India: Meghalaya Power Distribution Sector Improvement Project
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Initial Environmental Examination Project Number: 51308-004 October 2020 India: Meghalaya Power Distribution Sector Improvement Project Prepared by Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited, Government of Meghalaya for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 16 March 2020) Currency Unit = Indian Rupee/s (₹) (₹)1.00 = $ 0.0139 $1.00 = (₹)71.5217 ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank ASI - Archeological Survey of India AT&C - aggregate technical and commercial losses BIS - Bureau of Indian Standards BOQ - bill of quantities CAP - corrective action plan CEA - Central Electricity Authority CBCB - Central Pollution Control Board CSS - country safeguards system DSR - distribution sector roadmap EHS - environmental, health and safety EHSO - environmental, health and safety officer EMF - electromagnetic field EMP - environmental management plan GFP - grievance focal person GPS - global positioning system GRM - grievance redress mechanism H&S - health and safety IBAT - Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool ICNIRP - International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection IEE - initial environmental examination IFC - International Finance Corporation ILO - International Labour Organization IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature JFPR - Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction KBA - key biodiversity areas MeECL - Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd. MePDCL - Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd. MNREDA - Meghalaya New and Renewable Development Agency MoEFCC - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change MoP - Ministry of Power NGO - non-government organization O&M - operation and maintenance OHS - occupational health and safety PCB - polychlorinated biphenyl PCR - physical cultural resources PFM - public finance management PIC - project implementation consultant PPE - personal protective equipment PMU - project management unit PV - photovoltaic REA - rapid environmental assessment ROW - right of way UNEP - United Nations Environment Protection Agency WHO - World Health Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dB(A) - A-weighted decibel ckm - circuit km ha - hectare km - kilometer kV - kilovolt kWh - kilowatt-hour kWp - kilowatt peak LV - low voltage µg - microgram m - meter MT - metric tonnes sqm - square meter MVA - mega volt ampere NOTES In this report, "$" refers to US dollars unless otherwise stated. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Background and Rationale 1 B. Objective, Scope and Methodology of the Initial Environment Examination 3 C. Structure of the IEE 4 II. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 5 A. National (India) Environmental, Health and Safety Policy Framework 5 B. ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) Requirements 8 C. Applied Standards 9 D. IFC Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines 9 E. International and Regional Treaties, Agreements and Conventions 9 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 11 A. Project Components and Locations 11 B. Nature, Size and Location of Project Facilities 16 C. Construction and Installation Work 25 D. Existing and Associated Facilities 26 E. Analysis of Alternatives 26 F. Cost and Implementation Schedule 27 G. Project Benefits 27 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 28 A. Environmental Setting of the New Substation Sites 28 B. Environmental Setting of the New 33 kV Distribution Lines associated with new substation 58 C. Environmental Setting of JFPR Components 87 D. Physical Environment 95 E. Ecological Environment 119 F. Socio-Economic Resources 133 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 137 A. Impacts and Mitigation Measures Due to Project Design and Pre-construction Phase of MePDCL Components 137 B. Impacts and Mitigation Measures Due to Construction Activities of MePDCL Components 145 C. Impacts and Mitigation Measures from Operation of MePDCL Components 153 D. Impacts and Mitigation Measures from JFPR Components 157 VI. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION 160 A. Stakeholder and Public Consultations 160 B. Ongoing Consultation 166 C. Information Disclosure 166 VII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 168 VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 174 A. Impacts, Mitigation and Monitoring 174 B. Supervision, Monitoring and Reporting 241 C. Implementation Arrangement 242 D. Review of MeECL and IAs (MePDCL and MNREDA) Environmental Management Capability 247 E. Environmental Management Budget and Resources 249 IX. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 251 APPENDICES 253 Appendix 1: Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) Checklist 253 Appendix 2: Audit Report of MePDCL Existing Substations 260 Appendix-3: National Ambient Air Quality And Noise Level Standards (MoEFCC, 2009) 304 Appendix 4: IBAT Screening Report 305 Appendix 5: List of Communities Consulted 319 Appendix 6: Photographs (consultations) 346 Appendix 7: Outline of a Semi-annual/annual Environment Monitoring Report 352 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Description of Right-of-Way of Distribution Lines in Forest Areas ................................. 7 Table 2: Applicable Environmental National and State Requirements ........................................ 7 Table 3: Details of Project Components ....................................................................................11 Table 4: Details of MePDCL Circles and Districts Covered .......................................................13 Table 5: Proposed 33/11kV New Substations ...........................................................................16 Table 6: Location of Proposed 33/11 kV New Sub-stations and Associated 33kV lines .............16 Table 7: Augmentation/upgrading of Existing 33/11 kV Substations ..........................................17 Table 8: Sizing of Hybrid System in a Village ............................................................................18 Table 9: Sizing of Agricultural Processing Units in a Village ......................................................19 Table 10: Circlewise Details of Project Facilities and Scope of 33/11 kV Substations and Associated 11kV Feeder Lines ..................................................................................................20 Table 11: Summary Environmental Features of New Substation Sites ......................................29 Table 12: Summary Environmental Features of New 33 kV Distribution Lines ..........................60 Table 13: Land Use Pattern of Meghalaya State .......................................................................96 Table 14: Year-wise Rainfall (mm) in Districts of Meghalaya .....................................................99 Table 15: Ambient Air Quality Data ......................................................................................... 112 Table 16: Noise Levels at Proposed Substations .................................................................... 117 Table 17: Notified Forests under Meghalaya State Forests Department ................................. 119 Table 18: Protected Areas in Meghalaya................................................................................. 122 Table 19: Habitat Analysis for Project Area of Influence – Meghalaya Distribution Project ...... 128 Table 20: Protected Archaeological and Historic Sites ............................................................ 133 Table 21: ICNIRP Limit Values Concerning Electric and Magnetic Fields (50 Hz) for the Public and at Working Places ............................................................................................................ 155 Table 22: Summary of Stakeholder Consultations ................................................................... 161 Table 23: Summary of Public Consultations ............................................................................ 163 Table 24: Summary of Issues Raised and Response by Project Team/IAs ............................. 165 Table 25: Grievance Handling Process ................................................................................... 169 Table 26: Grievance Registration Form ................................................................................... 173 Table 27: Environmental Management Plan Matrix for Distribution System Components (MePDCL) ............................................................................................................................... 176 Table 28: Environmental Management Plan Matrix for JFPR Component ............................... 213 Table 29: Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMoP) ................................................................... 238 Table 30: Summary of Capacity Development Training Activities ............................................ 248 Table 31: Summary of Estimated Costs for EMP of the Project ............................................... 249 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of MePDCL Circle Jurisdictions on Map of Meghalaya State ..............................12 Figure 2: Locations of the Project Facilities on Administrative Map of Meghalaya State ............14