Initial Environmental Examination February 2013 NEP: SASEC Road Connectivity Project Leguwaghat — Bhojpur Subproject Prepared by the Department of Road, Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management for the Asian Development Bank. 16. ii CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 21 February 2013) Currency unit – Nepalese rupee (NR) NR1.00 – $ 0.0115340254 $1.00 – NR86.700000 ABBREVIATIONS EPR Environmental Protection Rules ES Environmental Specialist EWH East-West Highway FIDIC Federation International Des Ingenieurs- Conseils FS Feasibility Study GESU Geo-Environmental and Social Unit GHG Green House Gas IA Implementing Agency ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IEE Initial Environmental Examination IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature JICA Japan International Co-operative Agency LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas MCT Main Central Trust MHH Mid-Hill Highway MOE Ministry of Environment MoPPW Ministry of Physical Planning and Works MRM Mahendra Raj Marg NAAQS Nepal Ambient Air Quality Standard NEP Nepal NGO Non Government Organization NOx Nitrogen Oxide OD Origin-Destination PD Project Directorate pH Percentage of Hydrogen PPE Personal Protective Equipment PIP Priority Investment Plan PPMO Public Procurement Monitoring Office RCP Road Connectivity Project - ADB RAP Rural Access Programmme -DFID RAP Rural Access Program RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete RCSP Road Connectivity Sector Project - ADB iii REA Rapid Environmental Assessment RIP Road Improvement Project- DOR RNDP Road Network Development Project - ADB ROW Right of Way RRRSDP Rural Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Sector Development Project – ADB RSDP Road Sector Development Project – WB SC Supervision Consultant SDC Social Development Consultant SEA Strategic Environment Assessment SPS Safeguard Policy Statements SRCP SASEC Road Connectivity Project SRN Strategic Road Network STEP Sub-regional Transport Enhancement Project – ADB TA Technical Assistance TDS Total Dissolved Solids TMO Transport Management Office TPPF Transport Project Preparation Facility – ADB UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization VDC Village Development Committee WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dBA decibels A KWH Kilowatt-Hour K VA Kilo-Volt- Ampere MLD Millions of Litres Per Day ppb Parts Per Billion pph Persons Per Hectare ppm Parts Per Million 1. NOTES (i) The Nepalese calendar year (B.S) runs from mid April to mid April. Unless otherwise stated, year ranges written in the form 2011/012 denote a single calendar year. (ii) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government ends on 15 July. FY before a calendar Year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends. (iii) Acts and Regulations are cited under the name of the ministry from which they originate. The official version of Acts and Regulations is published in the Nepal Gazette (in Nepali). Some Acts and Regulations are published by other Government agencies in English (Unofficial translations). 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, iv and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this 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. v CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. The SASEC Road Connectivity Project (SRCP) 1 B. Purpose of the Study 4 C. Extent of IEE 4 D. IEE Report Content 4 E. Methods Adopted to Prepare the IEE Report 4 F. Sources of Information and Data 5 G. Public Consultation 5 II. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 7 A. ADB Safeguard Policy Statement, 2009 7 B. Nepal‟s Legal Framework and Regulatory Requirements for the Project 7 C. Acts and Rules 8 D. Guidelines for the Road Sector 12 E. International Conventions and Treaties 13 F. Permissions and Clearance Required for the Project 14 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 15 A. The Project 15 B. Project Location 15 C. Characteristics of the Existing Road 18 D. Environmental Category of the Project 23 E. Need for the Leguwaghat-Bhojpur Road project 23 F. Existing and Projected Traffic 23 G. Key Upgrading Activities 24 H. Materials Required and Sourcing 25 I. Project Implementation Schedule 25 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 27 A. Physical Resources 27 B. Ecological Resources 31 C. Economic Development 36 D. Social and Cultural Resources 39 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND ITS MITIGATION MEASURES 41 A. Impact on Physical Environment 41 B. Ecological Resources 51 C. Socio Economic Impacts 53 vi VI. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 57 A. Consultation Method and Information Disclosed 57 B. Compliance with Relevant Regulatory Requirements 57 C. Information Disclosure 58 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN AND GRIEVANCE READDRESSAL MECHANISM 59 A. Environmental Management Plan 59 B. Environmental Monitoring Programme (EMoP) 59 C. Institutional Setting and Proposed Implementation Arrangement 60 D. Grievance Re-dress Mechanism 62 VIII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 65 IX. SELECTED REFERENCES 68 Appendices Appendix A – Rapid Environmental Assessment Appendix B – Environmental Management Plan Appendix C – Environmental Monitoring Plan Appendix D – NAAQs Appendix E – Noise Quality Standards Appendix F – Drinking Water and Irrigation Water Quality Standards Appendix G – Borrow Pit Management Guideline vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Introduction 1. The proposed SASEC Road Connectivity Project (SRCP) will finance improvements of two strategic high-priority highways and three feeder roads, a total of 186 km, in the eastern region of Nepal. These would be important as to provide an alternate road for the East-West Highway (EWH) and improve access to rural and hilly areas as well as to non-connected district headquarters. While the Project will contribute to development and expansion of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), it will include an institutional capacity assessment, specifically including road safety and road maintenance, which will form the basis for a capacity development program. 2. The project roads are: (i) EWH-Koshi Bridge1 (Chatara)-EWH (61-km two-lane highway), providing alternate route for EWH in case of closure of the main Koshi Bridge in Sunsari District, whose substructures are prone to damages by floods; (ii) Leguwaghat-Bhojpur Road (66-km intermediate-lane mid-hill highway), providing a connection as part of improvement to Hile- Pakhribas-Leguwaghat-Bhojpur Road, one of the major linkages along MHC; (iii) Halesi-Diktel Road (35-km intermediate-lane mid-hill highway) linking Diktel with the Hilepani-Halesi section, which is being improved under Road Improvement Project funded by EXIM Bank of India, to complete Hilepani-Diktel Linkage of MHC. (iv) Mechipul-Chandragadhi-Birtamod Road (12-km double-lane feeder road) providing connection between EWH at Birtamod and a new bridge under construction across Mechi River, which will connect to NH31 in India and NH5 in Bangladesh; and (v) Manthali-Ramechhap Road (13-km single-lane feeder road) providing a connection between the new Ramechhap District headquarters at Manthali in the Tamakoshi River valley and the old town of Ramechhap and former headquarters. The project roads were selected from over 80 roads identified by the Department of Roads (DOR), for improvement based on their environmental, social and economic impacts. 3. The outputs will be (i) upgrading of 62 km of single-lane tracks to 2-lane national highways, (ii) upgrading of 114 km of single-lane earth roads to intermediate-lane and single- lane Mid-Hill Highway, (iii) upgrading of 12 km of intermediate-lane feeder road to double-lane feeder road, and (iii) capacity assessment and recommendation for enhancement of DOR and RBN‟s capacity in road safety and road maintenance, respectively. B. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework 4. The ADB SPS, 2009 aims to avoid, minimise or mitigate harmful environmental and social impacts and help the borrower strengthen their safeguard system. It also provides a platform for participation by affected community in project design and implementation. 5. All roads proposed to be upgraded under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project (SRCP) were screened and categorized using Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA). The REA consist of questions relating to: (i) the sensitivity and vulnerability of environmental resources in the project area, and (ii) the potential for the project to cause significant adverse environmental impacts. 1 The longest crossing structure in Nepal linking the major eastern provinces to the rest of the country through EWH in Sunsari District of Koshi Province. viii 6. All project roads under the SRCP were classified as Category “B” except for EWH-Koshi Bridge (Chatara)-EWH road which is categorized as “A”. Hence IEE has been regarded as the final environmental assessment report for the project. C. Description of Project 7. Leguwaghat-Bhojpur feeder road (65.550 km) is constructed by the Rural Access Programme (RAP) under the grant support of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. At present, a bridge construction work is underway over the Arun River by the RAP- 2 from the support of the DFID, UK. The Department of Roads (DOR) intends to improve this road to an intermediate lane