Initial Environmental Examination August 2015 Uttar Pradesh Major District Roads Improvement Project Main Report: Chapters 4-6 Prepared by Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department, Government of India for the Asian Development Bank 148 149 Fig. 35: Land Use Map (Mohanlalganj - Unnao) 150 151 152 Fig. 37: Land Use Map LU (Aliganj - Soron) 153 154 Fig. 38: Drainage Map 155 Fig. 62: Ground Water Map-UP 156 Fig. 78: Hazards Map UP 157 Fig. 79: Earthquake Map UP 158 Fig. 91: Forest & WLS 159 IV. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 272. Based on the baseline profile generated for the study areas and project interventions, assessment of likely positive and negative impacts has been done for design, construction and operation phases. Mitigation measures have been devised based on the nature of impacts. A. Design Stage 273. Impacts can be reduced to considerable extent in the planning stage itself. Aspects considered in case of improvements of the Major District roads to minimize the impacts are as follows: 1. Improvement within Existing RoW 274. Improvement of the roads has been proposed within the existing RoW without any additional land acquisition. This factor alone reduces impact like conversion of land to hard surface, loss of agricultural land, loss of structures and livelihood, and loss of trees. 2. Ecological Sensitivity 275. The proposed design follows existing alignments only does not pass through any National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary, eco sensitive zones or reserve forest thus reducing the sensitivity of the project in terms of biodiversity. 276. Vacant spaces on both sides of few road stretches owned by PWD has been notified as protected forest that includes the whole stretch of Nanau to Dadon (MDR 82W), Taoli village at km 9.000 to Budhana village km 31.000 of Muzaffarnagar to Baraut (MDR 135W), km 0 to km 0.800 of Mohanlalganj to Maurawan Unnao Marg (MDR 52 C) and from Bahera Chowk at km 33.375 to Alipur Jita at km 48.675 of Hussainganj to Alipur Marg (MDR 81C). Approximately78.76 ha of protected forest will be diverted. In case of Naurangia - Kaptanganj – Rudrapur, SH-1 crosses MDR 25E (KB) near Hata which is a notified PF. Nearly 37873 trees are likely to be cut that are present within 10 m of CL or formation width out of 62988 that are present within RoW(Table IV-1). The trees cut will be compensated at the ratio of 1:3. Additional compensatory afforestation shall be done @ 1:2 at available spaces along the road.Volume-II of IEE Reportgives the detailed list of trees to be impacted. 277. The project road of Mohanlalganj to Unnao is at a distance of approximately 11 km from Nawabganj Bird sanctuary which is visited by migratory birds during winter season (November to February). The stretch of Upper Ganga River from Brijghat to Narora has been identified as Ramsar site (no. 1574). The Bulandshahar- Anoopshahar- (MDR 58W) road lies near the Ramsar site but is outside its wetland boundary. The nearest point is junction of Anoopshahar at km 39.700 which is 900m away from the wetland boundary. The stretch of river near project site is highly polluted and shallow. Hence, not much impact is anticipated. The proposed alignments are designed to follow the existing roads so as to avoid any kind of direct impact on them. Details of these two protected areas, anticipated impact on them and their mitigation measures to be taken up during construction and operation is given later in this chapter. 160 Table IV-1: Trees to be cut and PF to be diverted Trees to be felled (No.) Trees within the RoW Road stretches within 10 m from CL (approx. 15m from CL) PF (Ha) LHS RHS Total LHS RHS Total MDR 82W (ND) 1786 1853 3639 2353 2344 4697 38.00 MDR 81C (HA) 753 966 1719 1204 1540 2744 20.00 MDR 135W (MB) 1757 2120 3877 4322 5814 10136 20.00 MDR 66E (HK) 3866 3261 7127 5662 4864 10526 0 MDR 58W (BA) 789 768 1557 2032 2245 4277 0 ODR24 (KN) 1705 1806 3511 2422 2583 5005 0 MDR 25E (KB) 3067 2573 5640 4181 4097 8278 0 MDR 52 C (MM) 2422 2004 4426 4332 3981 8313 0.756 MDR 45W (AS) 3133 3244 6377 4436 4572 9012 0 Total 19278 18595 37873 30944 32040 62988 78.76 Source: DPR Consultants 3. Widening of road along with drainage system 278. The roads are designed to be widened along with road side drain on both side in urban areas that will help avoid accumulation of road runoff or waste water. Improvement of cross drainage structures will facilitate better drainage. Finished road level has been raised at 166 stretches and along a length of 115.86 km where localized flooding occurs. Road wise breakup is given in Table IV-22 of this chapter. 4. Improving pavement condition 279. Pavement roughness will be improved from 6-7m/km to 2.5 to 3m/km on the project roads after improvement. This will avoid congestion in the future, optimal travel speed, and less vehicular emissions. 5. Planning for pre- construction activities 280. Relocation of structures, tree cutting, utility (electric poles, hand pump, water supply line etc) shifting shall be done prior to start of construction work with due permission of the competent authorities. Prior information will be provided to the immediate communities at least 2 weeks in advance for possible temporary disruption of services. 6. Design for safety provisions 281. including retro-reflective warning sign boards and rumble strips near school, hospital, and religious places, road markings, road lighting and crash barriers on cross drainage structures or raised embankments as per relevant IRC codes and standards are incorporated in the design. Provision of side-walks / pedestrian zone / foot path along the road near habitat areas, school, and hospital shall be made. Zebra crossing with informatory warning sign on approach to school, shall be provided for speed limit. Elimination of black spots by controlling speed through provision of speed breakers/ rumble strips and other design considerations as per IRC codes were done. IRC35:1997 is for pavement markings and IRC: 67-2010 and subsequent revisions and IRC:SP:31-1λλβ for road signs. Signs and marking viz., cat’s eyes, delineators, object markers, hazard markers, safety barriers at hazardous locations, and pedestrian guardrails shall be used as applicable. 161 282. Horizontal geometry will be based on IRC: 38-1988 and vertical geometry will be based on IRC: SP 23-1993. IRC:SP:32-1988 shall be followed for ensuring safety of children. B. Construction & Operation Stage 1. Micro climate a. Impact during construction 283. The micro climatic conditions may experience certain changes during the construction phase. Temperature may increase temporarily at the construction site due to removal of trees and operation of machineries / vehicles. This impact however will be localized. b. Mitigation during construction 284. Periodical sprinkling of water shall be done to keep the temperature in control at the construction site. c. Impact during operation 285. The initial years of operation shall face slight higher temperature because road side tree cover will be removed. More over the asphalt pavement being a black body would absorb maximum heat and radiate it back to heat up the atmosphere. This impact would however be short term and localized. d. Mitigation during operation 286. Over the years trees planted at the ratio of 1:2 along the roads will help in managing the temperature. 2. Topography 287. All the project road fall in plain terrain and are existing hence no significant change in topography is anticipated. However, height shall be raised above the ground wherever embankments are proposed (166 stretches and along a length of 115.86km) and also along the approaches of new proposed bridges. Opening of borrow areas may result in change of topography which shall be minor and localized. 3. Geology a. Impact 288. Impact of the proposed activity on the geological resources will occur from the extraction of materials primarily from identified and approved quarries .The large-scale extraction of streambed materials, mining and dredging below the existing streambed, and the alteration of channel-bed form and shape leads to several impacts such as erosion of channel bed and banks, increase in channel slope, and change in channel morphology. These impacts may cause: the undercutting and collapse of river banks, the loss of adjacent land and/or structures, upstream erosion as a result of an increase in channel slope and changes in flow velocity, and downstream erosion due to increased carrying capacity of the stream, downstream changes in patterns of deposition, and changes in channel bed and habitat type. Chemical/fuel spills from equipments and machinery involved in dredging may cause degradation of water quality for downstream users, and poisoning of aquatic life. 162 289. No fishing was observed or reported in the sand mining areas identified for the project roads. This is mainly because all river beds are dry for most part of the year. Moreover, any extraction of river bed material is regulated by different authorities like State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, State Pollution Control Board and State Mining Department with an objective of to conserve top soil, minimize impact on aquatic biodiversity, hydrological regime etc. by haphazard and unscientific mining of minor minerals. Moreover, the project will utilize river bed materials from existing licensed quarries with all stipulated conditions of above mentioned authorities. 290. Quantity of stone aggregates/sand required is negligible compared to the existing available quantities. Moreover the stones/sands will be obtained from existing quarries/ mines which have all valid permits applicable under law.