Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA)
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Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (Additional Financing) (ADB assisted – Loan 3431 SRI) DUE DILIGENCE REPORT - ENVIRONMENT PACKAGE NUMBER: NWP-AF-POL-01 CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PUBLIC MARKET COMPLEX IN POLGAHAWELA FOR POLGAHAWELA PRADESIYA SABHA PACKAGE NUMBER - NWP- AF- POL- 01 JANUARY 2018 Prepared for Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (Additional Finance) Subproject Coordination Unit - North Western Province 1. INTRODUCTION A. Background 1. The Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (LGESP) is a key infrastructure initiative of the Government of Sri Lanka which aims to improve local infrastructure, and services delivered effectively by local authorities in less developed areas in Sri Lanka. Partnering with local authorities will implement subprojects in the areas of the improvement of roads and bridges, water supply and sanitation, drainage, solid waste management, and other basic facilities including health centers and public markets. Finance for these subprojects will be obtained as a loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government. (MPCLG) along with Local Government funding. The ADB and Government have agreed on an Additional Financing component which will (i) Support implementation of water supply schemes in areas affected by chronic kidney diseases and enable the availability of safe drinking water to the vulnerable section of these areas; (ii) Support infrastructure delivery in additional Pradeshiya Sabhas; and (iii) Extend the support for capacity building initiatives under the project. 2. Polgahawela Pradeshiya Sabha has been established according to the Pradeshiya Sabhas Act (No. 15 of 1987) and is under the North Western Provincial Council and Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government. The key responsibilities include PS among others improvements of facilities for education, public health, commercial, recreational and other community regaining programs. 3. Steps have been taken to initiate construction of the new three stories public market building with a scope of capacity augmentation for improving better public enhancement. The total funding requirement envisaged for this project is LKR 65 Mn and total cost will be borne by the LGESP. Physical work associated with subproject will take place within the existing government owned location. The Pradeshiya Sabha and the stakeholders thought that a better market place would lead to public service delivery by providing a proper market place for efficient and effective public services. B. Objective 4. The existing public market area covers nearly 0.24 hectare. The present market has very bad condition with degraded, old, damaged building, poor sanitation, stagnated drains…etc and since they are unable to attract patrons under such conditions most traders who have leased the shops have locked up and abandoned the shops. 5. The proposed Market Complex Building has a floor area of 1,185 sq. meters. It is a square building with 49 numbers of shops. These functional shops include Sathosa, Hotel, Bank with ATM, Community halls and Rest rooms. It has a steel roof resting on concrete columns and a cement rendered concrete floor. 6. Polgahaewela railway station is a central station for many railway lines since they use it as a transfer point. Users of these trains need a central marketing place and would patronize the public market complex if it is in good condition. In addition since Polgahawela is a historical town with many ancient temples such as Wattarama Rajamaha Viharaya and Na-oratuwa Kanda Rajamaha Viharaya which are located in scenic mountainous or rocky places it is visited by lots of tourists. At present they do not have a proper central place to make their purchases. Hence, the PS is forgoing a large income which can be earned if the market is used properly. 7. The present market has not taken into consideration that women need to be provided with opportunities for improving their livelihood enhancements. Women headed enterprises such as beauty salons and dress making boutiques are not available in the present market. 8. The present market does not have a medical or dental clinic or dispensary which is an essential need in a town. In addition the market does not even have proper sanitary facilities for use by the either the occupants or the patrons. There is only one small toilet inside the market complex which is not in a suitable condition to be used. In addition there are no public toilets located close to the market complex which can be used by vendors or patrons. A properly maintained toilet block attached to the complex with many toilets for male, female and disabled persons separately will benefit both vendors and consumers who come to the complex and the general public who visit the town as well. 9. At present the Polgahawela town is congested with traffic since there are not enough parking spaces available for vehicles entering the town. In addition the town does not have enough space to conduct tuition classes. 10. AT the moment the financial institutions such as banks are located in different parts of the city and it is rather inconvenient for customers. 11. To fulfill the pressing need of the community, Polgahawela PS decided to improve the facilities in the Market Complex by constructing a large permanent building and a toilet block with many facilities. Present condition of the Market Complex is reflected in photos in Appendix 1. This justifies the need for a new building with better environment. 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. Present Location and Environmental Status 12. Polgahawela PS is situated in Dambadeni Hatpattu in Kurunegala District in North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The division is bounded on the north by Wirambugedara and Kurunegala Divisional Secretariats, on the south by Ma-oya River, on the east by Mallawapitiya and Rambukkana Divisional secretariats and the west by Alawwa and Narammala Divisional Secretariats. 13. It is located about 80 km away north east from Colombo (via Colombo Kandy highway) and 20 km away from provincial capital Kurunegala. Polgahawela Pradeshiya Sabha was established in 1991. 14. Polgahawela is the major town of Polgahawela PS. It is most notable for being a major railway junction. Polgahawela railway station is at the centre of the town and lays at the main junction that two railway lines, one coming from the upcountry and another from the north part of the country. Elevation of the town is around 20 m above Mean Sea Level. Extent of the PS area is located in a flat terrain. 15. Polgahawela falls within the intermediate zone, with an average annual rainfall between 1750 - 2500 mm. Rainfall and other precipitation peaks around November. The time around March is driest. March is warmest with an average temperature of 33.9 °C at noon. January is coldest with an average temperature of 21.2 °C at night. Polgahawela has no distinct temperature seasons; the temperature is relatively constant during the year. 16. Polgahawela has a humid (> 0.65 p/pet) climate. The landscape is mostly covered with closed to open broadleaved evergreen or semi-deciduous forest. The climate is classified as a tropical monsoon, with a tropical dry forest zone. The types of soils available in the area is Red-Yellow Podzolic soils with strongly mottled sub soil, Low humic Gley soils, Red yellow podzolic soils with soft and hard laterite and Regosols on old red and yellow sands. 17. The terrain could be categorized mainly into three types rolling, undulating and flat. Water streams, rivers and even tributaries could be observed. 18. Polgahawela DS division consists several environmental sensitive areas, including Kos-kale forest reserve which is not located in close proximity to the project site. The subproject site is not adjacent or within the area of close proximity to any environmental sensitive area such as the (i) area administered by the Department of Wild Life Conservation, (ii) Department of Forest Conservation, (iii) the area declared as low lying and flood protection under the SLLRDC Act, and (iv) No archeologically protected monument is located in close proximity. 19. The existing legislation and standards applicable for the designing projects in Sri Lanka are mainly based on the National Environmental Act (NEA). According to the provisions under the NEA No 47 of 1980 and the regulation on EIA which has been gazetted in 1993, and according to this sub project of building construction, does not require an EIA or IEE prior to implementation of the sub project. 20. All quarry operations and mining operations connected with the project will require a valid license issued by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB). All the discharging effluents and/or emissions shall be compliance with the standards recommended by the National Environmental Act (NEA). B. Proposed Work 21. The Sub-project is designed to construct a new public market complex in Polgahawela in place of the existing market complex covering an extent of 0.24 hectare. All the shops in this market place are currently in a dilapidated condition. In addition to numerous shops the market complex would also consist of a parking area to ease the traffic congestion in the city and also space to conduct tuition classes for students in the area who do not have adequate facilities for such activities at present. In addition the fish stall which is in the city at present which is not in a good condition and not clean would also be included