IIT Kanpur to Develop Water and Land Restoration Plan in Angul District

New Delhi: IIT Kanpur has taken an initiative to develop a water and land restoration plan for the Angul district of Odisha in collaboration with District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT).

Under this collaboration, IIT Kanpur and DMFT Angul will jointly work towards restoring the land and water resources that areas affected by mining. The institute will offer its infrastructure and technology expertise to assist the District Mineral Foundation Trust in achieving the shared goal.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by IIT Kanpur and District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) during an event on "circular economy" on June 26, 2022. The event was attended by industry representatives and state officials.

Informing about this initiative, Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur said, “The Angul district in Odisha is a very resource-rich region which needs some assistance in restoration of its land and water resources. We are delighted to be leading efforts in developing a land and water restoration plan for the region"

He further informed that this project will be led by IIT Kanpur faculty, Professor Rajiv Sinha who will use modern technologies to find optimal solutions for land and water resources. This collaboration will aim to restore the sustainable development of Angul district.

"This project is expected to contribute significantly towards the development of a policy document for land use, water budget and utilization plan for the Angul district based on demand and supply management, and also to contribute towards the circular economy", he added.

The Angul district of Odisha is famously known as the ‘Black Diamond of Odisha State’. The district is enriched with several valuable minerals such as coal, Kyanite, graphite, fireclay, china clay, precious and semi-precious stones, etc.

Due to a rapid expansion of mining operations, the region faced the loss of rich biodiversity and soil fertility, degradation of water bodies, and other issues. To restore the resources which were affected by mining, the institute has come forward to work with the DMFT Angul.

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