CARGO MOTORS PRIVATE LIMITED COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR NARGOL PORT VALSAD DISTRICT, GUJARAT ARABIAN SEA Arabian Sea Valsad District VALSAD DISTRICT Port Location CLARIFICATIONS TO EAC, MOEF&CC (Infra-2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION September 2017 Submitted By L&T Infrastructure Engineering Limited C1121113 Clarifications to additional Information sought by MoEF&CC vide Minutes of the 21st Meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee (Infra-2) for Development of Nargol Port at Valsad District, Gujarat by M/s. Cargo Motors Pvt. Ltd. - Environmental and CRZ Clearance (IA/GJ/MIS/27560/2013; F. No. 11-4/2013-IA- III) 1 Submit declaration that no damage to mangroves will be done and free flow of the river will be maintained CMPL Declaration on “there will be (i) No damage to Varoli River Mangroves and (ii) No hindrance to Varoli River existing water flow due to Construction and Operation Phase activities of Nargol Port” is enclosed as Annexure A. 2 Action Plan for Bio-shielding Apart from mangrove areas, Non-mangrove bio-shield along the coastal zone is popularly known as shelterbelts. Shelterbelts are strips of vegetation composed of trees and shrubs grown along the coasts to protect coastal areas from high velocity winds and also from devastations like the ones caused by Tsunami. They also serve the purpose of sand binders and prevent sand erosion. Shelterbelts are also promoted as a means of reducing wind speed and ameliorating the local microclimate. High wind speeds lead to physical damage to crops through abrasion, drying and wind throw. Well-placed and well-managed shelterbelts or bio-shields can therefore be used to increase agricultural productivity. Bio-shields can also serve as a source of livelihood to the local communities if designed with that of view. Choice and mix of species should be decided based on the height and depth of bio-shield required to make it effective at the proposed site. Properly raised bio-shields will also serve the purpose of sequestering carbon. 2.1 Broad Action Plan for Bio-shielding: Initiation of Communication with Forest Department/PCCF Identification of coastal belts/sites (degraded or new) around the proposed project site/EIA Study area or in the state of Gujarat in consultation with Forest Department/PCCF or community consultation along with the officials of the forest department/PCCF Preparation of Base Maps/ Report of coastal sites based on the inputs from forest department/PCCF and community consultation highlighting the major biophysical condition Exploring the status of the Plantation ( in the existing coastal belts/site) Finalization of species to be used for shelterbelts or bio-shields or bio-walls along the coast in consultation with Forest Department/PCCF. The finalization of species can be done with the view to include coastal plant species of economic value to generate income to the local community who will be involved in the bio-shield movement Both Technical and Financial assistance to Forest Department during Plantation along the finalised coastal belts and followed by the regular monitoring of the growth of plantation 2.2 Preliminary Works carried out Sofar: 2.2.1 Identification of Existing Coastal belt, Mangrove Area and other Forest Area in the Study Area: Map showing the mangroves, various forest area, Forest area with coastal shelter belt (Plantations), other planation are present in the study area and also the Flora & Fauna Studies/ monitoring locations. l:\ports\2012\c1121113 - eia for nargol port\outputs\reports\ec clarifications\ec clarfication 22.09.2017\ec clarifications - alj - 22.09.2017.doc Page 1 2.2.2 Terrestrial Ecosystem/Flora Status in the Forest Area 2.2.2.1 Reserve Forests: (Bhilad, Katilpada, Sarai, Pali and Kannadipada) Semi humid condition is present in the reserve forests. Mostly scrub and dry deciduous type of vegetation is seen in the forest blocks. In some places like Bhilad, there are plain lands and in the remaining parts the forests are present in the hilly and undulating terrain. Natural vegetation is mostly dominated with very common species which are found throughout the state. The habit wise dominant and commonly observed species are listed here. According to the revised classification of Forest Types of India (1962) by Champion and Seth, the forest types of this region are mainly characterized by Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (Type 3B). l:\ports\2012\c1121113 - eia for nargol port\outputs\reports\ec clarifications\ec clarfication 22.09.2017\ec clarifications - alj - 22.09.2017.doc Page 2 Trees: The most common tree species occurring are Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia nilotica, Terminalia sp., Azadirachta indica, Phoenix sylvestris and Tectona grandis. Shrubs: The most common shrubs are Lantana camera, Hyptis suaveolens, Cassia auriculata, Calotropis procera, Prosopis juliflora, Acacia leucocephala and Catunaregam spinosa. Herbs: The most common herbs are Tridax procumbens, Crotan bonplantianum, Tephrocia purpuria and Achyranthes aspera. Climbers: The commonly seen climbers are Hemidesmus indicus, Pergularia daemia, Ipomoea pescaprae, Luffa cylindrica, Merremia, tridentata, Mucuna pruriens, Evolvulous alsinoides and Gloriosa superba. Grasses: The common grass species are Chloris barbata, Cyperus castaneus, Cynodon dactylon and Impatiens balsamina. Figure 2-1: Exploring reserve forests in southernmost part of study area 2.2.2.2 Coastal Shelter Belt Most of the coastal belt is covered by only Casuarina plantations. 2.2.2.3 Mangrove Ecosystem There are no mangrove forests or habitats found or recorded in the project area and also within the 2 Km of the project location. Within 5.0 Km radius from the Project Site near Navatalav and Umbergaon village, there are few pockets of thick mangroves extending up to a distance of 4 Km from the coast of the sea represented by Avicennia marina, Avicennia alba, Sonneratia apetala, Excoecaria agallocha and Rhizophora mucronata in and along the banks of the Varoli river, there are no mangrove forests within the buffer zone. Many of the Avicennia marina plants have attained a height of about 4.5 to 6.0 m while the Sonneratia apetala and Excoecaria agallocha plants were short but healthy. Figure 2-2: Mangroves at Varoli River l:\ports\2012\c1121113 - eia for nargol port\outputs\reports\ec clarifications\ec clarfication 22.09.2017\ec clarifications - alj - 22.09.2017.doc Page 3 2.3 Way Forward The detailed Action Plan for Bio-shielding will be finalised and submitted after consultation with the Forest Department/PCCF for the identified coastal sites and other sites if any suggested by Forest Department before commencement of Project. 3 Action Plan against GCZMA recommendations The action plan against GCZMA recommendations is enclosed as Annexure B. 4 Stage-I Forest Clearance for 4ha land 4.1 Summary on Status of Forest Clearance Most of the facilities are planned on the reclaimed land. Total land requirement for Phase 1 and Phase 1A is about 175.5 Ha of which 171.5 Ha of land will be reclaimed land and 4.0 Ha will be onshore forest land. Survey nos. for the development of Logistic Support Building (LSB) is Survey No. 97 & 98 at village Nargol, which is classified under forest land. Logistics Support Building (LSB) is an integral part of port and is imperative for security, control and operations of the port. LSB should be easily approachable from the existing state highways and as near to the Port as possible for efficient and optimized operation. The forest land at village Nargol (Survey No 97 & 98) is identified as a suitable location for LSB. This forest land is on the outskirts of the village and in the vicinity of the proposed port site. This stretch of forest land is near the junction of Coastal State Highway (SH-6B) and the shamshanbhumi village road. It meets the requirements to effectively serve as a logistics /utility support for the port. The location also facilitates easy access to the existing highway network. As the development of Logistic Support Building (LSB) involves use of forest land for non-forest purposes (4 ha), necessary application have been submitted as per requirements. CMPL had submitted online application to forest department vide proposal no: FP/GJ/11386/2015 dated 28th April 2015 and demand letter along with Form A for the said Forest Clearance approval also on 02/06/2015 Land identified for swapping was submitted to DCF, Valsad South and it has not been accepted with following comments by the forest department: Non forest land that CMPL offered is away from the existing forest area Offered land is not suitable for compensatory forestation Thereby, we have identified another suitable land as required by the forest department. The same is under consideration in the forest department It is expected that the forest clearance for the LSB land (Only 4 ha) will take some more time. 4.2 Prevailing Office Memorandum and Request to Consider the Project for EC/CRZ Recommendation by EAC, MoEF&CC As per following MoEF&CC Office Memorandums: No.J-11013/41/2006-IA.II(I) dated December 02, 2009 No.J-11013/41/2006-IA.II(I) dated September 09, 2011 No.J-1103/41/2006-IA.II(I) dated May 18, 2012 The proposal for environmental clearance shall not be linked with forest clearance even if it involves forestland and as these clearances are independent to each other and would in any case need to be obtained as applicable to such projects before starting any activity at site. l:\ports\2012\c1121113 - eia for nargol port\outputs\reports\ec clarifications\ec clarfication 22.09.2017\ec clarifications - alj - 22.09.2017.doc Page 4 At the stage of consideration of proposals for EC in respect of projects involving forestland, the project proponent would inform the respective EACs about the status of their application for forest clearance along with necessary supporting documents from the concerned Forest Authorities.