PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT (B&R) GOVERNMENT OF HARYANA, INDIA Public Disclosure Authorized HaryanaHighway Upgrading Project ProjectCoordination Consultancy SECTORALENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Public Disclosure Authorized FINALREPORT CAU"E6AUU + Public Disclosure Authorized VOLUMEI MAINREPORT SEPTEMBER 1997 Public Disclosure Authorized cSDCarl Bro Internationalals - ' in associationwith J BCEOM,Louis BergerInternational inc. and CadBro Grop ConsultingEngineering Services (India) Ltd. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT (B&R) GOVERNMENT OF HARYANA, INDIA HaryanaHighway Upgrading Project Project Coordination Consultancy SECTORALENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT CHANGeAR MAIN REPORT SEPTEMBER1997 Carl Bro Internationalals -- inassociation with J BCEOM,Louis Berger InternationalInc. and CariBro Grou ConsultingEngineering Services (India) Ltd. VOLUME I - MAIN REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Section Text Page (s) ExecutiveSummary 1&2 Policy,Legal and AdministrativeFramework 1.0 Introduction 1-1 1.1 Institutionaland LegalFramework 1-1 1.2 ImplementationResponsibilities 1-2 II Project Description 2.0 StateProfile 2-1 2.1 ProjectSummary 2-1 2.2 ProjectComponents and Setting 2-2 2.3 EnvironmentIssues 2-2 lII EnvironmentalCharacteristics (Baseline Conditions) 3.0 Methodology 3-1 3.1 RegionalEnvironment 3-1 3.1.1 ClimateConditions 3-1 3.1.2 PhysicalConditions 3-2 3.1.2.1 Relief 3-2 3.1.2.2 Soilsand Minerals 3-2 3.1.2.3 WaterResources 3-8 3.1.3 Socio-economicConditions 3-10 3.1.3.1 Population 3-10 3.1.3.2 Industry 3-11 3.1.3.3 LandUse 3-12 3.1.3.4- Tourism 3-14 3.1.3.5 Resettlement 3-14 3.1.4 EcologicalConditions 3-15 3.1.4.1 Vegetation 3-15 3.1.4.2 Fauna 3-15 3.1.4.3 Wetlands 3-18 3.2 EnvironmentalAttributes of Road Segments 3-20 3.2.1 Physical Environment 3-20 3.2.2 Water Resources 3-20 3.2.3 Air Quality and Noise 3-22 3.2.4 Social Welfare 3-22 3.2.4.1 Resettlementand Rehabilitation 3-22 3.2.5 CulturalResources 3-22 3.2.6. Ecological Environment 3-22 3.2.6.1 Wildlife 3-22 3.2.6.2 Flora 3-23 3.2.6.3 Wetlandsand Waterbodies 3-23 3.3 Hydrology 3-23 3.4 Flooding 3-24 3.5 Flora and Fauna 3-24 3.6 Cultural/ArchaeologicalAspects 3-24 IV Environmental Impacts and Analysis of Alternatives 4.0 General 4-1 4.1 Altered Road Embankments 4-2 4.2 BorrowPit Excavations 4-2 4.3 Quarriesand ConstructionMaterial Sourcing 4-2 4.4 Construction Workers' Camps 4-4 4.5 Air and Noise Quality 4-4 4.6 PhysicalEnvironment 4-5 4.6.1 Soils 4-5 4.6.2 Water Resources 4-5 4.6.3 Social Welfare 4-6 4.6.4 Economy 4-6 4.6.5 Health and Safety 4-6 4.6.6 Traffic Safety 4-7 4.6.7 Non MotorisedTraffic 4-7 4.6.8 Cultural Resources 4-8 4.6.9 Aesthetics and Tourism 4-8 4.7 Biota 4-8 4.7.1 Wildlife Habitat 4-8 4.7.2 Wetlands 4-9 4.7.3 Forest Land 4-9 4.7.4 Flora and Fauna (Tree removal and replacementtree 4-9 planting) ii 4.8 Analysis of Alternatives 4-9 4.8.1 EnvironmentalConsiderations 4-10 4.8.2 EngineeringAlternatives 4-10 4.8.3 No Action Alternative 4-11 4.9 Other Issues 4-11 V Mitigation Plan 5.0 General 5-1 5.1 DesignPhase 5-1 5.1.1 Design and ConstructionMethods 5-2 5.1.2 AlternativeAlignment 5-2 5.1.3 Other Design Measures 5-2 5.2 ConstructionPhase 5-3 5.2.1 Restorationof Borrow Pits 5-4 5.2.2 Seeding of Batter Slopes and Tree Planting 5-4 5.2.3 Drainage 5-5 5.2.4 Quanrying 5-5 - 5.2.5 Signage 5-6 5.2.6 Vehicle Safety 5-6 5.2.7 Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal From Construction 5-6 Workers Camps 5.2.8 Traffic During Construction 5-7 5.2.9 Location of Camps and Depots 5-7 5.2.10 Equipment Selection,Maintenance and Operation 5-7 5.2.11 Dust and Noise Control 5-7 5.2.1-2 Water Pollution 5-7 5.3 Operational Measures 5-8 5.3.1 Increased Roadside Tree Planting 5-8 5.3.2 Aesthetics and Landscape 5-8 VI Environmental Management and Monitoring 6.0 General 6-1 6.1 InstitutionalStrengthening Arrangement 6-1 6.1.1 Organisationand Staffing 6-1 6.1.2 EnvironmentalTraining 6-2 6.1.3 ImplementationSchedule 6-2 6.2 Monitoring and Reporting 6-3 6.2.1 Record Keeping 6-4 6.3 Envirornental Costs 6-4 VII Public Consultations on Environment 7-1 'ii References R-1&2 LIST OF TABLES Number Tables Page (s) 2.1 List of Road Segnents Considered 2-3 2.2 Roads Selected for DetailedDesign in Phase I 2-5 3.1 PrincipalCommunities Located on HHUP Segments 3-11 3.2 WildlifeRecorded along Alignmentduring Field Reconnaissance 3-17 3.3 DesignatedWildlife Sanctuariesin Haryana 3-18 3.4 QualitativeSummary of EnvironmentalFeatures by Road Segment. 3-21 LIST OF FIGURES Number Figures Page(s) 2.1 Locationof Road SegmentsConsidered 2-4 3.1 AnnualRainfall Distributionin Hawyana 3-2 3.2 Salt Affected Soils In Haryana 3-3 3.3 PrincipalLandform Areas of Haryana 3-5 3.4 Basic Soil Association of Haryana 3-6 3.5 Sand Dunes Distributionin Haryana 3-7 3.6 FloodAffected Areas in Haryana- 1995 3-9 3.7 AgriculturalRegions of Haryana 3-13 3.8 Forest Areas of Haryana 3-16 3.9 Location of Parks and Sanctuariesin Haryana 3-19 4.1 Locationof Quarries and SourceMaterial Sites 4-3 VOLUME II APPENDICES TO MAIN REPORT LIST OF APPENDICES Number Appendix Page (s) Appendix I EnviromnentalAttributes of ROW corridors Al-i Appendix2 EnvironmentalStandarcfs A2-1 Appendix3 Contract Related Documentation A3-1 Appendix4 EnvironmentalManagement Cheoklist A4-1 Appendix5 EnvironmentalClauses to BiddingDocuments A5-1 Appendix6 Public Consultations A6-l iv HaryanaHighway Upgrading Project Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction This Sectoral EnvironmentalAssessment (SEA) is being prepared for the Haryana Highway UpgradingProject (HHUP) in accordancewith draft terms of reference(TOR), called "Detailed Specificationsfor EnvironmentalAnalysis, Design and Action Plan", received from the Public Works Department(B&R) (PWD), Governmentof Haryana, (GOH) on October 19, 1996. The SEA fulfils the joint requirementsof the Government of India (GODand the World Bank for environmentalassessment of the proposedhighway improvement project and conforms in content with Ministryof Environmentand Forests,GOI (MOEF) guidelines(MOEF 1989, 1994, revised 1997)and World Bank OperationalDirectives and Policies (World Bank 1991 a, b, 1993, 1994 and 1995).Carl Bro Internationala/s of Denmark in associationwith Louis Berger International Inc. of USA, BCEOM of France, and ConsultingEngineering Services(India) Limited are the Project Co-ordinatingConsultants (PCC) responsiblefor preparingthis SEA for considerationof the PWD, the MOEFand the World Bank. Policy,Legal and Administrative Framework Basedon a preliminaryassessment of the likelyimpacts of road upgrades,it was determined that a SectoralEnvironmental Assessment (SEA) should be prepared on the project to satisfy World Bank and Government of India (GOI) requirements. However, a recent revision of GOI regulationsexempts road upgrading projects.from envirorunentalreview provided they do not pass through ecologically sensitive areas. The Haryana Project roads qualify for this GOI exemption. The objective of the SEA is to provide project administratorswithin Haryana Public Works Department(B&R), (PWD), the World Bank, and Project Engineers,guidance regarding the steps necessaryto be taken to minimiseand mitigate adverse environmentalimpacts result of the HHUP. A descriptionof the-Policy,Legal and Administrative-frameworkis includedin Chapter I along with the delineation of institutional responsibilities. Project details, including objectives, components,main environmental issues and a profile of the state of Haryana are presented in ChapterII. ProjectDescription The project preparationstudy for the Haryana Highway UpgradingProject includes 40 segments encompassingabout 1201 km of State Highways,about 3 I km of MajorDistrict Roads and about 33 km Border Road OrganisationRoads throughoutthe State. Feasibilitystudies initiated in 1995 and detailed in the 1996 FeasibilityReport sought to prioritise road segmentsfor upgrading.That report described the initial environmenitalimpact assessment which was completed for 34 segmentstotalling 992 km of proposed highwayupgrades. Subsequentto these initial feasibility studies. 6 new segments of total length 273 km wvereadded and studied. Out of the 40 segments, PWD has now decided to exclude 12 segments totalling 299 km from HHUP. This report, however,continues to pertain to 1265 kmnof roads studied. Basedon the feasibilitystudies it was concludedthat the best engineeringoptions in general was wideningof the carriagewayto full State Highwaystandards (i.e. 7 m) and construction of 1.5 m paved shoulders with additional I m wide berms at either side of the carriageway. This construction option was also considered the environmnentallymost acceptable one, since it requires only very minor no construction activities outside the existing right of way, and it Haryana HighwayUpgrading Project ExecutiveSwnmaty provides additional travel venue for slow moving, and non-motorised vehicles which would otherwise be at increasedrisk from increasedtraffic speeds made possible by upgrading of road surfaces. For The segmentsnow scheduled to be included in the HHUP the segment Ambala - Saha (14.3 Iam) has already been designed as a 4 -lane dual carriagewayroad within existing ROW. According to the feasibility study it would also be economicallyfeasible to construct the segments Gohana - Rohtak (36.5 km), YamunanagarBypass (6.3 km) and Yamunanagar- UP Border (10.8 Ian) as 4-lane dual cariageway roads. However, this would require acquisition of some 50 - 60 hectaresof land outside existing ROW. Furthermoreit would call for supplementary environmentalimpact analysisincluding R&R studies and most likely MOEF approval. Environmental Chtaracteristics(Baseline Conditions) Examinationof the environmentalfeatures of the region as a whole and specific road segments, described in Chapter III, revealed that they are uniform in their overall appearance and environmental issues.