Kodarma district General information
Koderma district is one of the districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Koderma is the administrative headquarters of this district.
Location
The district is bounded by 24015’46’’ and 240 49’18’’ N latitude and 85026’01’’and 85054’16’’ east longitude and covers an area of about 1500.00 Sq Km. It is bounded on the North by the Nawada district of Bihar, on the south by Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand on the east by Giridih district of Jharkhand and on the west by the Gaya district of Bihar.
General Administrative Divisions
Koderma district has one Sub-division, Kodarma itself and 5 (five) revenue circles. For developmental administration the district is divided into 5 (Five) developmental blocks namely: Koderma, Jainagar, Chandwara, Markachho and Satgawan. There are 717 (Seven Hundred Seventeen) Villages and 80 (Eighty) Panchayats.
Physiography, Flora and fauna
Koderma district lies in the Chhotanagpur Plateau at 397m above the sea level.The area exhibits undulating topography comprising hills, hillocks, plains and mounds. Northern part of the district is occupied by Koderma Reserve Forest. The highest peak is Debour Ghati (677 metre) which is the state boundary of Jharkhand & Bihar.
The section line from south to north from Jharkhand to Bihar passing through Hazaribag plateau. The rock at the edge of this plateau has been cut deeply by innumerable streams. There are a number of rills & gullies of various type such as figure or shoe-lace gullies.
Barakar River flows from W to E in the southern part of the district of Koderma and supports Telaiya Hydel project, a multi purpose dam construction on it. River flows from West to East Poanchkhara, Keso, Akto, Gurio, Gukhana Nadi are the main tributaries of thr Barakar river.
Sakri river is the main river in the northern part of the district which flows from south & east to north west. Ghggnna Naddi, Chhotanari Nadi are the tributaries of Sakri river. Mahua, Banyan, Sakhua, Palas, Pipal, Neem, Khajoor, Bamboo are the flora of the area and Cow, Bull, Buffalo and Goat are fauna. Though Leopard, Bear, Pig, Hiran and Hares are found in the forest area of Koderma Reserve forest.
Climate
The climate of Koderma can be described as a transition between the dry and moderately extreme climate of the northern India and the warm, humid climate of Bengal Basin. The climatic year of Koderma district can be divided into four principal seasons.
Rainfall & Soil
The average rainfall in the district is 1090mm yearly
The soil of the district is laterite soil. This soil is characterized by its acidic nature and not suitable for traditional agriculture. Most of the land is usar land.
Forest
About 41% part of the Koderma district is covered with forests.The total forest area of Koderma district is 53,841.37 hectare. The per capita forest area in hectare is 0.14. The Koderma forest is rich in Khair, Sakhuwa, Semal, Gamhar, etc. The area of reserved forest in Koderma forest division is 639.68 Sq Km. Presently the reserved forest area of Koderma district is declared as wild life sanctuary.
Minerals
Koderma district is rich in minerals. The Koderma district and the Lokai-Indarwa area covers the southern part of Great Mica-Belt of Jharkhand and Bihar. Previously the Mica belt was known as Bihar mica belt which extends for a distance of 160 km having an average width of 25 kms. The mica belt strenches from Gurpa in Gaya district in the west through Nawada, Koderma, Hazaribag, Giridih in Jharkhand and Jamui as well as Bhagalpur district of the Bihar state in the east. Its maximum width is about 40 km at Koderma-Hazaribagh-Nawada area. The whole belt encompasses roughly 4,000 sq. km. around area and lies on the north fringe of Chotanagpur plateau and runs in an east-north east to west-southwest direction. Once upon a time Koderma district was famous for its mica production worldwide and the district is known as “Abarakh Nagari”. But gradually excavation of low quality of mica ore and high cost of production results in closure of mica related industry.