rourkela route. Many of the hills & hillock have flat tops where grass along with scattered bushes can be found.

Climate: The character and extent of vegetation of a locality are chiefly determined by the climatic conditions experienced in that locality. Altitude also has a more pronounced effect on vegetation. Summer Season: in present context the summer starts from the mid month of Feb. and it ends in the middle of June. The temperature in this season rises to its maximum and reaches up to 46°C (115°F), the days are very hot in this season. Humidity is very low during this season.

Rainy Season: The Rainy Season generally starts from end of the June to the September. Monsoon usually arrives in this tract at the end of June. This season is very good for the crops and beneficial for the farmers because the farmers of the entire region are fully dependent on their agriculture. The famous shower locally called "Hathia" occur during October. The humidity remains very high during this season. Winter Season: The Winter Season generally starts from the beginning of October till the last of February month. In winter the nights are generally longer than the days. The nights are really very cold during this season because of the heavy fall of dew, the temperature fall up to 5°C (41°F) during nights. The days are pretty warmer than the nights its temperature rises up to 35.5°C (96°F) in the sunshine. Rainfall: The tract enjoys rains of South-west monsoon (from June to mid-August). The average rainfall received during the last years is 97.8 mm The tract also receives a few but good pre-monsoon showers, preceded by thunderstorms, during April – May.

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