Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. Introduction 1 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. A. Introduction The Govt. of India (GOI) through Ministry of Roads & Highways (MORT&H) is contemplating to enhance the traffic capacity and safety for efficient transshipment of Goods as well as passenger traffic on few of the Selected heavily trafficked stretches/paved shoulder of National Highways. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been entrusted for the development. Maintenance and management of National Highways, under NHDP Phase –IV programme. The Project under consideration aims at converting existing 2-lane NH 92 from Gwalior to Bhind 2 lane divided carriageway to be executed by private entrepreneurs as BOT projects. The Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) has assigned Holtec Consulting Private Limited (HCPL) to prepare Feasibility Report. Location The Paved shoulder starts from Km 0.00 of NH 92 at Gwalior traverses through of Gwalior District to Bhind of Bhind District and further runs across Chambal river and enters into Gwalior & Bhind taluka of Gwalior District, further runs through MP&UP border & ends at Km108.000 of NH-92 Major settlements along the paved shoulder are Gwalior & Bhind, other important towns/villages are Malanpur, Moharajpur, Gohad, Mehgaon, Phoop and Barhi. Total length of the paved shoulder is approximately 108 Km. The location map of the project is given in figure 1. Salient Features of the project Project Name: Two laning with paved shoulder of the section Km 0.00 to Km 108.00 of NH-92 (Gwalior-MP/UP border) in the state of Madhya Pradesh by Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation ltd. (MPRDC), Government of Madhya Pradesh. Start: Km 0.000 (Gwalior) End: Km 107.500 (UP/MP Border) Length: Km 107.500 Important Towns: Gwalior and Bhind, other important towns/villages are Malanpur, 2 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. Moharajpur, Gohad, Mehgaon, Phoop and Barhi. Terrain: Plain Road Formation (existing): 9 m to 13m. Carriageway (existing): 0 5 m to 10 m. Poor to Good Traffic Volume: 15,000 PCU. Culverts (Existing): 96 nos (less numbers, week and inadequate). Minor Bridges: 35 nos (require up gradation by way of special repairs / rehabilitation, widening, reconstruction and retention with repairs). Major Bridges: 1 no. satisfactory condition. ROB: 1 No: at Km 7.043 Satisfactory condition. Flyover (under construction): 1 Nos. at Km 19.740 Junction/Intersection: 8 nos major and 7 nos minor. B. Project Influence Area i) Direct Area of Influence The direct influence area of the project is restricted to proposed Right of way (RoW) only, since the project involves widening of existing highway and all construction and operation stage activities will be contained within it. The proposed RoW is 60m for open country road & 45m for semi urban areas. ii) Indirect Area of influence As per MoEF guidelines for conducting EIA (EIA notification, S O 1533 dated 14 th Sept, 2006); the geographical scope of the EIA study has been considered as 15 km radius for highway projects for major environmental features like national park, wildlife sanctuary, Critically Polluted Area, Notified Eco-Sensitive Zone, Inter-state Boundaries and International Boundaries (10 km), Coastal Zones, Areas protected under international convention, defense installations etc. Physical features like 3 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. physiography, hydrology were also studied/ recorded within 15 km radius of the project road. C. Statutory clearance requirement S. Clearance Required for Statute under which Statutory Authority No clearance is required 1 Environmental Clearance EIA notification, 2006 Ministry of Environment & issued under EP Act Forest, GOI, New Delhi 1986 2 Wildlife Clearance Wildlife protection Act State Wildlife Board, Dept 1972 of Forest, Govt. of M.P. & Central Empowered Committee, MoEF 3 Forest Clearance Forest Conservation Dept. of Forest, Govt. of Act 1980 M.P. & MoEF 4 Permission for filling of - Revenue Department roadside trees 5 Consent to Establish Water (P & CP) Act, Madhya Pradesh Pollution (CTE) 1974 & Air (P & CP) Control Board Act, 1981 D. Project interventions The existing 2-lane NH-92 shall be widened to 4-lane divided carriageway. There are two short bypasses. The detail information of the short bypasses are as follows, 4 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. Sl.No. Chainage Length (Km) 1 40.300 – 41.000 0.700 2 106.000 – 106.800 0.800 Total 1.500 Proposed features include 1 no major bridge, 35 nos minor bridges, 1no RoB, 1 no fly over, 8 nos junction, 96 nos culverts, 2 nos toll plaza (Km 22 & Km 105), Intersections / Junctions (Major 8 + Minor 7) are 15 nos, 1 no Truck Lay-Byes, 6 nos Bus Bays. 5 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. 6 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. Description of the Environment 7 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. Description of the Environment A) Physical Environment i) Meteorology Climate: Study area has three distinct seasons like most of north India, it has a hot dry summer (April–June) followed by monsoon rains (July–September) and a cool and relatively dry winter. Temperature: Gwalior has extreme climatic conditions, scorching summer and chilly winter. Summer (March to June) temperature rises to 47°C and has a minimum of 16°C. Monsoon rainy season during July to October is humid and temperature within 25°C to 32°C. Winter (December to February) is chilly and can drop down to subzero. Day time in winter can have temperature up to 27°C. The temperature of Bhind ranges from 46°C in summer & 2°C in winter. Humidity: Relative humidity in both districts varies from 26 % to 83 %. In Bhind district, relative humidity generally exceeds 83% (August month). In the rest of the period is dry. The driest period is summer season, when relative humidity is less than 26%. Rainfall: The average rainfall is about 1,370 mm (53.9 inch). It decreases from east to west. The south-eastern districts have the heaviest rainfall, some places receiving as much as 2,150 mm (84.6 inch), while the western and north-western districts receive 1,000 mm (39.4 inch) or less. Wind speed: In Gwalior, the northwestern wind blows, predominantly, over the city of Gwalior and the wind speed generally ranges from 8 km per hour in summer to 2 km per hour in winter time. In Bhind district, wind velocity is higher during the pre monsoon period as compared to the post monsoon period. The maximum wind velocity is 11.3 km/h during the month of June and minimum is 3.1 km/h during the month of November. Average normal annual wind velocity is 6.4 km/h. (ii) Physiographic & Terrain: The project region falls in the Western Satpura plateau. Of the project influenced area 80% is plain terrain, 20% undulating. 8 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. (iii) Land use The mean elevation above the sea is about 2000 ft. The entire stretch is essentially a highland tract, divided naturally into three distinct portions, differing in their superficial aspects, the character of their soil and their geological formation. The northern part of the Bhind district forms an irregular plain of the sandstone formation. The land use of Gwalior is classified into four types – viz. forests, area under cultivation, culturable waste and the area not available for cultivation. The land under cultivation is further sub-divided into two types viz. irrigated and un-irrigated. Land Use Pattern of Gwalior: Forest Land 118.10 Sq. Km Land under Cultivation a) Irrigated Land 54.29 Sq. Km b) Un irrigated Land 33.18 Sq. Km Culturable Waste Land 16.76 Sq. Km Area not available for cultivation 27.09 Sq. Km Total Area 249.42 Sq. Km Land Use Pattern of Bhind: Forest area 89.05 Sq Km Net area sow 3298.8 Sq Km Cultivable area 3406.2 Sq Km (iv) Water Resources Surface Water: Project stretch crosses six rivers. Chambal, Sindh, Londara, Pawaya, Kunwari, Swarnrekha river. & small rivulets & storm channels cut across at many places, most of which are non-perennial and drain only for few days/weeks during & after the monsoons. Ground Water: Ground water is the major source of the drinking water in Gwalior & Bhind area. The villages are dependent on ground water for their everyday 9 Executive Summary of Environment Impact Assessment for 2 laning with Paved shoulders Gwalior to Bhind NH-92 from 0.00 Km to 108.00 Km. requirement. Ground water is fetched from open dug- as well as bore wells which are both mechanized and manual. There are 1325 numbers of ground water observation wells present in project area. (v) Water Quality The surface water samples ware collected from 2 rivers viz.