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Initial Environmental Examination November 2011 India: North Eastern Roads Project MLN-1: Garodhaba to Dalu Prepared by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India for the Asian Development Bank. ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank CPCB - Central Pollution Control Board CRRI - Central Road Research Institute DoE - Department of Environment EA - Executing Agency EFRC - Environment Friendly Road Construction EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMMP - Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan GDP - Gross Domestic Product GoI - Government of India IEE - Initial Environmental Examination IRC - Indian Road Congress MDONER - Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region 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 NEC - North Eastern Council NER - North Eastern Region NGO - Non Government Organization NH - National Highway NOx - Oxides of Nitrogen NSDP - Net State Domestic Product PIU - Project Implementation Unit PWD - Public Works Department ROW - Right of Way SPM - Suspended Particulate Matter SO2 - Sulphur Dioxide SSI - Small Scale Industries SPCB - State Pollution Control Board TA - Technical Assistance TOR - Terms of Reference WHO - World Health Organisation 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. 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. Contents I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 3 III. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT 5 A. The North Eastern State Roads Project 5 B. The MNL-1 Subproject: Garodaba to Dalu (NH51) 6 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 8 A. Physical Environment 8 B. Ecological Environment 10 C. Socio Economic Environment 12 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 19 A. Identification and Assessment of Impacts 19 B. Environmental Impacts to be Taken into Account During Construction 27 C. Environmental Effects Related to Operation 41 D. Potential Environmental Enhancement /Protection Measures 42 VI. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION 43 VII. GRIEVANCE AND REDRESS MECHANISM 44 VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 45 A. Summary of Impacts 45 B. Impacts, Mitigation and Institutional Responsibilities 45 C. Specific Environmental Management Plan 45 D. Environmental Monitoring Plan 47 E. Institutional Requirements 47 F. Proposed Environmental Budget 50 IX. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 51 Appendixes: A. Location of Quarries 52 B. Consultations 55 C. Photographs of Consultations 57 D. Environmental Management Plan 58 E. Environmental Monitoring Plan 65 F. Details of Training Program 67 G. Environmental Management Plan Budget 68 H. Rapid Environmental Assessment Checklist 71 I. Wildlife Clearance 73 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The environmental screening of MLN-1: Garobadha to Dalu revealed the proposed improvement of the road section will not result to significant adverse environmental impacts, and all significant impacts are site-specific and can be addressed through proven mitigation measures. This road section was classified as Category B and an initial environmental examination was prepared and documented in this report. 2. MLN-1: Garobadha to Dalu (NH51) is located on West Garo Hills District, Meghlaya, and a section of a state highway covering a total length of 98.5 km, The road passes through plain / rolling / low hill terrain, having steep gradients in hilly terrain. The existing carriageway is single lane and the proposed carriageway is intermediate lane. The topography of the region is mixed type. The terrain is plain to undulating in Garobadha, and undulating to hilly towards Dalu. The land use is mostly agricultural with some pockets of community forests on hillocks. These forests are owned and maintained by communities and does not have protected status. Some portion of Project road is covered by vegetation. The right of way (ROW) is not demarcated on the road and as identified from private properties limits, varies in open areas from 10 m to 20 m. and narrows to 8m-12m in built up areas. 3. The significant environmental impacts attributable to the upgrading of the road sections pertains to tree cutting for the proposed widening; intersection with elephant corridors, temporary deterioration of ambients during construction phase from land clearing, ground shaping, and quarry and camp operations; and community and occupational health and safety. These impacts will be mitigated through compensatory afforestation; timing of construction activities to minimize fauna distrubance; control of noise, dust, wastewater, fuel combustion emissions, and construction debris generation through good construction practices; and implementation of road safety measures to separate road users from active construction fronts. 4. The assessment of the potential conflict between the road upgrading, its users, and elephant corridor revealed that there will be no significant impacts as a road already exists and no new road construction is taking place inside pristine or government reserved forests. The project area is largely made up of agricultural fields and settlements, hence additional impacts from road strengthening will be insignificant. Currently there are no information or warning signboards on the existence of elephants along the road. Under the project, signboards will be placed at all locations where elephants cross over. Hence, the awareness of the vehicle drivers and local people on elephant crossings will be enhanced. The Divisional Forest Office did not require wildlife or environmental clearance for the project. 5. During operation stage, the main impacts are increase in mobile emissions, road safety to motorist, pedestrian and animals. Road safety measures will be implemented as per IRC guidelines. Road safety apputenances like information, regulatory and warning signs copuled with crash barriers will reduce serious injuries to road users. Adequate cross drains and side drains and their proper maintenance will be implemented to avoid localised flooding. 6. Several consultations were organized during the project preparation to engage major stakeholder representatives to incorporate their concerns in the overall design. These involved officials of executing agencies, PWD, District Rural Development Officials, Forest department officials, likely affected persons and village heads in the project area. Most of the people interviewed strongly support the project. 7. The PWD, Government of Meghalaya, through its Project Implementing Unit (PIU), is the Executive Agency of the Project. will ensure the effective implementation of the environmental management plan. There is a need for the PIU to organize its environmental unit to provide close support to the Project Director to ensure the contractors maintain environmental compliance. To provide regular monitoring information and technical advice to the PIU are the supervision consultant and the contractors environment and social officer. 8. This initial environmental examination (IEE) ascertains that upgrading the MLN-1: Garobadha to Dalu (NH51 is unlikely to cause any significant environmental impacts. Few impacts were identified attributable to the proposed subproject, all of which are localized and temporary in nature and can be easily mitigated with minor to negligible residual impacts. No additional studies or need of undertaking detailed EIA is envisaged at this stage. I. INTRODUCTION 1. The North Eastern Region (NER) is bordered Bangladesh, Bhutan, the People’s Republic of China, Myanmar, and Nepal. It represents 8% of India’s geographic area. It has a population of about 54 million. The region consist of 8 states, namely: Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura. The NER is connected to the rest of the country through the narrow Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal. 2. Meghalaya is a land-locked state in the eastern corner of the country having a geographical area of about 22,429 sq km. The state is bounded on the north, east and west by Assam and south by Bangladesh. The population of the state stood at 2.31 million in 2001 of which 80% is rural. The topography is hilly with its bountiful vegetation and deep terrain that presents a beautiful landscape of variety of trees. 3. Roads are the major means of getting to and within the state. They are a critical input to the growth of all sectors. The length of roads is reported to be about 7,860 km, 80% of which are rural roads and other district roads. The existing road network suffers from weak pavement and weak and narrow bridges and culverts. There are several semi-permanent timber (SPT) bridges even on main roads. However, there is comparatively better attention to routine maintenance. The riding quality of main roads is reported to be fair to good except in short stretches. The National Highway network covers 799 km of which 187 km is under the jurisdiction of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for its development and maintenance. The Public Works Department (roads and buildings) is the principal agency in the state responsible for development and maintenance of roads. 4.