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Environmental Monitoring Report

First Semiannual Report (2011) March 2012

Bhutan: Road Network Project II Prepared by Sheladia Associate Inc. USA in association with Gyeltshen Consultancy, Bhutan for the Department of Roads, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement and the Asian Development Bank.

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CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 30 March 2012)

Currency unit – Ngultrum (Nu) Nu1.00 = $0.0195102917

$1.00 = Nu51.255000

ABBREVIATIONS

ADB – Asian Development Bank

CSC – construction supervision consultant DEC – District Environment Committee

DGM Department of Geology and Mines DOF Department of Forest DOR Department of Roads EC environmental clearance EFRC environment-friendly road construction EIA environmental impact assessment EMP environmental management plan

ES Environment Specialist IEE initial environmental examination

MOHCA Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs NCD Nature Conservation Division NEC National Environment Commission NRDCL Natural Resource Development Corporation Limited NWF National Work Force OHS occupational health and safety PC Project Coordinator PM Project Manager PMO Project Management Office RGOB Royal Government of Bhutan RNP Road Network Project ROW right-of-way STCBL State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Limited

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES km – kilometer

NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars

This environmental monitoring report 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. 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.

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CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1

A. Background .......................................................................................................... 1

B. Overview of Environmental Monitoring Report ..................................................... 1

II. COMPLIANCE ON ENVIRONMENT SAFEGUARDS REQUIREMENTS ........................ 0

III. PROJECT STATUS ........................................................................................................ 1

A. Changes in project scope ..................................................................................... 1

B. Project Schedule and Progress ............................................................................ 1

C. Project Clearances ............................................................................................... 2

IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN. ............................ 3

A. NH-01 (MANITAR-RAIDAK) ................................................................................. 4

B. NH-02 (RAIDAK-LHAMIOZINGKHA) ................................................................... 6

C. NH-03, NH04 and FR-02 ...................................................................................... 8

D. NH-05 (SAMDUPCHOLING-SAMRANG) ............................................................. 8

E. FR-01 (TSEBAR-MIKURI Km 0+000 to Km 20+600) ......................................... 11

V. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ACTIVITIES ........................................................... 13

VI. KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ................................................................................. 14

VII. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 14

Appendixes: 1. Tour Report 20 2. Site Photographs 22 3. Environmental Clearances 25

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background

1. Five Kings of the Wangchuck dynasty have governed the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan since 1907, delivering the nation from primitive conditions to a vibrant modern state in very short span of time. Development accelerated only from the introduction of 5 Year Plans from 1961 and the first road construction in the kingdom started under the dynamic guidance of the third King His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Furthermore, the kingdom witnessed unprecedented peace and progress under the benevolent and wise reign of the

2. Peerless fourth King His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who ushered in unparalleled development with the concept of Gross National happiness. The development philosophy promoted by the Wangchuck dynasty in general and the fourth King in particular has been largely responsible for the kingdom’s emphasis on preserving its environment. Bhutan, therefore, has historically been well known for protection of her environment. The kingdom still continues to spend about a quarter of its budget on the globally known for her respect and protection of rich nature.

3. To ensure that the advent of democracy, initiated from the throne, in 2008 does not lead to unmitigated development and exploitation of her natural resources, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, a gift to the people of Bhutan from the fourth King, mandates maintaining 60% of the country areas under forest coverage. More than a quarter of the country is protected nature preserved.

4. The implementation of Road Network Project-II (RNP-II) is no exception. The project, which is being implemented to alleviate poverty in the kingdom, is committed to identifying all negative environmental and social impacts and mitigating these influences. RNP II includes five segments of National Highway totaling 132.60 km and two Feeder Roads totaling 55 km, providing easier means of communication and transportation within Kingdom. Construction of the National Highways will contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the local communities and the country in general. The project has minimal adverse on social and environment impacts; its contributions to the socio-economic growth of its immediate vicinity.

5. The Road Network Project–II is located in five Dzongkhags (Districts) namely, Chhukha, Dagana, Zhemgang, Pema Gatshel and Samdrupjongkhar. In consideration of its clean and safe environment, Bhutan is party to twelve multilateral environmental agreements including those on biodiversity, climate change, climate change-Kyoto protocol, desertification, endangered species and hazardous wastes. Those with particular have relevance to the Roads Network Project II includes the most importantly:

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Instrument of accession signed on 26 August 2002, and a member after Kyoto came into force from 2005.

UN Convention on Biological Diversity signed 11 June 1992 and ratified 25 August 1995.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Instrument of accession signed on 2 August 2002, ratified in 2004.

B. Overview of Environmental Monitoring Report

6. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided a grant of about $ 38.760 million to the Government of Bhutan (RGoB). RGOB’s contribution to the project is $15.56 million. The Project is aimed at improving the transport efficiency on the trunk road network and to

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expand accessibility in rural areas which will contribute both to expansion of economic opportunities and reduce poverty in the rural areas. It has two components 1) upgrading/widening and 2) formation cutting. Details of the project components are provided in Table 1 and the location map of the project roads is provided in Figure 2

7. This report presents the findings and results of the implementation of the Environment Management Plan (EMP) for the Bhutan Road Network Project-II (ADB Project Number 39225). The investigative process involves characterizing activities related to development of the proposed roadways and predicting impacts on environmental resources. This report is a presentation of the findings resulting from this process. It is the first Environmental Monitoring Report (EMR) prepared for the project covering the period of October 2011 to March 2012. Mitigation measures are proposed for potential impacts and impacts that cannot be avoided, and within the context of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

Table 1: Roadway Segments under the National Roads Project - II

No. Segment name Length

(km) Type Activity Dzongkhag

1 Manitar – Raidak 35 NH Upgrade Chhukha 2 Raidak - Lhamoizingkha 18 NH New Dagana 3 Tsebar - Mikuri-Durungri 55 FR New Pemagatshel

4 Panbang – Nganglam 30.6 NH New

Zhemgang, Pemagatshel

25 NH Upgrade Pemagatshel

5 Samdrupcholing - Samrang 24 NH New Samdrup-Jongkhar

187.60 Total Road length

132.60 Total National Highway

55 Total Feeder Road

8. The Project is managed by Project Coordinator (PC) who is assisted by two Deputy Project coordinators (DPCs) and three Project Managers (PMs). Further to assist in project implementation in construction supervision and monitoring, a separate construction supervision consultant (CSC) which headed by Team Leader (TL) followed by three Resident Engineers (REs) Material Engineer (ME), Sociologist, Environmental Specialist (ES) and Site Inspectors (SIs) have been recruited. The ES under CSC team carryout the environment monitoring of the project on a regular basis and the contractor engineers of respective construction sites and CSC Site Inspectors are involved daily. The contractors are made obligatory to submit proposed and implemented Environmental Management Plan (EMP) every month along with work plan. This ensures the contractor to prepare their own EMP for the safeguard of the environment while carrying out the construction activities. Likewise the CSC compiles the work status of the entire project and produces the monthly progress report which includes a section on implementation of the environmental management plans. Monitoring implementation of environment safeguard requirements was initiated as soon as the construction activities began in October 2011. Since this project is an Environment Category project under ADB’s safeguards categorization system, environmental monitoring reports are required to be prepared on a biannual basis. The current report covers the period of October 2011 to March 2012.

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Figure 1: Staff Organisation Chart

9. Further, the Road Network Project activities have been subjected to an external monitoring by various parties such as Dzongkhag (district) Environment officer, Dzongkhag (district) Environmental committee, Forest officials, Local Government Officials and the National Environment Commission (NEC). The Dzongkhag (district) Environmental Officer is the focal person for environment at Dzongkhag (district) level, is involved in environmental monitoring of the Project regularly.

10. With the above institutional arrangements made under the RNP-II, the implementation of RGoB’s environmental conditions and the application of ADB’s environmental safeguards policies and compliances have been ensured while carrying out the road construction project.

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Figure 2: Location of Project Roads

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II. COMPLIANCE ON ENVIRONMENT SAFEGUARDS REQUIREMENTS

11. The table below outlines the status of compliance of the Project to project covenants pertaining to environment safeguards.

Table 2: Environment Covenant of ADB

Environment Covenants Compliance

The Recipient shall implement all mitigation measures included

in the EIA reports in accordance with the Royal Bhutan

Environmental policy as well as ADB's Environment policy.

DoR shall consult on a continuing basis with the park managers

of national parks on the locations for construction campsites, hot

mix and crushing plants, and disposal, and handling of spoiled

materials.

DoR shall incorporate the EIA reports including EMP in bidding

documents and civil works contracts, update them if necessary in

course of Project implementation with prior approval of ADB,

and ensure that contractors implement the required mitigation

measures and EMP as described in the reports.

DoR shall ensure that all conditions attached to the clearances

will be implemented and monitored.

DoR shall promptly mitigate and minimize any adverse impact

on the environment that may arise from the Project

implementation in accordance with the EMP.

DoR shall undertake environmental monitoring plan and submit

semiannual reports to ADB and relevant agencies on the

implementation of EMP as part of the progress report on project

implementation.

The Recipient shall report to ADB any change on alignment or

project component after the environmental assessment report

was approved to allow a consideration on whether additional

environmental assessment study is required.

Complied

Complied

Being complied with

Being complied with

Being complied with

Being complied with

Will be complied

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III. PROJECT STATUS

A. Changes in project scope

12. There will be some changes in road alignment in NH-01 (Km. 22-23) & NH-02 ( Km 13-13+500); the ground work (survey) is under process, once the survey of road alignments are finalised, it will be mention in upcoming reports. B. Project Schedule and Progress

13. The construction work was started on 1st October 2011 and the completion date of the Road Network Projects-II is planned for 31st December 2014. The status of progress under each contract package is given in table 2. Pictures to demonstrate the progress are also provided in appendix 2. Details of the environment performance review for the project is presented in the following sections.

Table 2: Detail of contract packages and work status

SL No.

Package

No.

Section

Length (Km)

Contractor

Work Status as of February

2012

1. NH-01 Manitar-Raidak 35 M/s Nima and

Abudhaya JV

-First cutting = 1.5 km -Back cutting = 0. 5 km -Jungle cutting = 24.5 km

2. NH-02 Raidak-

Lhamoizingkha

18 M/s Gyeldron

Venture JV

- First cutting = 4.0km

- Back cutting = 2.0 km

- Jungle cutting = 8.0 km

3. NH-03 Pangbang-

Nganglam

25 M/S Marushin

Shitaka

Construction

Company Inc.

Japan

Yet to start

4. NH-04 Nganglam-

Pangbang

30.6 -do- Yet to start

5. FR-02 Mikuri-Durungri 33.90 -do- Yet to start

6. NH-05 Samdrupcholing-

Samrang

24.25 M/s. CDCL -First cutting = 12.4 km

-Back cutting = 12 km

-Jungle cutting =13 km

7. FR-01 Tsebar-Mikuri 20.60 M/s Rigsar-

Kalika JV

- First cutting = 0.78 km

- Back cutting = 0.3 km

- Jungle cutting = 1.4 km

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C. Project Clearances

14. Before the execution of civil works at all the construction sites, holder has to obtain the necessary environment clearances and forest royalty/permits from National Environment Commission and Department of Forest. The environment clearance issued by National Environment Commission, Thimphu under Royal Government of Bhutan, for the ongoing Road Network Project-II. The details of the environment clearances are given below and copies of the clearances are provided in appendix 3:

The environmental clearance for Manitar-Raidak, National Highway (NH-01) 35 Km, under Darla Gewog, Chhukha Dzongkhag was issued vid letter No. NEC/ESD/DOR/2125/2011/489 dated July 11, 2011. Environment Clearance is valid up to10 July 2012 and is subject to periodic review and changes.

The environmental clearance for Raidak-Lhamoizingkha, National Highway (NH-02) 18 Km, under Chhukha and Dagana Dzongkhag was issued vid letter No. NEC/ESD/DOR/2126/2011/1084 dated September 13, 2011. Environment Clearance is valid up to 12 August 2012 and is subject to periodic review and changes.

The environmental clearance for Samdrupcholing-Samrang, National Highway (NH-05) 24 Km, under Samdrupjongkhar Dzongkhag was issued vid letter No. NEC/ESD/DOR/2224/2011/1085 dated September 13, 2011. Environment Clearance is valid up to12 August 2012 and is subject to periodic review and changes.

The environmental clearance for Tsebar-Durungri, Feeder Road (FR-01) 54 Km, under Pemagatsel Dzongkhag was issued vid letter No. NEC/ESD/DOR/2335/2011/2385 dated 22 November, 2011. Environment Clearance is valid up to 22 August, 2012 and is subject to periodic review and changes.

Environment Clearance for Pangbang-Nganglam National Highway (NH-03&NH04) and Durungri-Mikuri (FR-02) are under process for approval from NEC.

Forest Clearances are approved by the Department of Forest under Ministry of Forest & Agriculture for the respective construction locations.

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IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.

15. Summary of the key environmental clauses in the contract documents is as follows:

Table 3: Summary of Key Environmental Clauses

Clause

National Provincial and Local Environmental laws.

The Contractor shall comply with the applicable national, provincial, and local environmental laws and regulations.

The Contractor shall (a) establish an operational system for managing environmental impacts, (b) carry out all of the monitoring and mitigation measures set forth in the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Monitoring Plan and allocate the budget required to ensure that such measures are carried out.

Labour laws The Contractor shall comply with all relevant (a) labour laws and regulations applicable to the Contractors personnel, including staff, consultants, contractors and agents, (b) workplace health and safety laws and (c) provide appropriate facilities for women and children in construction campsites. People directly affected by the project will be given priority to be employed by the project.

Forced or compulsory labour

The Contractor shall provide equal wages and benefits to men and women for work or equal value or type.

The Contractor shall not employ ''forced or compulsory labour'' in any form ''Forced or compulsory labour'' consists of all work or service, not voluntarily performed, that is extracted from an individual under threat of force or penalty.

Prohibition of harmful child labour

The Contractor shall not employ ''forced or compulsory labour'' in any form ''Forced or compulsory labour'' consists of all work or service, not voluntarily performed, that is extracted from an individual under threat of force or penalty.

Quarried and Spoil Dumps

The Contractor shall operate and maintained the Quarries and Spoils dumps in close consultation with the Project Manager and environmental Specialist.

Traffic Diversion The Contractor shall include the necessary safety procedures regarding traffic diversion or temporary road closures that are needed in execution of the works. The Contractor shall include in his costing of works, any temporary works or diversion that are needed during the construction period.

Employment of Local Personnel

The Contractor is encouraged, to the extent practicable and reasonable to employ staff and labour with appropriate qualifications and experience from sources within the project area.

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First Aid and Life Saving Apparatus

The Contractor shall provide on the Site such lifesaving apparatus as may be appropriate and an adequate and easily accessible first aid outfit or such outfits as may be required in any government ordinances factories acts etc. Subsequently published and amended from time to time.

Maintenance of Other Services and Structures.

The Contractor shall ascertain the location of all watercourses, irrigation channels, sewers, drains, water pipes, electricity and telecommunication cables and other services and structures which may be encountered during the execution of the works. He shall take proper care, temporarily support or divert and subsequently reinstate all such services and structures as necessary and to the satisfaction of the Project Manager.

Health and Safety The Contractor shall take due care and ensure that medical staff, first aid room are available at the camps, housing and on the Site at all times throughout the period of the Contract and that suitable arrangements are made for the prevention of epidemics and for all necessary welfare and hygiene requirements.

Routine Maintenance of Road and Reinstatement of Damages

The Contractor at own cost shall be responsible for the reinstatement of the damages to completed works (pavement, pavement surfacing, shoulder or any other works) caused due to contractor's poor routine maintenance of drains, drainage channels, culverts, shoulders, lacking clearance of obstructions such as landslides etc other than those occurred due to earthquake. The obligations to this requirement shall remain during construction and defects liability period in accordance with the provision of the contract.

A. NH-01 (MANITAR-RAIDAK)

16. NH-01 is the first part of the Manitar to Raidak widening and realignment in some section.

Total length of the road = 35 km

Length of Road widening = 1.5 km

Jungle cutting = 24.5 km

1. Site Clearance/Removal of Vegetation

17. Site clearance works, formation cutting and widening are the ongoing works at

construction site. There are two major rocky stretches for the NH-01 at Kezari chainage (15,100-15,300 Km) and Sonam slide chainage (22,100-22,300 km) with scanty vegetation covered. However, in the forest area, tree felling is limited within the road corridor only. Tree felling is done after the approval of forest permits.

2. Earthwork, Excavation, and Soil Disposal

18. 13,700 cubic meters of earth and about 750 cubic meters of rocks has excavated from the road construction. Of the total earth excavated 25,000 cubic has been disposed to the

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designated dumpsites. However, excavated rocks are stockpile along the road sites which will be used for the construction with minimal wastage.

3. Handling and Use of Blasting Material

19. So far approximately 650.75 kg of blasting materials has been used on rocky rock cutting. Blasting materials/explosives were transported with an official of escort of RBP to construction site. The designated store in-charge takes care of storing, recording and issuing of the blasting materials. 20. Controlled blasting operations are carried-out during daytime with appropriate prior warnings particularly near the human settlements. Local people are informed through Gewog administration and announcements are made in National media about the road safety and traffic. There are no complain from the locals on blasting activities and it is carried out in-line with the Rules and Regulation of Home and Culture Affairs.

4. Quarry, Borrow Pits, Stockpiles, and Dumping Site

21. For NH-01, no quarries have been identified. However, boulders are collected from Kezari rock cutting/blasting area stockpiled along the road side. Contractor has selected the suitable location for the crushing plant at 14,700 km. 22. Five disposal sites have been identified at the suitable locations from environmental point of view for disposal of excess materials during construction phase in Manitar-Raidak section as per EMP. 1) 3+340-3+540 Km, 2) 16+600 km, 3) 16+900 km, 4) 17+460 km, 5) 20+760 km. The new disposal sites are as follows according to road chainage 1) 0+20 m, 2) 0+640 m, 3) 1+200 km, 4) 2+100 km, 5) 12+100 km, 6) 13+060, 7) 14+400 km, 8) 22+100km.

5. Construction, Operation, and Shifting of Labor Camps

23. Site office and staff camps are located at chainage (14,800-14,900 km) and labour camps at chainage (14,600 km) contractor have to improve the water supply and sanitation facilities.

6. Occupational Health and Safety

24. Safety gadgets such as helmet, boots and gloves are provided to all the construction workers. For those labours who work as drillers and blasters are provided additional safety equipment such as safety belts, facemask, goggles and earplugs. During the environment monitoring visit in January 2012, it has found that some of the construction workers are not using safety equipment despite working in the hazardous conditions. Therefore, the contractor has been asked to strictly comply with Occupational Health and Safety rules for health and safety of the workers.

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7. Wildlife and Habitats

25. There are no reports of illegal hunting or fishing by the contractor labours. The local forest and project officials have not observed or received any complaints on illegal activities by the labours. The contractor and project officials have been informing the labours on Forest and Nature conservation rules and regulations of the Royal Government of Bhutan concerning on illegal hunting, fishing and unauthorized collection of forest resources. 26. The controlled blasting has been carried out and no destructions on wildlife habitat were observed for widening and formation cutting work (NH-01)

8. Community Infrastructures and Compensation

27. No destruction on community infrastructure is reported and all the compensation for the loss of land and crops were compensated accordingly by project.

9. Damages on Religious and Cultural Resources

28. No religious or cultural along the road. B. NH-02 (RAIDAK-LHAMIOZINGKHA)

29. NH-02 is the second part of the Raidak to Lhamoizingkha road construction section.

Total length of the road =18 km

Length of Road construction (FC) = 4.0 km

Length of road construction (BC) = 2.0 km

Jungle cutting = 8.0 km


30. The road passes through thick forest and removal or damage of vegetation is at minimal rate. Till date more than 8 km of forest cover has been cleared. Tree felling is limited within the road corridor and only done after the approval of forest permits.

2. Earthwork, Excavation and Soil Disposal

31. A total of 10,144.5 cubic meters of earth has excavated from the road construction and excavated materials have been disposed to the designated dumpsites. River boulders and sand are stockpile within the camp area which will be used for the construction.


32. So far, blasting is not done at construction site since road starch did not encounter rocky surface. If blasting is required at site blasting materials will be transported with an official of escort of RBP to construction site. The designated store in-charge will take care of storing, recording and issuing of the blasting materials.

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33. Controlled blasting operations will carried out during daytime with appropriate prior warnings particularly near the human settlements. Local people will be informed through Gewog administration and announcements are made in National media about the road traffic blasting timing. Blasting will be carried out in-line with the Rules and Regulation of Home and Culture Affairs.


34. For NH-02, the Contractor has identified the quarry site at Bhutan Ghat and formalities are under process. Contractor has selected the suitable location for the crushing plant. Meanwhile, contractor has stockpiled the river bed boulders within their camp area. River boulder stockpiled at camp area Site Clearance along the road corridor (NH-02)

5. Construction, Operaton and Shifting of Labour Camps

35. Labour camps are located at chainage 14,700 km water and sanitation facilities have been provided. Contractor has provided with common mess facilities.


36. Safety gadgets such as helmet, boots and gloves are provided but needs to be improved. For those labours who work as drillers and blasters are to be provided additional safety equipment such as facemask, goggles and earplugs. During the environment monitoring visit in January 2012, it has found that some of the construction workers are not using safety equipment despite working in the hazardous conditions. Therefore, the contractor has been asked to strictly comply with Occupational Health and Safety rules for health and safety of the workers.

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37. There are no reports of illegal hunting or fishing by the contractor labours. The local forest and project officials have not observed or received any complaints on illegal activities by the labours. The contractor and project officials have been informing the labours on Forest and Nature conservation rules and regulations of the Royal Government of Bhutan concerning on illegal hunting, fishing and unauthorized collection of forest resources. The controlled blasting will been carried out and no destructions on wildlife habitat were observed for widening and formation cutting work (NH-02) In general wildlife habitat falls in between Tintalay till Suntala Bari above Sibsuni i.e., from chainage 6+780 to 15+780 Km.



9. Damages to Religious and Cultural Resources

39. No religious or cultural along the road. C. NH-03, NH04 and FR-02

40. NH-03, NH04 & FR-02 yet to start the construction works. D. NH-05 (SAMDUPCHOLING-SAMRANG)

41. Subproject progress is as follows:

Total length of the road = 24.25 km

Widening of Road construction = 12.4 km

Road construction (back cutting) = 12 km

Jungle clearing/tree cutting = 13 km


42. Site clearance works and first cutting have been carried out till 13 km. The road passes through thick forest and removal or damage of vegetation minimal rate. Tree felling is limited within the road corridor only done after the approval of forest permits.

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2. Earthwork, Excavation and Soil Disposal

43. Surface collections are done within projects road’s Right of Way with the approval from Department of Forest. Cut and fill method are applied till date and no excavated materials are been dumped.

3. Handling and Use of Blasting Materials

44. So far, blasting is not done at construction site since road starch did not encounter rocky surface. If blasting is required at site, blasting materials will be transported with an official of escort of RBP to construction site. The designated store in-charge will take care of storing, recording and issuing of the blasting materials. 45. Controlled blasting operations will be carried out during daytime with appropriate prior warnings particularly near the human settlements. Local people will be informed through Gewog administration and announcements are made in National media about the road traffic blasting timing. Blasting will be carried out in-line with the Rules and Regulation of Home and Culture Affairs.


46. For NH-05, quarry is not yet identified. Contractor has selected the suitable location for crushing plant at Dredging (10 km) from takeoff point. Location of crushing plant at Dredging (NH-05) Takeoff point (NH-05) Samdupcholing.

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5. Construction, Operation, and Shifting of Labour Camps

47. Staff camps are located at chainage 4.90 km at Gangatey, water and sanitation facilities have been provided. Water tanker at NH-05 Staff camp area at NH-05(Gangatey)




49. There are no reports of illegal hunting or fishing by the contractor labours. The local forest and project officials have not observed or received any complaints on illegal activities by the labours. The contractor and project officials have been informing the labours on Forest and Nature conservation rules and regulations of the Royal Government of Bhutan concerning on illegal hunting, fishing and unauthorized collection of forest resources. The controlled blasting has been carried out and no destructions on wildlife habitat were observed for widening and formation cutting work (NH-02) 50. The forest between Deorali ridge top to Samrang is under protected area system (Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary). In general wildlife habitat falls in between Neuli river till Samrang river i.e., from chainage 18+000 to 22+000 km.

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52. No religious or cultural structures were found along the road. E. FR-01 (TSEBAR-MIKURI Km 0+000 to Km 20+600)

53. FR-01 is the third part of the Samdrupcholing-Samrang road construction section.

Total length of the road = 20.60 km

Length of Road construction (FC) = 0.78 km

Length of Road construction (BC) = 0.3 km

Jungle clearing/tree cutting = 1.4 km


54. Site clearance works till 1+400 km and first cutting has been carried out till 900 m. The road passes through thick forest and removal or damage of vegetation will be at minimal rate. Tree felling is limited within the road corridor only done after the approval of forest permits.

2. Earthwork, Excavation and Spoil Disposal

55. A total of 9,000 cubic meters of earth has been excavated from the road construction. Of the total earth excavated 6,500cubic meter has been disposed to the designated dumpsites. However, excavated rocks are stockpile along the road sites which will be used for the construction with minimal wastage.


56. So far, 1,025 kg of blasting materials has been used on rocky rock cutting. If required, blasting materials will be transported with an official of escort of RBP to construction site. The designated store in-charge will take care of storing, recording and issuing of the blasting materials. 57. Controlled blasting operations will be carried out during daytime with appropriate prior warnings particularly near the human settlements. Local people are informed through Gewog administration and announcements are made in National media about the road safety and traffic. There are no complain from the locals on blasting activities and it is carried out in-line with the Rules and Regulation of Home and Culture Affairs.

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4. Quarry, Borrow Pits, Stockpiles and Dumping Site

58. For NH-05, Contractor has selected the suitable location for crushing plant. Cut and fill method are applied till date and 2,750 cubic meters of excavated materials are been dumped.

5. Construction, Operation and Shifting of Labour Camps

59. Labour camps are located at chainage 6 km, adequate water and sanitation facilities have been provided.




61. There are no reports of illegal hunting or fishing by the contractor labours. The local forest and project officials have not observed or received any complaints on illegal activities by the labours. The contractor and project officials have been informing the labours on Forest and Nature conservation rules and regulations of the Royal Government of Bhutan concerning on illegal hunting, fishing and unauthorized collection of forest resources. The controlled blasting has been carried out and no destructions on wildlife habitat.




63. No religious or cultural structures were found along the road.

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V. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ACTIVITIES

64. During the reporting period, the environmental specialist visited the construction sites three times, as indicated in Table 4. The tour report of the site visit is provided in Appendix 1.

Table: 4. Dates on which the environmental specialist visited the construction sites over last three months.

Sl. No. Date Place Remarks

1. 06.01.2012-19.01.2012 All construction sites. Site monitoring 2. 14.03.2012-19.03.2012 All construction sites. Site monitoring 3. 21.03.2012-09.04.2012 All construction sites. Site monitoring

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The environmental specialist visits the entire construction site every month and inspects all the environmental monitoring aspects in line with the RGoB Rules and Regulation and ADB guidelines and environment management plan. Environmental Specialist monitors the construction implemented works according to the implementation of the environmental management plan. All the construction activities have started and there is not much impact on environment as such. Any observation made related to environment impacts during site visit are informed directly to the contractors. All the construction works are according to the rules and regulation of National Environment Commission and ADB guide lines.

66. Prior to the start of construction works, all the contractors are asked to submit the Environmental Management Plan every month based on their implementing works status. EMP implementation sheet will help supervisors to monitor progress of implementation of EMP. Later, it will be cross checked and verified by the supervising consultant on a periodic basis. CSC supervisory will ensure that all the mitigation measures are implemented and submit monthly report based on the implemented EMP submitted by contractors. The Environmental Focal Person from the construction sites and CSC are appointed by the respective contractors and Residential Engineers to keep in track on the environmental issues and impacts.

67. Table 5 lists the environmental focal persons for each construction package.

Table: 5 Environmental Focal Persons for Construction Packages

Sl No.

Name Designation Construction packages

CSC Contractor

1. Mr. Yeshi Tshewang

S.I NH-01 -do-

2. Mr. Yogesh Dahal C.E NH-01 -do-

3. Mr. Chhimi Wangdi

S.I NH-02 -do-

4. Mr. Sangay Dorji E.D NH-02 -do-

5. Mr. Kinley Dorji S.I NH-05 -do- 6. Mr. Ram Chandra P.E NH-05 -do-

7. Mr. Ram Bdr. Rai S.I FR-01 -do- 8. Mr. Jampel P.E FR-01 -do-

14

VI. KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

68. Table 6 provides the key environmental issues discussed during monitoring.

TABLE 6: KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Issue Cause Action Taken Responsibility Timing (Target Dates)

Description of Resolution and Timing (Actual)

Dust pollution Absence of Water tanker

Informed/wrote to contractors to deploy water tankers.

Contractors Within month of November 2012.

Deploy water tankers immediately

Health injuries Lack of safety gadgets

Informed/wrote to contractors about the requirement of safety gadgets at construction sites.

Contractors Within month of April 2012

Provide safety gadgets immediately

Illness in camp sites

Unhygienic conditions in the camp areas

Wrote to contractors about the sanitation and adequate water supply within their camp area.

Contractors Within month of April 2012

Provide facilities to the workers at site.

Negative impact on environment

No dumping sites identified

Dumping sites in some segments of Road construction sites need to be identified and mitigation works like barriers and bio-engineering are proposed.

PMU, CSC and Contractors

Within month of May 2012

Identify dumping sites immediately

Negative impact on environment

Identification of quarry and location for crushing plant

Discussed in monthly meeting.

PMU, CSC and Contractors

Within the month of May 2012

Identify suitable quarries.

69. Complaints. No environment related complaints were received during the reporting period. All compensation for land acquired and structures removed was made as per RGoB rates to project affected people. If project encounters any complaints in future, it will be mentioned in the respective monitoring report.

VII. CONCLUSION

70. There are seven separate contract packages under Road Network Project-II (RNP-II), all contract packages have been awarded by Department of Roads under Ministry of Works and Human Settlement and are implementing the construction works at their respective sites.

15

71. Measures under the Environmental Management Plan have been partially implemented based on the status of construction activities which have only just started during the report period. Site offices, labour camps, proper water supply, sanitation facilities and common mess are provided to the labours at construction sites. Explosive magazine, Safety gadgets, first Aid Kits and etc are implemented at sites. Identification of quarries and selection of suitable location for crusher plant are under process for RGoB approvals. Structures such as dry walls, live check dams and log barriers of adequate height must be constructed for disposal sites to enable the expected volume of spoil and construction waste. Re-vegetation and bio-engineering will be implemented in the pre-identified locations as per EMP and wherever felt necessary. Need of water tankers was addressed in the monthly meeting with the contractors to control the dust pollution at construction sites. The need for improvement in the use of safety gadgets like hard helmet, safety boots, gumboots and by the labours during working hours was emphasized to the contractors. Awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS and on Forest Rules and Regulation will be conducted by the respective contractors at every construction site. Awareness campaigns will be conducted in- consultation with officials from Ministry of health and Department of Forest to make aware of all the HIV diseases and Rules and Regulation of Forest.

72. All construction activities have been carried out using the environmental friendly road construction (EFRC) approach. The Project is compliant with ADB’s requirements as well as RGoB guidelines concerning environment safeguards. Sector guidelines related to the environment, road construction and traffic safety are complied with by the project as of the present stage. The primary benefits stem from the national road links and feeder roads connecting to isolated communities along the southern stretch of the country. Benefits of the project include better transport connectivity for movement of people and goods, improved access to social services and to income and livelihood opportunities, a significant infrastructure contribution into the economic and social vitality of the region, and improved security presence for both social and environmental conservation objectives.

16 Appendix 1

Tour Report With the verbal instruction of Term Leader (Sheladia) Consultancy Services for Construction Supervision, Road Network Project (RNP-II) and Project Coordinator of Department of Roads (DoR) undersigned went on tour after monthly meeting. The construction sites visited are Gyeldron Venture at Lhamoizingkha under Chhukha Dzongkhag (NH-02), Rigsar and kalika JV at Tsebar under Pemagatshel Dzongkhag (FR-01) and Construction Development Corporation Limited at Samdrupcholing under Samdrupjongkhar Dzongkhag. The site observation on environmental impacts and safety issues are as follows;

M/S Gyeldron Venture, (NH-02) A. Environmental Impacts

1. Instructed Project Manager to submit Environment Management Plan for the bridge, since they are going to start the construction work at site.

2. Informed that the site clearance/removal of trees shall be done only within batter pegs.

B. Safety Issues

1. Occupational Health and Safety Measures such as gumboots, safety boots, hard 2. helmets, breathing mask and etc shall be provided to all the labours. During the 3. visit all the staff and workers were not found in safety out fits.

4. Project manager was also informed about the dust generated by the moment of the vehicles and the need to deploy the water tanker to sprinkle water at construction sites.

Dust at Gyeldron Venture, NH-02 No Helmet at site during working hour

M/S Rigsar and Kalika JV (FR-01) A. Environmental Impacts

1. Till now there are no environmental impacts, since the construction work started recently.

Appendix 1 17

B. Safety Issues

1. Occupational Health and Safety Measures such as gumboots, safety boots, hard helmets, breathing mask and etc shall be provided to staff and labours.

2. Sanitation cum hygiene, adequate water supply needs to be improved. 3. Waste management like dust bins and pits need to be made available within

the site office and camp sites. 4. Water tanker needs to be deployed to sub side the dust. 5. Control blasting needs to be adopted at construction sites. 6. Safety out fits needs to be improved. 7. There should be notice board and check post must be made.

Tsebar-Mikuri Road, FR-01

Rigsar/ Kalika Camp at Tsebar (FR-01)

M/S Construction Development Corporation Limited (NH-05) Samdrupcholing-Samrang. A. Environmental Impacts

1. Till now there are no environmental impacts observed at construction site. 2. Made sure that the trees which fall within batter peg will only be felled. 3. Came across two barking deer between 9 km to 10 Km.

B. Safety Issues

1. Occupational Health and Safety Measures such as gumboots, safety boots, hard helmets, breathing mask and etc shall be provided to staff and labours at all time.

2. Waste management like dust bins and pits need to be dug within the site office

and camp sites.

18 Appendix 1

3. Safety out fits needs to be improved as per General Rules and regulation on Occupational Health and Safety 2006.

.

Labour without hand glove

Appendix 1 19

Site Photographs

Back cutting at FR-01 First cutting at FR-01

Project road at NH-05 Site offices and labour camp at NH-02

20 Appendix 3

Environmental Clearances

Appendix 3 21

22 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 23

24 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 25

26 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 27

28 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 29

30 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 31

32 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 33

34 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 35

36 Appendix 3

Appendix 3 37

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