INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION October 2013 IND: Jharkhand State Roads Project Govindpur-Jamtara-Dumka-Barhet-Sahebganj Prepared by Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand for the Asian Development Bank. ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank BDL - Below Detection Limit BGL - Below Ground Level BOD - Biological Oxygen Demand BIS - Bureau of Indian Standard CPCB - Central Pollution Control Board CSC - Construction Supervision Consultant CWLW - Chief Wild Life Warden DO - Dissolved Oxygen DoE - Department of Environment DPR - Detailed Project Report DFO - Divisional Forest Officer EA - Executing Agency EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP - Environmental Management Plan EMoP - Environmental Monitoring Plan ESO - Environmental and Safety Officer FAC - Forest Appraisal Committee GDP - Gross Domestic Product GoI - Government of India GoJH - Government of Jharkhand IEE - Initial Environmental Examination IMD - Indian Meteorological Department IRC - Indian Road Congress IS - Indian Standard JSRP - Jharkhand State Roads Project MDRs - Major District Roads MoEF - Ministry of Environment and Forests MoRT&H - Ministry of Road Transport and Highways MSL - Mean Sea Level MW - Mega Watt NGO - Non Government Organization NH - National Highway NOx - Oxides of Nitrogen NTPC - National Thermal Power Corporation OPHDI - Oxford Poverty and Human Development Index PHC - Primay Health Centre PIC - Project Implementation Cell PIU - Project Implementation Unit PF - Protected Forest RF - Reserve Forest RCD - Road Construction Department ROW - Right of Way SEZ - Special Economic Zone SH - State Highway SPCB - State Pollution Control Board SPM - Suspended Particulate Matter SO2 - Sulphur Dioxide SSI - Small Scale Industries SPS - Safeguard Policy Statement SPCB - State Pollution Control Board PPTA - Project Preparatary Technical Assistance TDS - Total Dissolved Solids UNDP - United Nation Development Program TSS - Total Suspended Solid WEIGHTS AND MEASURES lakh – 100 thousand = 100,000 crore – 100 lakhs = 10,000,000 µg/m3 – micrograms per cubic meter km – kilometer lpd – liters per day m – meter mg/l – milligrams per liter mm – millimeter ppm – parts per million NOTES (i) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. (ii) “INR” and “Rs” refer to Indian rupees 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, 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. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i Project Location Map iii I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Project Background 1 B. Purpose and Objectives of the Study 2 C. Extent of the IEE Study 2 D. IEE Methodology 3 E. Structure of the Report 4 II. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 5 A. Country’s Legal Framework and Regulatory Requirement 5 B. ADB Safeguard Requirement 6 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 8 A. Project Location 8 B. Type, Category and Need 8 C. Description of the Project Corridor 8 D. Proposed Improvement 9 E. Cost and Implementation Schedule 12 F Status of Civil Works as 0f June 2013 12 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 13 A. Physical Resources 13 B. Ecological Resources 19 C. Economic Development 26 D. Social and Cultural Resources 28 V. ANTICIPATED IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 30 A. Potential Beneficial Impacts 30 B. Potential Adverse Impacts 30 C. Pre-construction Impacts and its Mitigation Measures 30 D. Construction Stage Impacts 38 E. Operation Stage Impacts and Mitigation Measures 49 VI. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISLOSURE 51 A. Objectives of the Public Consultation 51 B. Methodology 51 C. Project Stakeholders 51 D. Consultation with Government Departments 52 E. Consultation with Local People and Beneficiaries 53 F Results of Consultation with Local People 54 G. Disclosure 54 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 56 A. Environmental Management Plan 56 B. Environmental Monitoring Program 56 C. Institutional Arrangement 58 D. Grievance Redressal Mechanism 61 F. Environment Management Budget 62 VIII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 63 Appendices Appendix 1- Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) checklist 64 Appendix 2- List of Waterways/Water Bodies 70 Appendix 3- List of Noise Receptors Along the Project Road 74 Appendix 4- Environmental Management Plan 76 Appendix 5- Environmental Monitoring Plan 85 Appendix 6- National Ambient Air Quality Standards 86 Appendix 7- Drinking Water Quality Standards 87 Appendix 8- Tolerance Limits for Inland Surface Waters 88 Appendix 9-A National Ambient Noise Standards 89 Appendix 9-B Permissible Exposure in Case of Continuous Noise for Work Zone Area 90 i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The project road (Govindpur-Jamtara-Dumka-Barhet-Sahebganj) is being implemented by Road Construction Department (RCD), Government of Jharkhand (GoJH) under Jharkhand State Roads Project (JSRP) with funding support from Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project road is located in Dhanbad, Jamtara, Dumka, Deoghar, Pakur and Sahebganj districts of Jharkhand state. It takes off from 900 mtrs. ahead of Govindpur junction at NH-2 and terminates near Sahebganj at its junction with NH-80 after passing through Pokheria, Narayanpur, Jamtara, Dumka, Amrapara, Barhet, Littipara and Borio. Total executable length of the project road is 310.009 km. Project road is distributed in four civil construction package viz. Package-I (length=80.142 km. including 2 bypasses at Govindpur and Jamtara having length of 6.230 km and 11.077 km respectively), Package-II (82.050 including Dumka bypass of 6.577 km.), Package-III (98.217 km) and Package-IV (49.600 Km). 2. The project was categorised as Category ‘B’ during project preparation in 2008 warranting an initial environmental examination (IEE). During implementation, the project design was revisited and reviewed based on actual ground conditions. Alignment was modified in its initial stretch at Govindpur junction to avoid significant impacts on the commercial establishment and residential assets. This bypass starts 900 m. ahead from earlier entrance i.e. Govindpur junction on NH-2 towards Kolkata and merges with existing alignment near village Kharni. The total length of new bypass is 6.230 kms. Modification in the project profile has necessitated updating of the IEE as per ADB’s policy. The updated IEE also address the issue of potential elephant crossings identified during forest clearance process and incorporates the location specific mitigation measures for the same. An updated rapid environmental assessment indicates the project remains Category ‘B’ in accordance with ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 since there is no significant impact either due to inclusion of new bypass or some potential elephant crossing locations. 3. The existing road is mostly single lane carriageway having poor pavement condition. The existing ROW is upto 15m. The road passes mainly through plain/rolling terrains except some sections in Package IV where terrain is hilly. Abutting land use is predominantly agricultural. The road passes through major built up areas namely: Govindpur, Jamtara, Dumka, Amrapara, and Borio. Project road improvement involves: (i) widening/strengthening of the existing road to 2-lane with earthen shoulder of 2.5 m.; (ii) improving road geometry; (iii) rehabilitation and construction of cross drainage structures which includes 11 major bridge (new=9 and reconstruction=2), 61 minor bridge (new=45, widening=1 and reconstruction=15) and 550 culverts; (v) Junctions improvement; (vi) construction of 11 underpasses 2 new ROBs and 1 flyover; (vi) protection works; and (vii) incorporating wild life passage structures, road furniture and road safety measures. 4. Project road is not passing through any wildlife sanctuary, national park, tiger reserve, protected area network or any other similar eco-sensitive areas. However, 32.645kms. of the project road pass through reserved, protected and unclassified forests1. Diversion of forest land is 68.01 Ha. No loss of rare/threatened/endangered species of flora is envisaged. Forest 1Reserved Forest: an area notified under the provision of Indian Forest Act having full degree of protection. In Reserved Forests, all activities are prohibited unless permitted.Protected Forest:an area notified under the provision of Indian Forest Act having limited degree protection. In Protected Forests, all activities are permitted unless prohibited. Unclassified Forest:An area recorded as forest but not included in reserved or protected forests category. (Source: http://www.jharkhandforest.com/files/jharkhand%20Forests.pdf) ii clearance has already been obtained. During forest clearance process, elephant movements2 were indicated by the Forest Department in the project area for which a separate study3 was undertaken by the wild life expert appointed by the Chief Wildlife Warden. The study concludes that elephant movements are quite erratic in pattern. They use only riverine courses not any under-passage of existing culverts or low-rise bridges. No accident of any elephant was reported till date due to movement of traffic. All mitigation measures prescribed in the study will be implemented by RCD during the project