Consultancy Services for Undertaking Environmental Assessment for the Rural Water

Supply & Sanitation Project in Assam

March 2013

Executive Summary

Submitted By:

IPE Global Pvt. Ltd.

(Formerly Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise (P) Ltd.) Address: IPE Towers, B-84, Defence Colony,

Bhisham Pitamah Marg, New Delhi – 110024, India

Tel: +91-11-40755920, 40755923; Fax: +91-11-24339534

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Background

Assam is one of the seven North Eastern states of India and has a total surface area of 78,438 Square

Kilometre. The State includes the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys along with the Karbi

Anglong and the N C Hills. Although, Assam receives abundant rainfall and has a large river network,

complex environmental factors like geology, seismicity, precipitation variability, changing land use,

and population pressures create constraints on the State’s water resources. This, together with

insufficient and unreliable hydro meteorological data; creates tremendous challenges for planning

and management of the State’s water resources.

According to the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), there are a number of states

with less than 10 % coverage of rural households with piped water supply and are lagging behind in

many service parameters related to water and sanitation. To assist the lagging states, the Ministry of

Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS), Government of India (GoI) has developed a program for

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation for Lagging States (RWSS-LS)1 with World Bank assistance. In

general, laggard states face constraints in institutional and technical capacity at the block and gram

panchayat levels for implementing sustainable rural water supply projects. They also face constraints

in involving communities and panchayats in planning, implementing and managing their own

drinking water supply schemes. Other concerns include the need to strengthen the capacities of the

State Rural Water Supply Departments to support and implement decentralized programes and

improve operation and maintenance of schemes. Some areas also face problems of availability of

safe water sources. In Assam projects under the RWSSP-LS will include few Large Multi Village Water

Supply Scheme (LMVS). These projects will also be including programmes related to improved water

quality monitoring as well as health & hygiene education.

There are four components envisaged under this project. These are, Component 1: Technical

Assistance (TA) for States and Panchayati Raj Institutes (PRIs) to prepare detailed RWSS program.

Component 2: Development of improved and sustainable piped water supply and sanitation systems.

Component 3: Capacity building for RWSS institutions for improved governance, operations and

finance. Component 4: Capacity building for Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS)

for increasing Ministry’s overall capacity for planning and managing the RWSS program . It will

including strengthening the National Resource Centre, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and

independent reviews of the sector program.

A total of 7 districts of Assam’s 27 Districts will be covered under this project. Seven projects, one in

each project district, will cover 16 Blocks, either fully or partially, thereby serving about 13,06,133

people living in 1275 villages. It is envisaged that all the projects will be large multi -village, using

surface water - rivers, as sources. The seven districts are Bongaigaon, Morigaon, Kamrup, Sonitpur,

Jorhat, Sibsagar and Hailakandi. The budget estimated for the water supply and sanitation schemes

is INR 1422 crores (263.09 Million USD).

1 RWSS-LS now termed as Rural Water Supply and Sanitation – Low Income States (RWSS-LIS)

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The Environmental Assessment and its Methodology

This Environmental Assessment (EA) has identified sector specific threats and issues associated with

planned RWSS schemes which are part of the project. Although, there are likely to be only a few and

mainly insignificant impacts from the project activities, the EA is to ensure that all likely impacts are

identified well in time with appropriate mitigation measures and adhere to the mandatory

understated, National legislations and World Bank safeguard policies.

The Assessment has used both primary and secondary data. This includes primary surveys , village

level discussions and consultations in 20 villages each for the 7 project districts. A total of 180

villages were covered through this process which has provided the report with primary data.. In each

survey village a sample size of 30-35 households were taken (5-10% representation of the entire

village population). Secondary data analysis includes water resources availability and utilization,

water quality and quantity concerns, demographic, socio economic and health issues, water supply

and sanitation coverage. Preliminary field visits to all project districts, covering 2-3 villages per

project areas including site visits to proposed intake points were also undertaken.

The Environmental Assessment has been divided into two volumes. Volume I consists of a chapter

each on study background, objectives, approach and methodology; relevant state and national

policies, World Bank safeguards and programmes and institutional systems; the environmental

status and baseline for the State and an analysis of the primary data. The last chapter of this volume

is the Environmental Management Framework, which identifies the key environmental issues and

their mitigation and management actions. It also explains the environmental safeguard practices to

be followed for the projects; the institutional mechanism and capacity needs for the implementation

of EMF. This section also identifies the screening process and tools for subprojects. Volume II of the

report is the annexures which include the Environmental Code of Practices (ECoPs), project Terms of

Reference (ToR), project details for each scheme and details of the primary data collected and public

consultations.

Status of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in Assam

Assam is still dependent on water from rains, streams and shallow aquifers for drinking and other

domestic purposes. Access to safe drinking water and the status of sanitation and hygiene in Assam

is much below the National average. Comparisons indicate that the percent of rural population in

Assam dependent on hand pumps for their drinking water is higher than the national average.

However the proportion of population having treated source is much lower, while those using

uncovered well is much higher than rural India as a whole. An Approximate 18.5% of the state’s

population is covered with piped water supply schemes.

Environment Safeguard Requirements for the Project

From the Environment Perspective, the World Bank’s Operational Policies (OP) relevant for this

project are (i) OP 4.01 Environmental Assessment, (ii) OP 4.04 Natural Habitats and (iii) OP 4.36

Forests. (i) OP 4.01 – Environmental Assessment. This states that an Environment Assessment (EA)

are to be conducted for all projects that fall into either World Bank Category A or Category B. (ii) OP

4.04 - Natural Habitats, The conservation of natural habitat is essential and thus to ensure their

protection during various project cycle, the Environment Management Plan (EMP) should be

included for all project schemes. Appropriate mitigation measures are suggested under the

Environment Management Framework (EMF) to ensure safeguard and their compliance, and are

supported by the ECoPs given in the Annexure.

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Summary of Environment Safeguard Requirements for the Project

Safeguard No Safeguard Description Application of Safeguard to Project OP 4.01

(Environmental Assessment).

EA to be conducted for all projects that

fall into either World Bank Category A or Category B. Potential environmental consequences of projects identified early in project

cycle. EAs and mitigation plans required for projects with significant environmental

impacts. EAs should include analysis of alternative designs and sites, or consideration of "no option"

Requires public participation and information disclosure before Board approval.

Triggered: The projects support the preparation

of RWSS infrastructure, some of which may have adverse environmental impacts. The EMF will help identify these potential impacts, and propose practical ways of avoiding

or mitigating them.

OP 4.04 (Natural Habitats)

The conservation of natural habitat is essential for long- term sustainable development.

The Bank does not support projects that involve significant conservation or degradation of critical natural habitats.

Prohibits financing of projects involving "significant conversion of natural habitats unless there are no feasible

alternatives". Requires environmental cost benefit analysis. Requires EA with mitigation measures.

Triggered: Assam has number of natural habitats in the reserved, national forests, wetlands and lakes, etc. However, none of the reserved forest

or national parks, wetlands and lakes are fall ing within a ten km radius of the seven projects identified. Further, River itself is a big habitat for

aquatic l ife and care must be taken at the time of water intake to safeguard especially the endangered species. A negative l ist is provided in the screening section to ensure exclusion of

ecologically sensitive areas. Also, all changes in project design right from the planning stage should identify any potential

impacts of projects on natural habitats, reserves or protected areas, and to develop appropriate mitigation measures to minimize or avoid

damage, or compensate for it under EMP prepared for Category II projects .

OP 4.36

(Forests).

World Bank’s lending operations in the

forest sector are conditional on government commitment to undertake sustainable management and

conservation-oriented forestry. Prohibits financing for commercial logging operations or acquisition of equipment for use in primary moist

tropical forests.

Triggered: Given the present plan, no acquisition

is expected from reserved or protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries or national park under all seven schemes

Also, the project is for the development of RWSS schemes; therefore it does not include any commercial logging. However, any future changes in project areas or

design may also need to be reviewed for the application of the OP 4.36 given the high forest cover in the state. Under such circumstances, Government of India (GOI) as well as state

governments has well laid out rules and procedures for making use of fores t lands for non-forest purposes, which are provided for, in

the ECoPs. Also, any required fell ing of trees in the social forest or non-forest areas is to be carried with the permission of the Forest Department and in

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accordance with guidelines for compensatory

afforestation. OP 7.50 (Projects in

International Waterways).

If a project has the potential to negatively affect the quality or quantity

of water of a waterway shared with other nations the Bank will need a negotiated agreement be established

between riparian nations involved. Covers riparian waterways that form boundary between two or more states and bays, gulfs, straits or channels

bordered by two or more states. Applies to dams, irrigation, flood control, navigation, water, sewage and industrial

projects. Requires notification, agreement between states, detailed maps, and feasibil ity surveys.

Not Triggered. In accordance with OP 7.50 (International Waterways) this is seen that the

proposed project falls within the exceptions to the notification requirement under Para 7(a) of the Policy. The project components in the context

and relation to OP 7.50, will not adversely change the quality and quantity of water, both upstream and downstream and will not be adversely affected by the water use of the riparian

countries.

Baseline environment Data on Water Availability and Quality

Assam has two major river valleys – the Brahmaputra and Barak. Surface water sources include river,

stream, lake, swamps and ponds. Ground water is available at low to moderate depths almost in the

entire state. Although, there is seasonal and regional variation in the availability of water resources,

the annual availability of water resource over the past century has remained almost same. However,

in the last two decades, the use of ground water has been growing at a fast rate. With the increase

of per capita consumption of water in domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors, there has been

recorded reduction in the potential per capita availability of ground water. Also, due to the geology

of Gangetic-Brahmaputra river basin, levels of arsenic have increased over the years in the ground

water and when tested, a number of aquifers in Assam are found contaminated with Arsenic.

Contamination from poor sanitary practices has also deteriorated the groundwater quality.

Assam is rich in biodiversity with a large number of forests, wetlands, river systems, and wildlife.

Manas National Park, Kaziranga National Park and Garbhanga Reserve Forest are close to the project

areas, though it is unlikely that projects will be undertaken in these reserves. Assam has six

protected areas of which two falls in the project district, Kamrup and Sonitpur. Suitable measures

are identified under the EMF and recommended to be undertaken during project appraisal stage

through comprehensive EMPs and ECoPs, to minimise impacts, if any.

Public Consultations and focus group discussions

Public Consultations for the project were held in February 2013, which included disclosure of project

plans and probable environmental impacts. The consultations are detailed in Annexure 1.12. The key

issues identified through the consultation plan are as follows:

A) Existing:

1. Water Quality: Some of the ground water sources are affected by iron, arsenic and fluoride.

2. Water Availability: Some of the Piped Water Supply Schemes (PWSS) have become

dysfunctional due to drying up of ground water sources, especially in Kamrup, Sonitpur and

Morigaon. There are very few house hold connections and most villagers source their

domestic water from community stand posts.

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B) Proposed Concerns:

1. Need for regular supply and monitoring of water quality was voiced in the villages.

2. Transmission issues - Network design. A need to take consent from the villagers while laying

the piped network was highlighted during the meeting.

3. Operation and Maintenance was also highlighted in the meetings.

Key findings from the overall assessment of the project areas

▫ Water quality for both surface and ground water sources may be impacted due to existing

economic activities, such as; oil refineries, agriculture, tea estates and sand mining, in the state.

▫ Water supply networks may be impacted by (i) erosion of land and landslides damaging the

network, and (ii) landslides and other degradation of hills resulting in pump houses and other

infrastructure being damaged or destroyed due to the degradation.

▫ Floods and river bank erosion may impact water quality around intakes severely. However,

floods can also impact other project infrastructure like (i) damage or destruction of the intakes

along the rivers; (ii) flood waters entering toilets resulting in contamination of surface and

groundwater systems; and (iii) damage hand pumps as well as water entering shallow aquifers

through hand pumps during floods may pollute these reserves.

▫ Possible impact from wildlife corridors and impact on ecological resources during the

construction phase of the project, and may need to be considered during the project design and

construction activities.

▫ There are a number of vector and water borne diseases in the project area. These include

diarrhoeal diseases, cholera and malaria. Cases of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis

syndrome have also been noted in a few of the project districts.

▫ Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in some areas are poorly managed with leakages, poor drainage

and inadequate waste disposal facilities. Poor management of the disinfection such as chlorine

tablets or bleaching powder, results in inadequate treatment prior to distribution, as observed,

for the existing Piped Water Supply Systems (PWSS).

▫ Poor personal hygiene and environmental sanitation in all project villages visited was a concern.

▫ Overall there is low open defecation except in Bongaigaon District. However, it was observed

that Kutccha toilets, which are prevalent in all seven project districts, are not always spaced at

an appropriate distance from hand pumps. This may have serious implication on the quality of

water and diseases like diarrhoea, Japanese encephalitis, cholera, etc., found to be prevalent in

some of the project districts, can be attributed to the contamination of shallow aquifers.

▫ There is no systematic solid waste management system in the project areas, with waste either

burnt or buried as a means of disposal.

▫ There is little evidence of a systematic waste water disposal system in villages visited with many

areas having mud roads without any drains constructed alongside.

Environmental Impacts

Overall there are expected to be a number of positive impacts from the project. However, a few

adverse impacts were identified as a part of project design, construction and operation and

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maintenance activities. Major adverse impacts highlighted above through key findings during each

project cycle are listed below.

Major design related impacts

▫ Excess water in the project area with inadequate drainage provision and sanitation facilities

resulting in water logging, soil toxicity and increased vector habitats.

▫ Inadequately identified waste disposal system resulting in spillage and unsanitary waste

dumping.

▫ Damage to infrastructure due to landslides, flooding, etc., due to poor location of infrastructure

or poorly identified borrow sites.

▫ Poorly identified project sites – resulting in destruction or damage of natural habitats, either

terrestrial or aquatic. Two important aquatic species exist near the project sites – the Gangetic

Dolphin in River Brahmaputra at Jorhat and the Indian Gaharial in River Dikhow.

▫ Introduction of alien species due to project plantation activities may lead to degradation of the

local environment.

▫ Poorly designed management plan, resulting in damage to locally significant cultural areas or

archaeological sites.

Further, adverse Impacts on water quality, natural habitats, cultural or heritage sites, etc., may occur

due to wrong selection of sites for intake, WTP and transmission line locations. Care must be taken

while selecting appropriate sites, ensuring they are at a safe distance from protected forest, animal

corridors, heritage sites, wetlands, flood prone areas, tea estate, or downstream of oil refinery,

waste disposal, etc. However, if the selection cannot be avoided, especially in case of flood prone

areas, all mitigation measures should be effectively taken to minimize adverse impacts both on the

project and on the ecology.

Major construction related impacts

▫ Poor site management at all construction and material procurement sites leading to waste

dumping, toxicity and accidents.

▫ Health and safety concerns of labour due to poor site management, lack of facilities and

inadequate safety measures for labour.

▫ Disturbance to local population from construction sites – noise and air pollution, inadequate

safety measures, excess traffic, competing resource needs for labour and local population, and

use of local lands for construction material and labour camps.

▫ Disturbance to local fauna and flora due to excess removal of fauna and flora during site

clearance. Further, construction during migratory season, leading to disturbance in their routes,

or procurement of material from ecological sensitive areas in Sonitpur, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Kamrup

and Hailakandi district which have number of reserve forest, wetlands, national parks, etc.

▫ Damage to existing infrastructure due to construction activities.

Major operation and maintenance related impacts

▫ Poor management of the WTP and Rain Water Harvesting Systems (RWHS) resulting in

contamination of water, increase in waterlogging and vector habitats, as well as leading to

damage of existing infrastructure and cultural property.

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▫ Poor management of water treatment chemicals as well as heavy equipment’s resulting in

accidents, especially for workers at the WTP, intakes or floating barges.

▫ Inadequate finances or skills resulting in poor management of systems.

Based on the impact assessment, a number of Environmental Code of Practices (ECoPs) has been

identified in the migration plan. These ECoPs include guidelines for Sanitary Protection of Water

Supply Sources, Sustainability of Ground water Sources, Selection of Safe Sanitation Technologies,

Environmental Considerations in Location of Toilets, Construction Practice and Pollution Safeguards

for Twin Pit Pour Flush Latrines, Guidelines for Safe Sullage Disposal at Household and Community

Levels, Guidelines for Drainage Management in Villages, Guidelines for Community Solid Waste

Management, Sullage and biodegradable waste be managed in a non-polluting manner, exclusion

list and negative list of activities as well as the General building safety provisions are incorporated

under the Annexures.

Environment Management Framework

Environmental Management Framework (EMF) essentially consists of Environmental Screening,

Environmental Assessment (EA), Environmental Management Planning and monitoring of

compliance with the plan of actions recommended for mitigating environmental risks. The

Environmental Screening was carried out under this assessment to determine the appropriate

environmental category for the proposed projects. Based on the outcome of screening, an

Environmental Assessment (EA) respective to the attached environmental category will be applied

for each proposals. The PHED as recommended in the Environment Data Sheets (EDS) will be

responsible for carrying out the required EA and for confirming that any clearances necessary for the

proposed RWSS projects are obtained from the relevant authorities as prescribed by the national

and state legislations which should also meet with the World Bank procedures as described in the

EA/EMF document. Once the EA is performed and recommendations incorporated into the sub -

project, the project can be appraised and sanctioned. Depending on the environmental category, the

package would include one of the following: a) a full scale Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

and an Environmental Management Plan (EMP), b) Environmental Management Plan (EMP), c) a

simplified environmental assessment, so called EMP checklist, or d) a justified statement that no EA

are required. To ensure that environmental management is an integral part of project activities, the

EMF needs to be incorporated in the project and scheme’s management. The following are the

components of EMF, elaborated under the EA/EMF Report.

1. Collection of Basic Environmental Data: To ensure adequate and proper identification of local

needs and monitoring of RWSS projects, the EMF needs environmental data for each scheme. To do

this and ensure a standard format for the project, an Environmental Data Sheet (EDS) for schemes

on water supply, sanitation, solid and liquid waste management, will be made available through the

EA/EMF document. The Assistant Executive Engineer/Executive Engineer (AEE/EE - for each district)

of the scheme fills up the EDS in consultation with the GPWSCs, Gram Panchayat or other local civil

society organisations who are involved in the project.

2. Environmental Classification of Schemes: At the Detailed Scheme Report (DSR) preparation stage,

the available environmental information in the EDS will be evaluated and based on the level of

expected environmental and public health impacts, the proposed scheme would be classified as

either Category I (basic) or Category II (detailed environmental appraisal required). The overall in

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charge for the identification of the environmental classification of schemes with the help of the

screening tool is the responsibility of the EE (District) of each scheme.

3. Environmental Appraisal and Approval: For all category I schemes, there shall be no separate

environment appraisal other than filling up of EDS included in the DSR. For category II schemes, a

detailed environmental appraisal of the proposed scheme is required. This will be done by the EE

and his team who is in charge of the scheme. This team can be supported by the state level

environmental expert attached to PMU, for any technical help required. The environmental

appraisal for category II schemes shall not take more than 30 days. The DPR of Category I schemes

should be accompanied by the Environmental Data Sheet (EDS). The DPR for Category II schemes

should be accompanied by the Environmental Data Sheet (EDS) and the Category II environmental

appraisal. The EE of the RWSS will ensure this. All documentation will be finally checked for

consistency and quality by the PMU environmental specialist.

4. Environmental Compliance Monitoring during Implementation and O&M phases: The EMF will

ensure the following; i) the prescribed environmental mitigation measures (including construction

stage measures) as identified through the environmental appraisal process are adequately

implemented. The Implementation Completion Report of each scheme will include an Environmental

Compliance Certificate given by the GPWSC/GP or other identified appropriate authority. ii)

Monitoring and Supervision: There will be periodic supervision and monitoring conducted to ensure

compliance to the EMF and identification of any additional concerns that may have risen since. Iii)

Capacity building needs to be undertaken to ensure the proper execution of the EMF. It has been

noted that some issues of poor management of systems at the local level can be rectified by training

and capacity building activities. iv) IEC for the management of water, sanitation, environmental

sanitation, drainage etc., will be needed at the local level. This is imperative to ensure the proper

management of village sanitation and reduce health burden from water and sanitation related

diseases.

Implementation through Institutional System and Capacity Building

The implementation of the EMF is to be done through a series of different actors. At the state level

the State Project Management Unit (SPMU) will have an environmental specialist who has the

overall responsibility for the implementation of the project’s EMF. At the scheme level the actual

implementation will be the responsibility of the scheme Executive Engineer’s along with his staff.

Day to day running of the scheme will be the responsibility of the GPWSC/VWSCs or whoever is

identified as the appropriate authority, depending upon the area. The Assistant Executive Engineers

and Assistant Engineers will be overall in charge for the completion of the Environmental Data

Sheets (EDS), and will receive support from the support organizations for the project, who would be

local agencies working in the sector in the area.

To ensure the appropriate implementation of the EMF the EA has also identified a capacity building

programme. The major areas of capacity building are:

▫ Awareness on World Bank environmental procedures, monitoring and EMP needs and

compliance to WB safeguards.

▫ O&M for systems.

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▫ Refreshers programme awareness training, on World Bank environmental procedures and

compliance needs.

▫ Environmental Management – on environmental sanitation, sanitation and hygiene.

▫ Environmental Awareness and Sensitization for project beneficiaries.

▫ Quality Construction Practices for Artisans.

▫ Training for Water quality monitoring & sanitary surveys.

Training Approach and Programmes

Systematic capacity building initiatives are to be introduced only after completion of Training Needs

Assessment (TNA). The training will be in the cascade mode. All the trained staff and others will in

turn conduct further trainings at state, district, block and GP levels, depending upon their roles.

However, since capacity building goes beyond mere imparting training, institutionalization of best

practices becomes a prerequisite for improved service delivery. The training programme should be

based on the felt need, relevance and principle of sustainability as well as the recommendations

from the Training Need Assessment workshops. An enabling condition should be created for stake

holders to understand and implement programmes on rural drinking water and sanitation (as per

NRDWP guidelines). Special emphasis needs to be given to participatory techniques, community

facilitation and communication skills and gender based approaches. The number of suggested

training programs is presented in table below.

Number of Training Programs

About 40 to 50 trainees would participate in each of the training programs. It is intended that these

trained persons will in turn provide onsite training to PHED staff, SOs, GPWSCs, NGOs, Contractor

staff, etc. onsite at village level.

Sl No Training Topic Number of trainings

1 T 1 - Environmental Management Framework 25

2 T2 - Environmental Management 44

3 T3 - Environmental Awareness and Sensitization 44

4 T4 - Quality Construction Practices for Artisans 44

5 Total 157