Sardar Sarovar Project Environment Safeguard Measures in Maharashtra Report of Field Visit – 10th to 13th June 2013 Environment Department Government of Maharashtra Report Preparation: Ms. Kirti Amritkar-Wani, Project Officer, SSP Monitoring Cell, Environment Department, GoM Valuable Inputs: Dr. Pawan Kumar, Director (Environment), Narmada Control Authority, Indore Mr. A. M. Pimparkar, Scientist I, Environment Department, GoM Mr. Anish Parshurame, Scientist II & Under Secretary, Environment Department, GoM Ms. Archana shirke, Scientist II, Environment Department, GoM Support: Mr. Sudhir Shetty, Assistant, Environment Department, GoM Mr. Dinesh Banate, Data Entry Operator, Environment Department, GoM Table of Contents Sr No Description Page No. 1 Introduction & Field Visit Schedule 1 2 Catchment Area Treatment 3 3 Compensatory Afforestation 7 4 Health Aspects 14 5 Meeting with Field Agencies 19 6 Summary of Work to be done 22 7 Annexure I – Participants of Field Visit 25 Report of the Field Visit to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) Areas in Maharashtra during 10th to 13th June 2013 Introduction: The Sardar Sarovar Project is an inter-state multidisciplinary project with a terminal dam on river Narmada at Kevadia in Gujarat. It is meant to benefit the 4 states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. It is a multipurpose project with irrigation, power and drinking water benefits. The Sardar Sarovar dam is presently at a height of 121.92 meters. Although entirely rain fed, the Narmada has a fairly heavy discharge because of moderately heavy annual average rainfall in the basin, particularly in the upper catchment area. The total basin area of the river Narmada is 97,410 square kilometer comprising 85,858 square kilometer in Madhya Pradesh, 1658 square kilometer in Maharashtra and 9894 square kilometer in Gujarat. Its Catchment area is about 98000 Sq.Kms which is spread to the states of Madhya- Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Mean annual rainfall in its basin is 1180mm (46.45 inches). Average annual runoff is 41000 MCuM (Million Cubic Meter) (33.21 Million Acre Feet). Through this dam Gujarat & Rajasthan have proposed to utilize their share of allocated water. An annual irrigation of 17.92 lakh ha in Gujarat, 2.46 lakh ha in Rajasthan and hydel power generation of 1450 MW are proposed through SSP. Environmental Clearance for the Sardar Sarovar Project by Govt. of India: Ministry of Water Resources had developed detailed guidelines framed during October, 1980 for project formulations and for assessment of environmental impact of the project and planning for Environmental Safeguard Measures. In accordance with the requirement of the Department of Environment, project authorities submitted the detailed project report (DPR) along with environmental issues during February to October 1980. Environmental Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests approved the project in principle during its 12th meeting held in 1983. The studies, action and data were considered at levels and the Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat was formally cleared 1 from environmental angle on 24th June 1987 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India. The four conditions of the clearance were: The Narmada Control Authority will ensure that the environmental safeguard measures are planned and implemented pari passu with the progress of the work on the Project. The detailed surveys / studies would be done Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) and rehabilitation programs would be completed ahead of the reservoir filling. The Ministry of Environment & Forests would be kept informed of the progress periodically. Narmada Control Authority: The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has been setup following the decision of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) as machinery for implementation of its directions and decision. The authority started functioning from 20th December, 1980. The authority is a body corporate with representatives of the four States of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and representatives of Govt. of India. Secretary (Water Resources), Govt. of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Authority, whereas the routine administration is the responsibility of Executive Member of the Authority. NCA presently has six subgroups; the Environment Subgroup is one of them. SSP Monitoring Cell in Maharashtra: Environment Sub Group of NCA directed constitution of an Environment Monitoring Cell for effective implementation and coordination of the SSP work. In pursuance thereof Government of Maharashtra established Environment Monitoring Cell in the year 2007 to coordinate and monitor the physical and financial progress of Environmental Safeguard Measures of SSP. Field Visit by SSP Monitoring Cell: A field visit to review the environment safeguard measures in SSP area of Maharashtra was organized by SSP Environment Monitoring Cell, Environment Department, Government of Maharashtra during 10th to 13th June 2013. Mr. R.K.Suryawanshi, Member (E & R), Narmada 2 Control Authority; Dr. Pawan Kumar, Director (Environment), Narmada Control Authority and representatives of SSP Monitoring Cell, Environment Department, Government of Maharashtra also participated. The list of participants is attached at Annexure I. The Visit was undertaken as per following schedule: Date Place of Work details Visit 10/6/2013 Nandurbar Meeting with Health officers, Nandurbar Visit to Valheri PHC 11/6/2013 Shahada Visit to seismic monitoring station at Sawalde, Shahada & Visit to toranmal watershed area – Na 8p Toranmal Visit to Toranmal PHC & Rural Hospital (under construction) 12/6/2013 Dhadgaon Visit to Kakadada PHC & Subcentre Visit to Mandavi PHC Visit to Dhadgaon rural hospital Visit to Compensatory Afforestation area Meeting with fisheries officers 13/6/2013 Kevadia Visit to see SSP dam site Colony, Gujarat Following parameters which could be verified in the field were inspected towards review of the progress. Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) As per the guidelines given by Ministry of water Resources, Govt. of India, New Delhi, only ‘very high priority (VHP)’ and ‘high priority (HP)’ sub-watersheds were decided to be treated for catchment area treatment. Government of Maharashtra appointed “All India Soil and Land Use Survey Organization (AISLUS), Nagpur” for identification and classification of Watersheds in project area of the State. AISLUS identified total 83 watersheds on the basis of ‘Silt Yield Index’. 3 Among 83 watersheds in SSP area of Maharashtra, only 52 very high priority and high priority watersheds were identified for treatment by AISLUS, Nagpur. The 52 VHP and HP watersheds were divided in two phases for carrying out the CAT work- Phase I covering 17 Directly Draining and Critically Degraded Watersheds Phase II covering 35 Indirectly Draining Watersheds CAT plan for the 17 directly draining sub-watersheds (Phase I) was prepared using remotely sensed data by Space Application Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad and the Maharashtra State Forest Department, Dhule in September 1993. The CAT plan for 35 indirectly draining sub-watersheds (Phase II) was prepared by the Maharashtra State Forest Department, Dhule using remotely sensed data in November 1994. The Catchment Area Treatment includes following measures: Mechanical measures involving construction of weirs, gully plugs, nalla bunds, check dams, contour trenches, etc. Biological measures such as intensive Afforestation, rehabilitation of degraded forests, pasture development, improved farming practices, etc. It also involves creation of nurseries of suitable plant species. The work is carried out by Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Dhule Circle and Director, Soil Conservation, Commissionerate of Agriculture, Pune. The summary of the work is given below- Phase I: Directly draining sub- watersheds Work was started in 1992 involving treatment of 17 directly draining watersheds. By the end of September 1998, an area of 20283.48 ha (forest area) was treated by Forest Department and 3011.52 ha (non forest area) was treated by Commissionerate of Agriculture. Thus an area of 23,295 ha was treated in the phase I, against a target of 24,298 ha. Balance areas (1003 ha) were not available for treatment on account of being rocky / steep slope etc., hence treatment of phase I area was considered complete. 4 Phase II: Indirectly draining sub-watersheds Phase II of CAT works in 35 indirectly draining Watersheds was started by Commissionerate of Agriculture and Forest Department from 1994-95. A macro-watershed plan for 77,568 ha in 35 sub watersheds was prepared by Government of Maharashtra. These sub watersheds covers 43,125 ha of treatable areas. Details of Phase II CAT Work Watersheds Target Area (ha) Work status 26 sub watersheds 21,659 Work Completed by Commissionerate of Agriculture and is ongoing in 4 watersheds by Forest Department 5 Sub watersheds 13,336 Work ongoing (Forest area) 4 Sub watersheds 8,130 (Agricultural area) Total no of Total treatable Watersheds: 35 area : 43,125 Assessment of the Efficacy of CAT work Assessment of efficacy of Catchment Area Treatment includes Forest Cover Assessment Silt Monitoring 1. The Forest cover assessment for phase I was carried out by Forest Survey of India in October 2004. 2. Silt Monitoring Stations (SMS) were established in both Forest and agriculture area. For Phase I CAT Work, two SMS in Forest area and 3 SMS in Agriculture area were established. Site Visit to Subwatershed Na 8p in Toranamal- The team