Initial Environmental Examination (Draft) – Main Report Project Number: 51308-001 July 2019 India: Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor: Power Sector Investment Project Prepared by Tamil Nadu Transmission Company (TANTRANSCO), Government of Tamil Nadu (Department of Energy) for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 19 July 2019) Currency unit – Indian rupee (₹) ₹1.00 = $.01458 $1.00 = ₹68.57450 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank ACSR – aluminium conductor steel reinforced AMSL – average mean sea-level CEA – Central Electricity Authority CPCB – Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India DPR – detailed project report EIA – environmental impact assessment EMoP – environmental monitoring plan EMP – environmental management plan EHV – extra high voltage EPC – engineering, procurement and commissioning GCC General Construction Circle of TANTRANSCO GHG – green house gases GoTN – Government of Tamil Nadu GRM – grievance redressal mechanism CKIC – Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor TNPCB – Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board TANTRANSCO – Tamil Nadu Power Transmission Corporation Limited TNEB – Tamil Nadu Electricity Board IEE – initial environmental examination IFC International Finance Corporation/World Bank LILO – line-in–line-out MFF – multi-tranche financing facility MOEFCC – Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India PCB – polychlorinated biphenyl PGCIL – Power Grid Corporation of India Limited ROW – right of way WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha (hectare) – 10,000 square meter km (kilometer) – 1,000 meter kV – kilovolt (1,000 volts) kW – kilowatt (1,000 watts) kWh – kilowatt-hour MVA – megavolt-amperes MW – megawatt This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The Project 1 1.3 Scope of Work and Methodology Adopted 3 2.0 POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 5 2.1 Indian - National, Local, Other Applicable Environmental Laws, Regulations, and Standards as applicable to the project. 5 2.2 India and Multilateral Environmental Agreements 10 2.3 Technical Standards, Rules and Regulations for Indian Power Sector 11 2.4 Asian Development Bank’s Safeguards Policies 12 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 16 3.1 Type of Project 16 3.2 Category of Project 16 3.3 Need for the Project 17 3.4 Location 17 3.5 Size and Magnitude of the Operation 21 3.6 Associated Facilities 33 3.6.1 Existing Thermal and Renewable Power Plants 33 3.6.2 Proposed Thermal Power Plants 34 3.6.3 Renewable Plants that are under construction 35 4.0 DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT 36 4.1 Physical Resources 36 4.1.1 Geographic Profile of Tamil Nadu 36 4.1.2 Climate, Rainfall and Temperatures 37 4.1.3 Topography and Soils 40 4.1.4 Water Resources (Surface and Ground Water) 43 4.2 Environmental Qualities 46 4.2.1 Baseline Air Quality 48 4.2.2 Baseline Noise Data 51 4.2.3 Baseline Surface Water Quality 51 4.3 Ecological Resources 53 4.3.1 Forest 54 4.3.2 Biosphere Reserves, National Parks, Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries 57 4.3.3 Wetlands 62 4.4 Economic Development 66 4.4.1 Economy 66 4.4.2 Employment and Livelihood 68 4.4.3 Mining Activities 68 4.4.4 Industries 70 4.4.5 Infrastructure facilities 72 4.4.6 Land Use 75 4.4.7 Agriculture 78 4.4.8 Livestock 78 4.4.9 Fisheries 78 4.4.10 Tourism Facilities 79 4.5 Social and Cultural Resources 81 4.6 Climate Change in Tamil Nadu 82 4.7 Sites of Cultural, Archaeological and Historical Significance 85 5.0 ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 86 5.1 Impact assessment methodology 86 5.1.1 Impact Magnitude 86 5.1.2 Sensitivity of Receptor 87 5.1.3 Assigning Significance 88 5.1.4 Impact Matrix 88 5.2 Environmental Problems Associated with Project Location and Design 93 5.3 Environmental Impacts Associated with Pre-Construction Stage 97 5.3.1 Impact on Environmental Resources 97 5.3.2 Land Resourses 97 5.4 Environmental Problems Associated with Construction Stage 99 5.4.1 Impact on Environmental Resources 100 5.4.2 Impact on Physical Resources 103 5.4.3 Impact on Ecological Resources 105 5.4.4 Impact on Terrestrial Ecology 105 5.4.5 Impact on Socioeconomic Resources 125 5.5 Environmental Impacts Associated with Operations and Maintenance Stage 127 5.5.1 Transmission lines 127 5.5.2 Substations 130 5.5.3 Cumulative Impact Assessment 131 5.6 Possible Hazards 144 6.0 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 152 6.1 TANTRANSCO’s Approach for Route Selection 152 6.1.1 Methodology for Selection of Route: Environmental View 152 6.2 Alternatives for Subproject Components 153 6.2.1 Transmission Lines 153 6.2.2 GIS Substations 153 6.2.3 Reasons for the final selection 154 7.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 159 7.1 Information Disclosure 159 7.2 Consultation and Participation 159 7.3 Consultation Details 159 8.0 GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 167 8.1 The Grievance Redress Mechanism 167 8.2 Formation of GRC 167 8.2.1 GRC at GCC, Madurai 168 8.2.2 GRC at TANTRANSCO Headquarters 168 8.3 Grievance Redress Process 168 8.3.1 GRC Record Keeping 169 9.0 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 171 9.1 Mitigation 171 9.1.1 Critical Environmental Review Criteria 171 9.1.2 Emergency Response, Disaster Management, Health and Safety 171 9.1.3 Training Programs 172 9.1.4 Climate Risks Adaptation Measures 174 9.1.5 Environmental Management Plan 175 9.2 Monitoring 216 9.2.1 Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMoP) 216 9.2.2 Performance indicators 223 9.2.3 Reporting 224 9.2.4 Environmental Management Plan Budget Costs 224 9.3 Institutional arrangements 225 9.3.1 Implementation Plan 225 9.3.2 Implementation Arrangements 229 9.3.3 Project Implementation Organizations: Roles and Responsibilities 230 10.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 237 List of Tables Table 1: Proposed Capacities to be installed i Table 2: CKIC Subprojects 2 Table 3: Project Investment Plan ($ million) 3 Table 4: Project Financing Plan ($ million) 3 Table 5: Indian Regulations as Applicable for the project 5 Table 6: Acts and Rules Pertaining to Forest Protection in Tamil Nadu 8 Table 7: Indian Policies related to project 8 Table 8: Environment Safeguards Categorization: Definition 12 Table 9: List of Subprojects in CKIC power sector project in Tamil Nadu 16 Table 10: Different locations of proposed subprojects 17 Table 11: Location Details of substations, and transmission line from Grid Substations to other substations or LILO points 20 Table 12: Details of Substation Land Area and Coordinates 21 Table 13: Equipment at S1: Virudhunagar 765 kV Substation 21 Table 14: S1-Virudhunagar (2x1500MVA) 22 Table 15: Equipment at S2: Ottapidaram Substation 23 Table 16: S2- Ottapidaram (2x500MVA) + (2x200MVA) 24 Table 17: S3.1-400 kV bays at Kamuthi substation 25 Table 18: S3.2-400 kV bays at Kayathar substation 27 Table 19: S3.3- 110 kV bay at Vijayapuri substation 28 Table 20: T1.1: 765 kV double circuit Virudhunagar - Coimbatore transmission line 30 Table 21: T1.2 - 400 kV double circuit line Virudhunagar – Kayathar transmission line 30 Table 22: T1.3 - 400 kV double circuit line in and out at Virudhunagar for Kamuthi to Thappangundu details 30 Table 23: T2.1 - 400 kV double circuit line Ottapidaram - Udangudi transmission line details 31 Table 24: T2.2 - 400 kV double circuit line Ottapidaram - Kamuthi transmission line details 31 Table 25: T2.3 - 230 kV double circuit line in and out at Ottapidaram for Sipcot - Kavanoor line details 31 Table 26: T2.4 - 230 kV double circuit line in and out at Ottapidaram for Sipcot - Savasapuram line details 32 Table 27: T2.5 - 110 kV double circuit line in and out at Ottapidaram for Ottapidaram - Eppothumvendran details 32 Table 28: T2.6 - 110 kV single circuit line Ottapidaram - Vijayapuri details 32 Table 29: T2.7 - 110 kV single circuit line in and out at Ottapidaram for TTN Auto - T-off Sipcot line details 33 Table 30: List of Classifications in Tamil Nadu 38 Table 31: Distribution of rainfall range in various districts 2015-16 38 Table 32: Temperature at selected stations in Tamil Nadu 2005-06 (in Celsius) 39 Table 33: Classification of Tamil Nadu Soils 41 Table 34: River Basins ground water potential 45 Table 35: Locations for Monitoring 48 Table 36: Baseline Air Quality collected in February 2019 50 Table 37: Baseline Noise Monitoring data collected in Feb 2019 51 Table 38: Baseline Surface Water Quality collected in February 2019 52 Table 39: Forest Cover within and outside Recorded Forest Area 54 Table 40: District Wise Forest Cover (area in sq.km) 55 Table 41: Wildlife Sanctuaries, Bird Sanctuaries and National Parks in Tamil Nadu 58 Table 42: Important Wetlands of Tamil Nadu 62 Table 43: Area under Coastal Ecosystems in Tamil Nadu (in Square Kilometres) 64 Table 44: Ecologically Important Sites in Tamil Nadu 64 Table 45: Key Features of Tamil Nadu 66 Table 46: Important Mineral Deposits in Tamil Nadu in 2014-15 69 Table 47: Thermal Power Plant Emissions in Tamil Nadu 71 Table 48: Ports in Tamil Nadu and Total Cargo Handled in 2011-12 and 2012-13 73 Table 49: Distance from various