Public Works Department Government of Meghalaya Public Disclosure Authorized Design of Roads in the State of Meghalaya (EAST) under Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project • Pasysih - Garampani Road Public Disclosure Authorized Environmental Assessment Report Public Disclosure Authorized Date of Release : 16. 01. 2020 Prepared : USS Checked : RP / RP Approved : RBS Consultant: Public Disclosure Authorized Projects Consulting India (P) Ltd Engineers & Planners An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company New Delhi 110 070 Email: [email protected] www.pcindia.co LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CPCB - Central Pollution Control Board EA - Executing Agency EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP - Environmental Monitoring Plan ESZ - Eco-Sensitive Zone GoI - Government of India IFC - International Finance Corporation IRC - Indian Road Congress MDR - Major District Road MoEF&CC - Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change MoRT&H - Ministry of Road Transport and Highways MPWD - Meghalaya Public Works Department NBWL - National Board for Wildlife NGO - Non-government Organization NH - National Highway OP - Operational Policy PAF - Project Affected Person PMGSY - Pardhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana RF - Reserve Forest ROW - Right of Way SPCB - State Pollution Control Board TOR - Terms of Reference Draft Environmental Assessment Report i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... VII 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 2 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 PURPOSE OF ESIA REPORT ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE EIA STUDY ................................................................................. 3 1.4 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ADOPTED FOR EIA STUDY ......................................................... 4 1.5 LIMITATION OF EIA STUDY ...................................................................................................... 7 1.6 STRUCTURE OF EIA REPORT .................................................................................................... 7 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................... 10 2.1 TYPE OF PROJECT ................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 LOCATION AND FEATURES OF THE PROJECT ROAD ..................................................................... 10 2.3 PROJECT FEATURES .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3.1 RIGHT OF WAY ................................................................................................................... 12 2.3.2 EXISTING ROAD ................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.3 EXISTING CROSS DRAINAGE STRUCTURES ................................................................................ 15 2.3.4 JUNCTIONS AND INTERSECTIONS ............................................................................................ 15 2.3.5 TREES CUTTING ................................................................................................................... 15 2.4 IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS ................................................................................................... 15 2.4.1 BRIDGE & CROSS DRAINAGE STRUCTURES ............................................................................... 24 2.5 PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ....................................................................................... 24 2.6 COMPONENTS & ACTIVITIES OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT ........................................................... 24 2.7 INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENT FOR ROAD DEVELOPMENT ....................................................... 24 2.8 RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROJECT .......................................................................... 25 2.9 POLLUTANT SOURCES & CHARACTERISATION ........................................................................... 26 2.10 PROJECT BENEFITS ............................................................................................................... 26 3. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORKS .................................................... 28 3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 GOVERNMENT (INDIA) ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK .................................................... 28 3.3 SOCIAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS OF INDIA AND STATE ........................................................ 32 3.4 OPERATIONAL POLICIES OF WORLD BANK ............................................................................... 33 3.5 CATEGORY OF THE PROJECT................................................................................................... 34 4. ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE STATUS .............................................................................. 35 4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 35 4.2 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 35 4.2.1 STUDY AREA ....................................................................................................................... 35 4.2.2 ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS AND STUDIES ................................................................................ 37 4.3 LAND ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................... 37 4.3.1 TOPOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 37 4.3.2 GEOLOGY ........................................................................................................................... 38 4.3.3 SEISMICITY ......................................................................................................................... 39 4.3.4 SOIL TYPE AND QUALITY ....................................................................................................... 41 4.3.5 LAND USE .......................................................................................................................... 42 4.4 AIR ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................. 44 4.4.1 CLIMATE & METEOROLOGY .................................................................................................. 44 4.4.2 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY ......................................................................................................... 46 Draft Environmental Assessment Report ii 4.4.3 AMBIENT NOISE QUALITY ..................................................................................................... 47 4.5 WATER ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................ 47 4.5.1 HYDROGEOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 47 4.5.2 GROUNDWATER QUALITY ..................................................................................................... 50 4.5.3 HYDROLOGICAL FLOW & DRAINAGE ....................................................................................... 50 4.5.4 SURFACE WATER QUALITY ..................................................................................................... 50 4.6 BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................. 52 4.6.1 FOREST .............................................................................................................................. 52 4.6.2 FOREST TYPE AND DENSITY .................................................................................................... 53 4.6.3 FLORA ............................................................................................................................... 54 4.6.4 FAUNA............................................................................................................................... 55 4.6.5 PROTECTED AREA NETWORK ................................................................................................. 55 4.6.6 SACRED GROVES ................................................................................................................. 58 4.7 SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................... 59 4.7.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ....................................................................................................... 59 4.7.2 ECONOMY .......................................................................................................................... 60 5. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES .......................................................................................... 64 5.1 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................................................... 64 5.2 WITH OR WITHOUT