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Application for Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the Development of Gorakhpur Link Expressway

Application for Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the Development of Gorakhpur Link Expressway

Application for Environmental Impact Assessment study for the Development of Link Expressway

Submission of Terms of Reference ( ToR)

for

Submitted by Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED GORAKHPUR LINK EXPRESSWAY PROJECT. Proposed Terms of Reference 1. Introduction

Expressways are the highest class of roads in the Indian road network. In , approximately 1450 km length of expressways are currently in operation. aims to expand the expressways in India to provide better connectivity between major cities and to strengthen Industrial growth in the country. In line with Central Government objectives, the state of is the front runner in providing high-class expressways to the people of the State and the Country. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP), has successfully developed 165 km - 6-Lane Access Controlled Expressway ( Expressway). India’s largest expressway viz. “Agra to Access Controlled Expressway (Green Field) Project” has been constructed by the Authority in record time. Through these two access controlled expressways, the high speed connectivity of State Capital with National capital has been developed.

Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), has been entrusted by the Government of Uttar Pradesh for Development of Expressways thus improving the connectivity between major cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh. UPEIDA is also undertaking pre-feasibility studies for for development of the region and providing impetus for inclusive growth. GoUP being committed for the overall development of the areas of Gorakhpur and region of the State, GoUP, though UPEIDA, has decided to develop “Gorakhpur Link Expressway” connecting Gorakhpur and Azamgarh with the State Capital, Lucknow through, Poorvanchal Expressway.

2. Project Background

UPEIDA has decided to take up the development of 4 lane Access Controlled Gorakhpur Link Expressway (expandable to 6 lane) between Gorakhpur Bypass (NH-27 Chainage 258+600) starting 1.3 Km away from the underpass near Jaitpur to km 190+600 of Poorvanchal Expressway in the state of Uttar Pradesh for a length of 89+771 km, which will provide direct high speed connectivity of Eastern UP with entire State as well as National Capital Region (NCR), and .

The Authority is developing another 6 Lane Access Controlled Expressway “The Poorvanchal Expressway”, which will connect the existing Expressway corridor at Lucknow. This Expressway project shall create immense opportunities to the people of eastern region of the State and over all development of the State by providing high speed connectivity of East to West borders of the State and

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

with national capital. In order to cover additional area of Eastern UP, GoUP has decided to link Gorakhpur with the proposed Poorvanchal Expressway by developing a Green Field 4 Lane Access Controlled “Gorakhpur Link Expressway (expandable to 6 Lane)

Objective of the present study is to understand and analyse the Environmental Impacts associated with the proposed expressway development project.

3. Location of Project Site

The proposed expressway starts from the part of National 27(NH 27 Chainage 258+600), a East - West National highway in India that starts from Porbandar and terminates in Silchar, the highway passes through the states of , , , Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam. The project road stretch starts at 1.3 km from underpass near Jaitipur at Gorakhpur and 3.7 km west from Gorakhpur – Mau and ends at Poorvanchal Expressway, 8.3 km from - Akbarpur road(SH 5) intersection of Poorvanchal expressway at chainage 190.600 km(towards Lucknow). The road runs East west between latitudes of 26º 43’ 0.15” N & 26º 12’ 8.22” and Longitudes of 83º 17’ 32.61” E & 82º 44’ 58 .89” E.

The Expressway, once fully developed would connect Gorakhpur region with the state Capital via the proposed Expressway. The proposed expressway alignment passes through four major districts of Uttar Pradesh namely, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh. The alignment crosses National Highway, State highway, MDRs and Village roads at different locations. Major road crossings are NH 27, SH 72, – Gorakhpur road, Khajini – Sikriganj – Rajesultanpur road, MDR 163E, Rajesultanpur – road, Atrulia – Ahiraula road and – Ramgarh road. It also crosses GAIL Pipe line at three locations. The proposed expressway alignment crosses major river at Km 46+000 and other rivers namely, Aami river, Kuwano river, Tons river, Choti at different locations. The site locations is as shown in the Figure 1 below:

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

Figure 1. Location Map of Proposed Gorakhpur Expressway Link Project

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

4. Expressway Facility Requirements

Right of Way (RoW) for the project expressway is considered as 110 m with standard lane width of 3.75 m and depressed median. The project is proposed to be developed to 4 lane with paved shoulder expandable to 6 lanes divided carriageway with 15 meter depressed median for future widening. Design Speed of the expressway is 120km/hr on plain terrain and 100 Km/hr on rolling terrain with slope between 10 % to 25 %. The project corridor falls under Seismic Zone- III & IV which is a severe seismic zones.

4.1. Terrain

The project road passes through plain and rolling terrain without much gradient change. The existing profile is plain in nature with gentle slope.

4.2. Built Up Areas

The expressway is near major built up areas like Gorakhpur and Azamgarh. It also passes through minor built up areas like Khajini, Harnahi, Sikriganj, Bela Ghat, Kamhariaghat, Atraualia, Rajesultanpur and Jalalpur etc. and ends at Poorvanchal Expressway which is a major built up and developed area with both commercial establishments and residential settlements.

4.3. Key Structures

Key structures in the proposed alignment includes interchange, major and minor bridge, vehicular underpass, light vehicular underpass, pedestrian under pass, wayside amenities and toll booths. The summery of key structures are given in the table below

Table 1: List of key structures

Sl. No. Structure Nos.

1 Interchange 5 2. Major Bridge 5 3. Minor Bridge 12 4. Vehicular Underpass 12 5. Light Vehicular Underpass 43 6. Pedestrian Underpass 27 7. Gail Pipe Line 3 8. Toll Booth 2 9. Wayside Amenities Facilities 2

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

4.4. Proposed Junctions/ Interchanges

The proposed Gorakhpur Link Expressway crosses National Highways, State Highways, Major District roads and Village roads. Major roads coming along the alignment are NH 27, SH 72, Rajesultanpur – Tanda road and Deurpur road (NH 28). Minor roads crossing the alignment are Baradad – Jaitpur road, MDR 163E, Gorakhpur – Malhanpar Road, Sikriganj – Gorakhpur Road, Sikriganj – Belghat road, Atraualia – Ahiraula road and Jalalpur -Ramgrah road. Locations where alignment crosses major roads like NH, SH and MDR, interchanges shall be provided for the smooth flow of traffic. Vehicular Underpass (VUP)/Light Vehicular Underpass (LVUP) is proposed at minor road crossings for the crossing of traffic.

Table 2: List of Interchanges

SI No Chainage (km) Type of Interchange

1 0+000 Trumpet

2 12+250 Double Trumpet

3 27+600 Double Trumpet 4 62+100 Diamond 5 89+770 Trumpet

Table 3: List of Vehicular Underpasses/Overpass

SI Chainage Type of Structure SI No Chainage (km) Type of No (km) Structure 1 1+650 LVUP 29 44+125 LVUP 2 3+230 LVUP 30 46+855 VUP 3 6+490 LVUP 31 47+800 LVUP 4 8+792 LVUP 32 48+570 LVUP 5 9+218 VUP 33 49+870 LVUP 6 10+210 VUP 34 50+645 LVUP 7 11+420 LVUP 35 53+000 LVUP 8 12+255 VUP 36 55+095 LVUP 9 12+520 VUP 37 55+860 LVUP 10 12+825 VUP 38 57+570 LVUP 11 14+290 LVUP 39 60+140 LVUP 12 15+520 LVUP 40 63+080 LVUP 13 17+290 LVUP 41 64+510 VUP 14 18+490 LVUP 42 65+870 LVUP 15 19+790 LVUP 43 68+525 LVUP 16 21+750 LVUP 44 71+475 LVUP

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

SI Chainage Type of Structure SI No Chainage (km) Type of No (km) Structure 17 24+630 LVUP 45 73+310 LVUP 18 25+575 VUP 46 74+800 VUP 19 26+780 LVUP 47 75+250 LVUP 20 29+460 LVUP 48 76+565 LVUP 21 30+440 LVUP 49 79+770 LVUP 22 32+560 LVUP 50 81+620 LVUP 23 33+810 LVUP 51 82+805 VUP 24 34+795 LVUP 52 83+560 LVUP 25 35+735 LVUP 53 84+920 LVUP 26 36+845 VUP 54 87+140 LVUP 27 37+530 LVUP 55 88+088 LVUP

Table 4: List of Pedestrian Underpasses

SI No Chainage (km) SI No Chainage (km) 1 0+500 15 48+055 2 2+753 16 51+355 3 4+045 17 56+760 4 5+340 18 58+725 5 8+245 19 60+945 6 10+900 20 67+240 7 13+920 21 68+990 8 19+300 22 69+780 9 20+620 23 72+375 10 31+090 24 73+870 11 33+530 25 77+740 12 39+388 26 80+300 13 40+915 27 86+125 14 41+735

4.5. Water Bodies and Bridges

The proposed Gorakhpur Expressway alignment crosses Six rivers namely, Aami River (7+300), Kuwano River(31+700), Ghaghara River(46+000), Choti Sarayu(63+700), Tons river (80+900) and Majohi river (88+500). Among the Six, the Ghaghara River is a major river originating from the lake Manasasarovar having a large catchment area. The catchment areas of Ghaghara River are

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

Amdekarnagar, Azamgarh, Barabanki, Basti, , , Deoria, , Gonda, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, , Lakhimpur, of Uttar Pradesh.

Aami River originates from Sohanara and serves as a lifeline for the people of Siddarth Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti and in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. It travels a distance of about 126 km and drains into Rapti in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Table 5: List of Major / Minor bridges

SI No Chainage (km) Type of Structure 1 2+054 Minor Bridge 2 6+240 Minor Bridge 3 7+3000 Major Bridge 4 17+480 Minor Bridge 5 31+750 Major Bridge 6 34+145 Minor Bridge 7 43+795 Minor Bridge 8 44+300 Minor Bridge 9 45+710 Major Bridge 10 51+730 Major Bridge 11 55+720 Minor Bridge 12 63+720 Minor Bridge 13 70+235 Minor Bridge 14 71+940 Minor Bridge 15 76+015 Minor Bridge 16 80+910 Major Bridge 17 88+510 Minor Bridge

4.6 Wayside Amenities Facilities

Wayside facilities proposed include the following facilities like rest area, truck parking area, car parking area, garage services, restaurant, first aid and nursing mother aids, tourist information center, medical and trauma center, fuel stations, shops, ATMs, children play area, dorm & dhaba, helipad for emergency evacuation and toilets.

4.7 Utilities

There are many electric posts and power lines existing along the project road. Telephone lines and Underground cables are also present at various places along the project road and sometimes they cross the project road either overhead or underground. High Tension Towers are also present along the alignment. Expressway alignment crosses GAIL pipeline at three locations.

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

5. Proposed ToR for EIA Study

5.1. Study Area

Baseline environmental profile of the project is shall be established through primary reconnaissance surveys, collection of secondary data and environmental monitoring excluding the monsoon season. The various environmental attributes such as land environment, water environment, air environment, biological environment, noise environment and socio economic environment shall be covered under the study. A brief methodology for establishing the baseline environmental status of PIZ is presented briefly below. Primary baseline data in the project area as well as the area falling within 15 km from the project boundary will be collected.

5.2. Land Environment

The land use pattern of the project location and its neighboring areas shall be established through developing a land use map of project area through high resolution satellite image of Google Earth covering an aerial distance of 15 km from the project boundary. The satellite imagery shall clearly delineate the features of the project area including forest, agricultural land, water bodies, settlements, and other cultural features. The conformance of proposed land use plan in conformance with the local land use plan also shall be verified.

5.2.1. Topography

For 15 km from the project areas, the topographical profile of the project area including terrain features such as relief and slope, land use pattern, habitation, cropping pattern and forest cover will be established through the district planning maps available for the project areas and also confirmed through reconnaissance surveys and previous studies on the project areas.

5.2.2. Geology

Geological profile of the project area will be established through the geological map from Geological survey of India and through other secondary data available for project area including the earlier studies. Seismic setting of project area will be presented as given in the seismic zone map of India. Information on the various mineral resources of the project area will be established through published records.

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

5.2.3. Soil

Soil quality of the project region covering 15 km from the project site would be studied through the soil survey maps published by various governmental/research institutions and regulatory authorities. A fair good idea on the soil quality of the project area shall be established through representative sampling and analysis of soil along the project corridor.

5.3. Water Environment

5.3.1. Ground Water

Baseline data for the ground water quality along the project region will be established through ground water quality data already available or through sampling and analysis by an NABL accredited agency. The water samples will be collected form monitoring locations in and out the project vicinity. Further, the general ground water profile of the project region will be presented through the published reports available with the various agencies.

5.3.2. Surface Water

The surface water quality of the project region will be established through water sampling and analysis at different locations within the proposed alignment. Major river crossing the proposed alignment will be sampled to get a primary data on the quality of the area. The general surface water quality of the project region will be presented through the published reports available with the various agencies.

5.4. Biological Environment

5.4.1. Flora and Fauna of neighborhood

Flora and fauna in the study area will be presented from the available secondary data. Details of ecologically sensitive area if any will also be presented.

5.5. Air Environment

Essential data on the meteorological parameters pertaining to the nearest IMD Station of the project area will be presented. Air quality aspects will also be duly covered under this section.

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

5.5.1. Meteorological Data

Climatological data on the study area consisting of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, cloud cover, humidity and rainfall shall be collected from the nearest India Meteorological Department (IMD). The historical data on climate conditions such as wind pattern, history of cyclones, storm surges, earth quake etc. for the last 25 years shall be collected from secondary data available with the various line departments.

5.5.2. Ambient Air Quality

Ambient air quality shall be monitored by choosing locations to represent the ambient air quality status of the project area. The ambient air quality monitoring shall cover the essential parameters such as PM10 (µg/m3), PM 2.5 (µg/m3), SO2 (µg/m3), NOX (µg/m3) and CO (mg/m3). Further secondary data on the ambient air quality of the project region shall be collected and collated from the various agencies and government departments. Proposed ambient air quality monitoring plan is presented in Annexure I.

5.6. Noise Environment

Baseline data of the ambient noise level of the project area shall be established through ambient noise monitoring at various locations along the project region considering the various land use pattern of the project region in line with the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. The proposed ambient Noise quality monitoring plan is presented in Annexure I

5.7. Socio Economic and Occupational Health Environment

Socio economic environment of the project area shall be established through secondary data sources for critical attributes such as population, sex ratio, employment and health status etc. through published data sources. The availability of health infrastructure in the project area shall be presented.

6. Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures

While assessing the impacts, the study would consider the spatial and temporal extend of impact of Valued Environmental Components (VEC) on the environmental setting of the project region. The direct and indirect impacts along with induced impact would be delineated. Due consideration shall be given on the location, extend of impact and nature of impact including continues/ intermittent, long term/short term, reversible/irreversible etc.

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

The severity of the impact would be weighed to low/medium/high to arrive the significance of the anticipated impacts. Considering the significance of the impacts, the mitigation measures would be designed with appropriate monitoring mechanism for the construction and operation phase of the project where the effectiveness of the mitigation measures could be quantitatively assessed.

7. Analysis of Alternatives

The various alternative alignments proposed for the present projects would be analyzed in detail to understand the impact on the various environmental attributes and advantages and disadvantages of the project alignment on environmental and socio economic impacts would be presented in detail towards decision making in due consideration of the environmental and socio economic impacts which will be presented before the Client. Considering the specificity of the project region, the prospects with technology/resources alternatives for the proposed developments also would be covered as part of the study.

8. Environmental Monitoring Program

Considering the project activities and baseline environmental profile of the proposed project areas, an environmental monitoring plan will be detailed out including the environmental parameters to be monitored, monitoring locations, frequency of monitoring, monitoring guidelines, and the relevant standard for comparison of the monitored result for the dredging activity. A cost estimate for executing the environmental monitoring will also be presented in this section.

9. Project Benefits

This section of the EIA report will present the benefits accruing to the locality, neighbourhood and the region as a whole. As the project activity is providing employment for the local inhabitants, the employment potential of the project activity will be incorporated in the study. Any other tangible benefits if any will also be covered.

10. Environmental Management Plan

The section on Environmental Management Plan will cover the summary of the potential impacts and mitigation measures. A proposal of an appropriate institutional mechanism for implementing the EMP including allocation of resources and responsibilities will be presented.

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

11. Summary and Conclusion

Summary EIA shall be a summary of the full EIA report condensed to ten A4 size pages at the maximum. It will cover in brief the following chapters of the full EIA report.

 Introduction  Project description  Analysis of alternatives  Description of the environment  Analysis of potential environmental impact & mitigation measures  Environmental Monitoring Programme  Additional Studies  Project benefits  Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis  Environmental Management Plan  Summary and Conclusions  Disclosure of consultants engaged

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Proposed ToR for EIA Studies of Gorakhpur Link Expressway Project

Annexure I

Proposed Baseline Environmental Sampling Plan

Sl. Environmental Parameters to be analysed and Frequency of Monitoring No Attribute to be presented in Analysis Report Monitored 1 Ambient Air PM10 (µg/m3), PM 2.5 (µg/m3) One continuous sample for Quality 24 hr and as per CPCB guidelines @ 3 locations representing human settlements, rural areas & brick manufacturing units SO2 (µg/m3), NOX (µg/m3), CO Three 8-hourly samples for (mg/m3) 24 hours and as per CPCB guide lines @ 3 locations representing human settlements, rural areas & brick manufacturing units 2 Ground Water pH, temperature, turbidity, magnesium Ground water - 3 samples Quality hardness, total alkalinity, chloride, considering the utilisation of sulphate, nitrate, fluoride, sodium, ground water. Surface Water potassium, salinity, total nitrogen , total Quality. phosphorous, DO, BOD, OD, Heavy Surface water – 5 samples metals, Total coliforms, faecal coliforms for the major river courses

3 Noise Level - Noise Level (dB) in L10, L50, L90, Hourly samples for 24 hours Continuously for Leq, Leqday, Leqnight, Leqdn @Three location one day @one representing open areas, road location intersections and built up areas 4 Soil Quality Colour, texture, water holding capacity, Three samples representing porosity, permeability, Electrical agriculture areas, settlements conductivity, pH, Organic and commercial areas matter,Nitrogen,Phosphorous,Calcium,M agnesium,Pottasium,Sodium,Sodium Absorption Ratio(SAR)

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