Initial Environmental Examination (draft) Project Number: 38412-033 March 2018 India: Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program – Project 2 (Dibrugarh Subproject) Prepared by the Flood and River Erosion Management Agency of Assam for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program (RRP IND 38412-02) Environmental Impact Assessment Report Update Environmental Impact Assessment Project Number: 38412 March 2018 INDIA: ASSAM INTEGRATED FLOOD ANDRIVERBANK EROSION RISK MANAGEMENTINVESTMENT PROGRAM - (Tranche 2) DIBRUGARH SUBPROJECT DIBRUGARH DISTRICT . Prepared by FLOOD AND RIVER EROSION MANAGEMENT AGENCY of Assam for the Asian Development Bank The summary environmental impact assessment is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature 2 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (As of 1 March 2018) Currency Unit - rupee (₹) 1.00 = $0.01532 $1.00 = 65.27 ₹ ABBREVIATION₹ ADB - Asian Development Bank DMO - Disaster management organization EARF - environmental assessment and review framework EIA - environmental impact assessment EIRR - economic internal rate of return EMoP - environmental monitoring plan EMP - environmental management plan FRERM - Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature IWAI - Inland Water Transport Authority KNP - Kaziranga National Park MOEF&CC - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change MFF - multitranche financing facility NGO - nongovernment organization PMU - project management unit PPTA - project preparatory technical assistance SEIA - summary environmental impact assessment SIO - subproject implementation office SPCB - State Pollution Control Board WRD - Water Resources Department WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dBA - decibel ha - hectare km - kilometre km2 - square kilometer m - meter mm - millimetre m3/s - cubic meters per second 3 GLOSSARY porcupine - Tetrahedron-shaped concrete frames commonly made of six concrete members, each 3 meters long connected with bolts, which are placed in an arrayed manner in the riverbed to retard river water flow and induce sedimentation. revetment - A riverbank protection structure constructed on the bottom or banks of a river by placing a layer of material, such as rock, stones, concrete blocks, or mattresses including sand-filled geo- textile containers. spur - A river training structure built from the bank of a river in a direction transverse to the current, by placing a large quantity of rocks, stones, or concrete blocks (or earth armoured with these heavy materials). NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of India ends on 31 March. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY 2017 ends on 31 March 2017. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. 4 Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………….8 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 11 1.1. AIFRERM Project Background .................................................................................. 11 1.2. Rational for AIFRERM Project ................................................................................... 11 1.3. AIFRERM Subproject Locations ................................................................................ 12 1.4. Extent of the EIA Study .............................................................................................. 13 1.5. Approach and Methodology ....................................................................................... 14 1.6. Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 14 1.7. EIA Content ............................................................................................................... 15 2. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK ....................................... 16 2.1. Regulatory Requirements .......................................................................................... 16 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT .......................................................................... 26 3.1. Nature, Size and Location of Dibrugarh Subproject ................................................... 26 3.2. The Dibrugarh Reach Sub-Project ............................................................................. 28 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT (BASELINE DATA) .................................. 38 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 38 4.2. Description of Physical Environment .......................................................................... 38 4.3. Terrestrial Ecology ..................................................................................................... 60 4.4. Aquatic Biology .......................................................................................................... 65 4.5. Project sites ............................................................................................................... 67 4.6. Socio-Economic Environment .................................................................................... 67 5. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES ....... 78 5.1. Potential Environmental Impacts................................................................................ 78 5.2. Summary of Impacts and Resedual Impact ............................................................... 99 6. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................. 100 6.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 100 7. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION ............ 102 7.1. Public Consultation and Participation ....................................................................... 102 7.2. Information Disclosed .............................................................................................. 103 7.3. Major Comments Received...................................................................................... 104 7.4. State Level Workshops ............................................................................................ 107 7.5. Integration of comments .......................................................................................... 108 8. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM .................................................................. 109 9. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................. 110 9.1. Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and Monitoring Plan (EMoP) .................... 110 9.2. The EMP ................................................................................................................. 110 9.3. Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMoP) ................................................................... 111 9.4. Institutional Capacity................................................................................................ 111 9.5. Institution Strengthening Cost .................................................................................. 112 10. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................ 113 10.1. Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 113 10.2. Potential Negative Impacts, Mitigation, Management and Monitoring ...................... 114 10.3. Irreplaceable Resources .......................................................................................... 115 10.4. Post EIA Surveillance and Monitoring ...................................................................... 115 10.5. Public Consultations ................................................................................................ 115 10.6. Recommendations ................................................................................................... 116 List of Tables Table.1 : Information Collected and Sources for Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 ............................... 15 5 Table.2 : Applicable Key Environmental Legislation at a Glance ............................................... 17 Table.3 : Pattern of Flooding in 10 km Buffer Zone of Dibrugarh Reach .................................... 42 Table.4 : Water Quality at Selected Locations in Dibrugarh Reach ..........................................