ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT/ ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Rammam Hydro Power Project, Stage-III (3x40 MW) in District-Darjeeling & West Sikkim State-West Bengal & Sikkim NTPC Limited (A Government of India Enterprise) July’ 2021 PREPARED BY SV ENVIRO LABS & CONSULTANTS Visakhapatnam Phone: 0891-2755528, Fax: 0891-2755529 Email: [email protected] Recognized by MoEF&CC and QCI – Accredited, Certificate No. NABET/EIA/1821/SA 0118 UNDERTAKING BY CONSULTANT This is to certify that M/s. SV Enviro Labs & Consultants is a NABET & NABL Accredited, ISO 9001:2015 certified company and is recognised by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Further, this Environmental Impact Assessment/ Environmental Management Plan for the Rammam Hydro Electric Project Stage-III (3 x 40 MW) in Darjeeling District of West Bengal and West Sikkim District of Sikkim has been carried out by M/s. SV Enviro Labs & Consultants and the prescribed ToR’s have been complied with and the data submitted in the Final EIA report is factually correct. Thanks and Regards, M. Murali Krishna Managing Partner July, 2021 DECLARATION BY EXPERTS CONTRIBUTING TO THE EIA “Environmental Impact Assessment/ Environmental Management Plan” for the proposed Rammam Hydro Electric Project Stage-III (3 x 40 MW) in Darjeeling District of West Bengal and West Sikkim District of Sikkim I hereby certify that I was a part of the EIA team in the following capacity that developed the above EIA. EIA Co-ordinator : Name : Dr. G.V.A Ramakrishna Signature : Period of Involvement : July’ 2020 to September’2020 Functional Area Experts: S.No Functional Name of the Expert Category Involvement Signature and Date as per (Period and Areas NABET task**) 1 AP * M. Murali Krishna A Air Pollution monitoring, prevention & control 2 WP * V. Hemalatha A Water Pollution monitoring, prevention & control 3 SHW * K. Anitha A Solid waste management 4 SE * Dr. B. Vijay A Socioeconomic Bhaskara Rao studies 5 EB * Dr. M. Tarakeswara A Ecology and Bio- Naidu diversity 6 HG * Dr. G.V.A A Hydrology Ramakrishna 7 GEO * Dr. G.V.A A Geology Ramakrishna 8 SC * D. Sunder Rao A Soil conservation 9 AQ * M. Murali Krishna A Air quality modelling 10 NV * M. Murali Krishna A Noise and vibration 11 LU * Dr. G.V.A A Land use studies Ramakrishna 12 RH * Shaik Kasim A Risk and hazard study Declaration by the Head of the accredited consultant organization/ authorized person I, M. Murali Krishna, hereby, confirm that the above mentioned experts prepared the EIA/EMP for proposed Rammam Hydro Electric Project Stage-III (3 x 40 MW) in Darjeeling District of West Bengal and West Sikkim District of Sikkim. Signature: Name: M. Murali Krishna Designation: Managing Partner Name of the EIA consultant organization: SV Enviro Labs & Consultants NABET Certificate No. & Issue Date: NABET/EIA/1821/SA0118 Dt: 28.09.2020 valid up to 21.07.2021 Certificate of Plagiarism check Environmental Impact Assessment/Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Rammam Hydro Electric Title of EIA Report Project Stage-III (3 x 40 MW) in Darjeeling District of West Bengal and West Sikkim District of Sikkim Name of Accredited Organization SV Enviro Labs & Consultants Unique Identification Number SVELC/EIA/NTPC/FINAL/2021 Name of EIA Co-ordinator (EC) Dr. G.V.A. Ramakrishna Name of the Software Plagiarism Checker X Date of Check 05.07.2021 Time of Check 5:00 PM Declaration by the Head of the accredited consultant organization/authorized person I hereby certify that this EIA/EMP Report has been evaluated using in-house software Plagiarism Checker X version 6.0.11. The report produced has been analyzed by the system and based on it, I certify that the EIA report produced in accordance with good scientific practice. Date and Sign of EIA Coordinator: 06.07.2021 Name: Dr. G.V.A. Ramakrishna Designation: EIA Coordinator Date and Sign of Head of Accredited Organization: 06.07.2021 (M. Murali Krishna) Name of the EIA consultant organization: SV ENVIRO LABS & CONSULTANTS NABET Certificate No. & Issue Date: NABET/EIA/1821/SA 0118 Dt. 28.09.2020 CONTENTS Table of Contents C0-1 List of Tables C0-9 List of Figures C0-12 List of Annexures C0-14 Index of Compliance with TOR for EIA Study – Additional TOR C0-15 Index of Compliance with TOR for EIA Study – Standard TOR C0-20 Chapter I Introduction C1-1 Chapter II Project Description C2-1 Chapter III Description of the Environment C3-1 Chapter IV Anticipated Environmental Impacts &Mitigation Measures C4-1 Chapter V Analysis of Alternatives C5-1 Chapter VI Environmental Monitoring Program C6-1 Chapter VII Additional Studies C7-1 Chapter VIII Project Benefits C8-1 Chapter IX Environment Cost Benefit Analysis C9-1 Chapter X Environmental Management Plan C10-1 Chapter XI Summary and Conclusions C11-1 Chapter XII Disclosure of Consultants C12-1 Doc. No.:9548/999/GEG/S/01 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR Rev. No.: 1 RAMMAM HYDRO ELECTRIC PROJECT Date: 30/06/2021 STAGE - III (3 x 40 MW) Page No.: C0-1 of 49 TABLE OF CONTENTS S. No. TITLE Page No. Chapter I: Introduction 1.0 General C1-1 1.1 Brief Details of The Project C1-1 1.2 Identification of Project & Project Proponent C1-2 1.3 Hydro Potential C1-3 1.4 Purpose of The Study C1-4 1.5 Brief Description of Nature, Size, Location of The Project C1-5 1.5.1 Nature of The Project C1-5 1.5.2 Size of The Project C1-5 1.5.3 Locations of The Project C1-5 1.6 Background of The Project C1-6 1.6.1 Statutory Clearances C1-6 1.6.2 Current Status of Work C1-7 1.7 Location & Accessibility C1-9 1.8 Need for The Project & its Importance to The Country and Region C1-13 1.8.1 Demand Supply Gap C1-14 1.9 Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework C1-15 1.10 Scope of The Study C1-17 1.11 Environmental Parameters in The Study Area C1-18 1.12 Generic Structure of EIA Document C1-18 Chapter II: Project Description 2.0 General C2-1 2.1 Location of Project C2-1 2.2 Size or Magnitude of Operation C2-3 2.3 Salient Features of The Project C2-6 2.4 Project Description C2-10 2.4.1 Diversion Structure C2-10 2.4.2 Intake and Intake Tunnel C2-13 2.4.3 Desilting Chamber C2-13 2.4.4 Head Race Tunnel (HRT) C2-13 2.4.5 Surge Shaft C2-14 2.4.6 Pressure Shaft C2-14 2.4.7 Power House C2-14 2.4.8 Tail Race Channel C2-14 2.4.9 Hydro-Mechanical Works C2-14 2.4.10 Minimum Flow in The River Downstream of The Barrage C2-15 2.5 Land Requirement C2-16 2.6 Infrastructure Facilities C2-17 0 ‐ 1 Doc. No.:9548/999/GEG/S/01 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR Rev. No.: 1 RAMMAM HYDRO ELECTRIC PROJECT Date: 30/06/2021 STAGE - III (3 x 40 MW) Page No.: C0-2 of 49 2.6.1 Access Roads C2.17 2.6.2 Construction Materials and Equipment C2-19 2.6.3 Project Township/Colonies C2-20 2.6.4 Water & Power Requirement C2-20 2.6.5 Muck Generation & Disposal C2-20 2.7 Manpower Requirement C2-21 2.8 Project Schedule & Cost Estimates C2-21 Chapter III: Description of the Environment 3.0 Introduction C3-1 3.1 Study area C3-2 3.2 Study period C3-2 3.3 Methodology of EIA study C3-2 3.4 Micro-meteorological data C3-3 3.4.1 Wind Speed and Direction C3-4 3.4.2 Temperature C3-4 3.4.3 Rainfall C3-4 3.4.4 Site Specific Met Data C3-4 3.5 Air Environment C3-7 3.5.1 Selection of Sampling Locations C3-7 3.5.2 Methodology of Sampling and Analysis C3-7 3.5.3 Summary of Existing Ambient Air quality C3-16 3.6 Water Environment C3-17 3.6.1 Surface Water and Ground Water Quality Assessment C3-18 3.6.2 Selection of sampling locations C3-18 3.6.3 Sampling techniques C3-18 3.6.4 Water Sampling Stations C3-21 3.6.5 Surface water Quality Results are Summarized Below C3-29 3.6.6 Groundwater Quality Results are summarized Below C3-29 3.7 Soil Environment C3-30 3.7.1 Selection of Sampling locations C3-30 3.7.2 Sampling and Analytical Techniques C3-30 3.7.3 Summary of Soil analysis Data C3-35 3.8 Noise Environment C3-37 3.8.1 Identification of Sampling Locations C3-37 3.8.2 Methodology C3-37 3.8.3 Description of Locations C3-38 3.8.3.1 Noise Levels in The Study Area C3-38 3.9 Traffic Study C3-42 3.10 Geology and Hydrogeology C3-43 3.10.1 Geological Setting C3-44 3.10.2 Minerals C3-48 3.10.3 Hydrogeological Setting C3-50 3.10.4 Land Slide in The Area C3-52 3.10.5 Seismicity C3-53 0 ‐ 2 Doc. No.:9548/999/GEG/S/01 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR Rev. No.: 1 RAMMAM HYDRO ELECTRIC PROJECT Date: 30/06/2021 STAGE - III (3 x 40 MW) Page No.: C0-3 of 49 3.10.6 Soils C3-54 3.11 Hydrology C3-54 3.11.1 Objective of The Study C3-55 3.11.2 Rainfall Data C3-56 3.11.3 Water Availability Studies C3-58 3.11.4 Runoff-Runoff Correlation C3-59 3.11.5 Extending Singlabazar flow series based on Rangit Stage-IV data C3-60 3.11.6 Rainfall –Runoff Correlation C3-61 3.11.7 Design Flood Studies C3-62 3.11.8 Dimensionless Unit Hydrograph C3-62 3.11.9 Derivation of synthetic Unit Hydrograph C3-64 3.11.10 Flood Frequency analysis C3-67 3.11.12 Diversion Flood C3-68 3.11.13 Drainage Pattern C3-69 3.11.14 Catastrophic Events like Cloud Burst and Flash Floods C3-69 3.11.15 Sedimentation Data C3-70 3.11.16 Environmental Flow C3-70 3.12 Biological Environment C3-72 3.12.1 Introduction C3-72 3.12.2 Objectives C3-73 3.12.3 Study Area C3-73 3.12.4 Cropping Pattern C3-77 3.12.5 Agriculture production System C3-79 3.12.6 Vegetation Composition in The Study Area C3-81 3.12.7 Methodology C3-84 3.12.8 Secondary Data Collection C3-87 3.12.9 Floristic composition C3-89 3.12.10 Medicinal Plants C3-111 3.12.11 Economically Important Plant Species C3-112 3.12.12 Phytosociology Analysis for Community Structures C3-113 3.12.13 Biodiversity Indices C3-132 3.12.14 Fauna C3-148 3.12.15 Butterflies C3-156 3.12.16 Aquatic Ecology C3-157 3.12.17 Methodology C3-158 3.12.18 Sampling Locations C3-159 3.12.19 Phytoplankton C3-161 3.12.20 Zooplankton C3-163 3.12.21 Macro-Benthic Biota C3-163 3.12.22 Primary Productivity C3-164 3.12.23 Fisheries C3-165 3.12.24 National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries C3-168 3.13 Landuse Pattern C3-173 3.13.1 Land Use Pattern-remote sensing Data C3-173 3.13.2 Methodology C3-174 0 ‐ 3 Doc.