Ecological Rehabilitation of Red Mud Dump at Hindalco Industries Limited, Muri, Jharkhand: Vegetation Establishment, Biodiversity Recovery, and Growth Performance

Parikshit Abhimanyu Pawar; Vanshika Kaushik; Syed Arif Wali; J.V. Sharma

doi:10.36808/if/2026/v152i6A/171296

Ecological Rehabilitation of Red Mud Dump at Hindalco Industries Limited, Muri, Jharkhand: Vegetation Establishment, Biodiversity Recovery, and Growth Performance

Authors

Parikshit Abhimanyu Pawar The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003
Vanshika Kaushik The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003
Syed Arif Wali The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003
J.V. Sharma The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2026/v152i6A/171296

Keywords:

Red mud rehabilitation, Red mud pond (RMP), Ecological restoration, Bauxite residue, Soil amelioration, Plant survival, Vegetation structure, GBH, Biodiversity recovery.

Abstract

Red mud, the highly alkaline bauxite residue generated during alumina refining, poses formidable challenges to vegetation establishment owing to extreme pH (>=11), elevated electrical conductivity, high exchangeable sodium, and near-zero organic matter (Nayak et al., 2024). The present study documents the large-scale ecological rehabilitation of red mud disposal areas at Hindalco Industries Limited, Muri, Jharkhand, where The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has undertaken restoration of 99 acres since 2021, of which 50 acres (20.24 ha) have been planted. An integrated amendment strategy combining gypsum, farmyard manure (FYM), fly ash, and mycorrhiza was applied to ameliorate baseline conditions (pH 11.1; EC 5.7 dS m-1; OC 0.4%). A multi-tier, multi-species plantation of 44 tree species, 10 shrub species, and 6 grass species was established. Of 20,116 plants established across RMP 3 and RMP 4 areas, 16,588 survived (overall survival rate 82.46%). Biodiversity assessment of 54 species (44 tree, 10 shrub) and 5,183 individuals recorded a Shannon-Wiener diversity index of 3.23 and Simpson diversity index of 0.944, indicating high vegetation diversity and low species dominance. A vegetation inventory of 3,595 tree individuals recorded a mean height of 1.89 m (SD = 0.95 m) and mean GBH of 8.63 cm (SD = 5.62 cm). Two-way ANOVA confirmed highly significant differences in growth performance among species (F = 74.51 for height, F = 69.14 for GBH; both p < 0.001) after accounting for plantation area. Babool (Vachellia nilotica) and Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) emerged as the topperforming species by composite growth index and are recommended for priority deployment in red mud rehabilitation. Natural regeneration of ten plant species and return of diverse fauna confirm progressive ecological recovery. The study provides a replicable, evidence-based model for rehabilitation of industrial red mud wastelands.

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