Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Phase – 1 Corridors Public Disclosure Authorized Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project – II (Roads Under Additional Financing) Public Disclosure Authorized Highways Department (Government of Tamil Nadu) June 1, 2020 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report for Phase-1 Corridors TNRSP TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................. 1 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................10 1.1 Need for the Project ...................................................................... 12 1.2 Purpose of the ESIA ....................................................................... 13 1.3 Structure of ESIA Report ................................................................. 16 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .........................................................................18 2.1 Additional Financing ...................................................................... 18 3 PHASE – 1 PROJECT CORRIDORS ..............................................................21 3.1 Omalur - Mecheri Road SH 222 .......................................................... 21 3.2 Malliyakarai – Attur SH 30 ................................................................ 28 3.3 Chithode to Erode SH 15 ................................................................. 34 3.4 Proposed Design Interventions .......................................................... 41 3.5 Road Construction Standards, Norms and Guidelines ................................ 59 4 LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................60 4.1 National and State Rules and Regulations ............................................. 60 4.2 Other Legislation Applicable to Road Construction .................................. 63 4.3 World Bank safeguard/ Operational policies .......................................... 64 4.4 Summary of Clearance Requirement ................................................... 68 5 BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS .........................................................70 5.1 Physical Environment ..................................................................... 71 5.2 Biological Environment ................................................................... 86 5.3 Social Environment ........................................................................ 89 6 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ........................................................................93 6.1 Focus Group Discussion (FGD) ........................................................... 93 6.2 Public Consultation (With Prior Notice) ................................................ 97 6.3 Design inclusions based on the Consultations ....................................... 105 7 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES ................................................................ 108 7.1 With and Without project alternatives ............................................... 108 7.2 Highway design alternatives ........................................................... 108 7.3 Minimizing Involuntary Resettlement ................................................ 111 7.4 Scope for Reclaiming and Reuse Material from Existing Road Pavement ....... 111 8 POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS .................................... 113 8.1 Environmental Impact Assessment .................................................... 113 8.2 Social Impact Assessment .............................................................. 145 8.3 Cumulative Impact Assessment ....................................................... 173 9 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) ............................ 177 9.1 ESMP Table ............................................................................... 177 9.2 Summary of Site and Activity Specific Plan as per ESMP .......................... 177 9.3 Gender Mainstreaming .................................................................. 212 10 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENT FOR ESMP ............................................. 217 10.1 Implementation of ESMP ............................................................... 217 11 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN ...................................................... 219 i Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report for Phase-1 Corridors TNRSP 11.1 Performance Indicators ................................................................. 219 11.2 Monitoring Parameters and Standards ............................................... 221 11.3 Reporting System ........................................................................ 226 11.4 Good Environmental Construction Guidelines ....................................... 227 12 ESMP BUDGET .................................................................................. 228 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Road Corridors under TNRSP-II (Additional Financing) ................................ 10 Table 2: Existing RoW along the Omalur – Mecheri Road ........................................ 22 Table 3: AADT along Homogeneous Segments of the Project Road ............................ 23 Table 4: List Towns/Villages along the section ................................................... 24 Table 5: List of Major and Minor Intersections along the Project Road ....................... 25 Table 6: Existing RoW along theMalliyakarai – Attur Road ...................................... 29 Table 7: Annual Average Daily Traffic for SH 30 .................................................. 30 Table 8: List Towns/Villages along the section ................................................... 31 Table 9: List of Junctions along SH 30 ............................................................. 32 Table 10: Existing RoW along the Chithode to Erode Road ...................................... 36 Table 11: Annual Average Daily Traffic for SH 15 ................................................ 37 Table 12: List Towns/Villages along the section .................................................. 38 Table 13: List Intersections along the SH 15 ...................................................... 39 Table 14: Summary of Structure Proposals (Omalur to Mecheri Road) ........................ 50 Table 15: Summary of Structure Proposals (Malliyakarai to Attur Road) ...................... 51 Table 16: Summary of Structure Proposals (Chithode to Erode Road) ......................... 51 Table 17: List of Bus Bay with Passenger‟s Shelter in Omalur to Mecheri Road .............. 52 Table 18: List of Bus Bay with Passenger‟s Shelter in Malliyakarai to Attur Road ........... 52 Table 19: List of Bus Bay with Passenger‟s Shelter in Chithode to Erode Road .............. 53 Table 20: Applicable Acts, Rules and Regulation ................................................. 60 Table 21: Applicable World Bank Operational policies .......................................... 64 Table 22: Comparison of National Environmental Policy and Bank‟s Safeguard Operational Policies .................................................................................................. 65 Table 23: Environmental Clearance/ NoC/Permission for the Contractor .................... 68 Table 24: Temperature Profile of Salem District ................................................. 72 Table 25: Temperature Profile of Erode District ................................................. 72 Table 26: Rainfall Information for Salem District (2006 to 2016) .............................. 73 Table 27: Rainfall Information for Erode District (2006 to 2016) ............................... 73 Table 28: Soil Sample Analysis for the Project Road ............................................. 74 Table 29: Landuse Pattern of the Salem District ................................................. 75 Table 30: Landuse Pattern of the Erode District .................................................. 76 Table 31: Ambient Air Quality in the Project Road ............................................... 78 Table 32: Ambient Noise Levels in the Project Road ............................................. 79 Table 33: List of surface water bodies along the Phase – 1 Corridors ......................... 81 Table 34: Surface water Quality in the Project Area ............................................ 82 Table 35: Groundwater Quality in the Project Area.............................................. 83 Table 36: Bird species observed in the Project Roads ........................................... 89 Table 37: Demographic Profile of Project Districts............................................... 89 Table 38: Administrative Profile of the Project Area ............................................ 90 Table 39: Details of the Religious Structures along the Phase – 1 Corridors .................. 91 Table 40: Details of Location-wise Focus Group Discussion and Issues Discussed ............ 93 ii Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report for Phase-1 Corridors TNRSP Table 41: Queries raised by public in the meeting and reply given by project team for Omalur to Mecheri Road (SH 222) ................................................................... 98 Table 42: Queries raised by public in the meeting and reply given by project team for Mallaiakarai – Attur Road (SH 30) ................................................................. 101 Table 43: Queries raised by public in the meeting and reply given by project team for Chithode