CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY FROM MELUR TO Terms of KARAIKUDI UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA, PHASE I, ON EPC MODE IN Reference (ToR) THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU PROPOSED TERMS OF REFERENCE(TOR) FOR EIA & EMP STUDY 1.0 Introduction The Government of India (GoI) is aimed at improving the connectivity in border areas under 'Bharatmala' Scheme, for which National Highways Authority of India (herein after referred to as the “Authority” or “NHAI”) plays a key role. As part of this endeavour, NHAI has decided to undertake the project namely “Consultancy services for preparation of DPR for development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors, Feeder Routes and Coastal Roads to improve the efficiency of freight movement in India”, through Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis or Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode. In order to fulfil the above task, the NHAI has entrusted M/s Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (herein after referred to as the “Consultant”) to provide services for Melur- Pillayarpatti-Karaikudi stretch of Tamil Nadu Bharatmala project. In order to fulfill the above task, the NHAI has entrusted M/s Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (herein after referred to as the “Consultant”) to provide services for Tamil Nadu Bharatmala project stretches. Details of Terms of Reference of Melur-Pillayarpatti-Karaikudi stretch of Tamil Nadu Bharatmala project is given in this Report. The index map showing the proposed project stretch is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Index Map Page 1 CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY FROM MELUR TO Terms of KARAIKUDI UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA, PHASE I, ON EPC MODE IN Reference (ToR) THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU 2.0 Project Description The proposed project stretch, Melur-Pillayarpatti-Karaikudi is passing through Madurai and Sivaganga districts in the state of Tamil Nadu and chosen as one of the Inter corridor route. The existing project corridor starts on SH-191 at the intersection with NH-45B at Melur in Madurai district and ends at the intersection with SH-29 at Karaikudi in Sivaganga district. The existing project road is passing through the built-up areas Melur, Navinipatty, Keeliyur, Malampatti, Erumaipatti, S.S.Kottai, Kottaipatti, M.Krishnapuram, Karuppur, Thiruvudaiyarpatti, Tirupattur, Pillayarpatti, Kundrakudi, Patharaikudi, Karaikudi etc. The existing project corridor is following SH-191, SH-35 and SH-191A. The proposed project corridor starts at the intersection with NH-45B near Melur in Madurai district and ends at the intersection of SH-35 with NH-210 near Koviloor in Sivaganga district. The proposed project road is bypassing built-up areas Melur, Navinipatty, Keeliyur, Malampatti, Erumaipatti, S.S.Kottai, Kottaipatti, M.Krishnapuram, Karuppur, Thiruvudaiyarpatti, Tirupattur, Pillayarpatti, Kundrakudi, Patharaikudi, Karaikudi etc. Majority of the proposed project road is greenfield alignment and some portions are following SH-35.. The details of the stretch is given in Table 1. The salient fetures of the project road are placed in Table 2 and Engineering features are placed in Table 3. Table 1: Chainages of the proposed project stretch Design Chainage (Ch. Greenfield/ Tentative S. No. Km.) Realignment Remarks Scheme of From To Length Widening Melur – Greenfield 1 0.000 27.120 27.120 Ranasingapuram Alignment Ranasingapuram – Existing 2 27.120 29.700 2.580 Thenmapattu West Alignment Thenmapattu West – Greenfield 3 29.700 37.970 8.270 Pillayarpatti Alignment Pillayarpatti – Existing 4 37.970 45.855 7.885 Koviloor Alignment Total length of the proposed project stretch = 45.855 Km Page 2 CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY FROM MELUR TO Terms of KARAIKUDI UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA, PHASE I, ON EPC MODE IN Reference (ToR) THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU Table 2 : Salient features of the project road S. Particulars Details No 1 Location Starts at the intersection of NH-45B with proposed stretch near Melur, Ch. Km. 0.000 and at the intersection of SH-29 with NH-210 near Koviloor, Ch. Km. 45.800 2 Latitude and longitude 10°01'36.19" N, 78°21'8.81" E (near Melur) to 10°5'1.36" N, 78°44'2.72" E (near Koviloor) 3 Elevation above mean sea 88 m to 151 m level 4 Terrain Melur to Pillayarpatti: Plain Terrain 91%, Rolling Terrain 10% Pillayarpatti to Koviloor: Plain Terrain 100% 5 Major settlements along the Vatakkuvalayapatti, Sarugu Valayapatti, proposed project stretch Ranasingapuram, Thriruppatur, Pillayarpatti, Kundrakudi, Patharaikudi etc. 6 Nearest National Highways NH-210, NH-226, NH-45B, NH-536 7 Nearest railway station Karaikudi Junction is around 8 km away from Ch. Km 45.800 (end point, Koviloor) 8 Nearest Airport Madurai International Airport, around 35 km away from Melur 9 Nearest city Madurai city, around 25 km away 10 Rivers/streams Stream crossing at Ch. Km 14.800 11 Hills/valleys -- 12 Reserved forests/protected -- forest 13 National parks/wildlife Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary, 3.5 km away from the sanctuary/core biosphere proposed stretch reserve 14 Archaeologically important Pillaiyarpatti Karpaga Vinayagar Temple is about places 200m from the project site. Temple is carved out in a cave of Pillaiyarpatti Hillocks (500 BC to 1284 AD) 15 List of major industries -- Page 3 CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY FROM MELUR TO Terms of KARAIKUDI UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA, PHASE I, ON EPC MODE IN Reference (ToR) THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU Table 3 : Engineering features of the project road S. Parameters Existing Proposed No. 1 Right of Way (m) 10-30 60 2 Design speed (km/h) 65 100 Major Bridge 1/0 9/0 3 Bridges Minor Bridge 2 19 4 Railway Over Bridge (ROB) 0 0 5 Railway Under Bridge (RUB) 0 0 6 No. of Culverts 28 72 7 Pedestrian/Cattle Underpasses - - Vehicular Underpasses(VUP/SVUP 8 - 6/12/1 /LVUP) 9 Overpasses / Interchanges - 1/1 10 Fly Overs - 1 11 Foot Over Bridges -- 12 Bus Bays/Bus shelters - 2/16 13 Truck Lay Byes - 4 14 Rest Areas - 1 15 Toll Plazas - 1 16 Bypasses/Realignments - 1/4 17 Total number of trees affected - 2406 Land to be acquired (including social 18 - 267 forestry) in hectare 19 Project Cost in crore - 1094.11 2.1 Site and its Environs The reconnaissance survey and subsequent field studies were carried out in the study area which falls in Madurai and Sivaganga districts of Tamil Nadu state. Major aspects emphasized with respect to the geography, topography, soil, climate, drainage, demography etc., of the region were collected and analysed. The details of the same are given below. 2.1.1 Geographical Location Madurai District: Madurai District is situated in the Southern most part of Tamil Nadu state. It is the second largest in populous district of the state. The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters and houses the world famous Sri Meenakshi temple and is situated on the banks of river Vaigai. Madurai district was bifurcated into Madurai and Theni districts in Page 4 CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY FROM MELUR TO Terms of KARAIKUDI UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA, PHASE I, ON EPC MODE IN Reference (ToR) THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU 1996 and retained Madurai as its head quarters. The district lies between 77 000" and 78 030" of the eastern longitude and between 9 030" and 10 030" of the northern latitude. It has an area of 3741.73 Sq. Km and is bounded on the west by Theni district, on the north by Dindigul district, on the east by Sivaganga district and on the south by Virudhunagar district. The district has got 2 revenue divisions, 6 municipalities, 11 blocks and 7 taluks respectively. The district is endowed with a semi arid tropical climate with normal rainfall of 827.1 mm as against 923.1 mm for the state. The proposed project stretch which starts from Melur, falls in the north eastern region of Madurai District. Sivaganga District: Sivaganga (usually called as Sivagangai in Tamil) is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu located in Southern Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga district was carved out from the composite Ramnad district on 6 th July, 1984 and the district started functioning on 15 th March, 1985. The city of Sivaganga is the headquarters of the district. Sivaganga district is having administrative divisions of 6 taluks, 12 blocks, 521 villages. The district is located between 9.43" and 10.42" North latitude and 77.47" and 78.49" East longitude. The district is bordered in the North and North-East by Pudukkottai District, on the South-East and South by Ramanathapuram District, on the South-West by Virudhunagar District, and on the West by Madurai District, and on the Northwest by Tiruchirrapalli District. The proposed project stretch falls in the northern region of Sivaganga district. 2.1.2 Topography Madurai District: The prominent geomorphic units in the Madurai district are structural and denudated land forms such as structural and denudational hills, residual wells, linear ridges, uplands and barred pediments. The district is predominantly by crystalline formations and alluvium is found along the courses of the river. Ground water occurs under phreatic conditions in weathered residuum and interconnected shallow fractures and under semi- confined to confined conditions in deeper fractures. The depth of weathering varies from 20-25 m bgl in Usilampatti, Sedapatti and Kottampatti area, while it varies from 30 to 40 m bgl in remaining parts of the district. Sivaganga District: In Sivagangai district, differing resistances of the geological formation has given rise to various land forms viz., structural hills, residual hills and pediment terrains in the district. The eastern and southern part of the district is characterized by flood plain. The structural hills are occurring north west of Sivagangai in Sivagangai taluk, while pediment terrain in Tiruppuvanam and Tiruppathur.