Environmental Monitoring Report

Semi-Annual Report No. 1

Loan Number: 3012 NEP September, 2015

Nepal: SASEC Road Connectivity Project

Prepared by the Government of Nepal for the Asian Development Bank.

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. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this 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.

Government of Nepal

Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and TranspoftDEPARTMENT OF ROADS

Project Directorate (ADB)Bishalnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR CONSTRUCTIONSUPERVISION

OF

sAS Ec -ffi :"""1 ffi ::il'll- :J,, :)"t

(s Rc P)

ofEnvironment

September 2015

Suhmitted bv:

@ Soil Test (P.) LimitedM SV lnternational, lnc11101, NE 60th StreetK rkland, Washington-980337528, USA.

Tet.0014254884442Fax. 484-771-5829Enail:

in associationwith Welink Consultants (P) Ltd.

Beam Consultancy (P) Ltd.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTIONII PROJECT DESCRIPTIONIII SAFEGUARDS IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENT

n lmplementation Arrangements for Conducting the Resettlement Plansn Activities

IV IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS OF RESETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES

A Capacity-Building Activities January-June 2015

B Field Visits and ConsultationC Forest Clearance UPdate

D Status of other necessary clearance and permission

E progress in the establishment of Grievance Redress Committees

F Reasons for delays in Environmental; Safeguards implementation progress

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

4

5

6

8

Table I

Table,2

Table :3

Table 4

Anne>l 1

List of Table

Mobilization of Safeguards Staff from DOR

Key Consultations Activities with PAPs Conducted

Status of other clearance

SLCs/GRCs Formation Progress

Annexure

Project Log Frame: Environmental Safeguards

2

3

5

6

10

NEPAL: South Asia Economic Sub regional Economic Cooperation RoadConnectivity Project

SEMI-ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT JANUARY 1.JUNE 30 201 5

I. INTRODUCTION

This report is the 1st semi-annual report on social safeguards compliance of the NepalSouth Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Project. ltdescribes the implementation of social safeguards activities, covering the period fromJ anuary to June 201 5.

The Social Monitoring Repoft (SMR) covers in particular the progress of theirnplementation of the Resettlement Plans (RPs) approved under the project. lt alsodescribes the implementation of other social activities, such as the Gender Action Plan((lAP) and activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention.

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project was approved by the Government of Nepal and the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) in July 2013.lts objective is to improve connectivity in Nepal and betweenNepal and its neighbors. lt consists in the following outputs: the improvement in all-v',eather condition of: (i) the East-West Highway (EWH) to Koshi Bridge Road (ii)Leguwaghat-Bhojpur Road (iii) Halesi-Diktel Road (km 40+0000 to km 52+000) (iv)Halesi-Diktel Road (km 52+OOO to km 64+000) (v) Halesi-Diktel Road (km 64+000 to km75+431) (vi) Mechipul-Birtamod Road (vii) Manthali-Ramechap Road.

The main investment is the EWH, which is an alternate route in Sunsari and Saptaridistricts. This will create year-round passable conditions along the East-West Highway(t:WH), especially across the Koshi River. The repair of three feeder roads in the hillareas will improve connectivity between villages along this road system and betteraccess to basic services. The project is being intplerrterttecl by the Depaftnrent of Roads(r)oR).

The project has been categorized as A for Involuntary Resettlement impacts andirnpacts on lndigenous Peoples. Out of the five (5) roads to be constructed / improved,four (4) present resettlement impacts. Among these, Resettlement and lndigenousPeoples Plans (RPs) were prepared for:

,/ Manthali-Ramechhap (MR) Road./ Halesi-Diktel (HD) Road,/ East West Highway (EWH) Road

As for the remaining road with resettlement impacts, Leghuwaghat-Bhojpur (LB) Road,given that compensations had already started by the time of ADB approval, a DueDiligence Report was prepared, which indicated that 195 households remained to bec,lffip€flS?ted. All the RPs and the Due Diligence Report have been disclosed on ADBwebsite since December 2012.The project also has a GenderAction Plan (GAP) (seeAnnexl ).

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III. SAFEGUARDSIMPLEMENTATIONARRANGEMENT

l\. lmplementation arrangements for conducting the Resettlement Plans activities

1'he Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management is the project'sE:xecuting Agency (EA), and Depaftment of Roads (DoR) is the implementing agency(lA). A Project lmplementation Unit (PlU) has been established as Project Directorate(PD/ADB) under DoR to oversee the overall implementation of all the Subprojects. At thesubproject level, the Subproject PlUs are headed by the Project Managers (PM) in ther;rnk of Senior Divisional Engineer. Resettlement and other social activities at the fieldk>vel are supervised by the Project Managers or Project In- Charge. See Table 1 belowfr>r more details.

Table 1: Mobilization of staff from DOR

E,WH - Koshi Bridge - EWHFload (SRCP/lCB/EWH/O 1 )Leguwaghat - BhojpurFloadtiRcP/tcB/LB/01Flalesi Diktel(riRCP/NCB/HD/01)

S;RCP/NCB/HDI02)SiRCP/NCB/HD/03

ltlanthali RamechhapFload (SRCP/NCB/MR/01

lllechipul-Bi ftamod RoadRCP/NCB/MB/01

I'he Construction Supervision Consultant (CSC), MSV International lnc. in associationvdth Soil Test, Welink, and Beam Pvt. Ltd, is responsible to support the Projectt)irectorate in the implementation of the Resettlement Plans (RPs), the Gender ActionF,lan (GAP) activities and the HIV/AIDS & human trafficking activities. For this purpose,

they have a team of social experts (see Table 2 below), supported by field staff (seel'able 3). Key activities under the CSC's responsibility include supporting the PD in: (i)frlcilitating the completion of the Demographic and Measurement Survey (DMS); (ii)conducting consultations and disseminating the resettlement matrix and other relevantitrformation; (iii) supporting the formation of Subproject Level Committees (SLCs) and(lrievarrce Redress Committees (GRCs), (iv) collecting attd recording regularly issuesraised by project affected people and (v) motivating Project Affected Persons (PAPs) to

find solutions at the local level, and if required bridge them with concerned stakeholders.[\rloreover, the CSC has the responsibility of rnorritorirrg ltealth and occupatiottal safety,€,nvironmental management and road safety,

I'Y. IMPLEMENTATION P ROG RESS OF ENVI RONMENT ACTIVITI ES

A. Capacity-Building activities January-June 2015lr safeguarcls ancl gerrcler orieutation progfantwas helcl in Katlrnrandu on 16'^ Jan, 2015,irr parlicipation of 39 delegates/representatives of the DoR, the CSC and the contractors

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Mr. Kailash Shrestha Ithari. Sunsari

Mr. Rajendra Prasad Sha

Mr. Badri Prasad Sharma

Manthali, Ramechhap

Project In chargeMr. Ram Hari Pokharel

along with the DoR Project Directorate-ADB, Mr. Umeshananda Mishra, Project Director;

OSCs- Mr. R. Venugopal, Team leader; and contract Managers of all the contractorsparticipated. The team of the experts brought the resettlement process, theirnplementation of the Gender Action Plan, the environmental management plan, anti-

l^uman trafficking and HIV/AIDS awareness activities and road safety into discussion

a nd imparted knowledge and skill of implementation of the safeguard compliances.

Siimilar workshop was conducted by the ADB on the implementation of safeguardsr,3quirements, on 23dJan,2015 in Kathmandu in participation of 49 participants including

celegates from ADB, DoR Project Directorate-ADB, Cottstruction SuperuisionC)onJultants, and contractors, 6 safeguards specialists working for the project. Initially,

Frogress review in respect to Safeguards issue was presented. Following the reviewprogram, as to enhance the understanding of the_parlicipants Senior Transportt;p"li"tirt, Mr. Lee Ming Tai, Mission Team Leader-ADB highlighted the 'importance ofSiafeguards' in the project. Successively, Social Development Expert from ADB, Manila

Itrls. -Eloise

Fluet on 'safeguard' and Environment Experl Mr. Carlito Rufo on'lfnvironment and Bio-engineering' provided discipline specific knowledge and technique

c,f implementation of safeguard compliances.

El. Field Visits and Consultation

On 13th Feb,2015 Mr. Umeshananda Mishra, PD/ADB Project Directorate(DoR), Mr.

Eledkanthayogal, DPD/ADB (DoR) and Mr. Kailash Kr. Shrestha, PM-DoR made field

risit of tUaifrilut-Airtamod Sub-project Road and directed the contractor to expedite civil

vyorks and make needful arrangement for affected utility facilities from the corridor and

ernvironmental clearance for the trees to be cut down.

tiimilarly, the same team made field visit of EWH Subproject Road on 14n Feb,2015

s;tated the need of mobilization of Environmental Focal Person (EFP), equipment and

turged to transfer of GPs point and act for valuation of structures.

/\parl from ng importance of safeguards nformation on it'{iafeguards instructed the contractors to foll compliance in ther;ucc6eding nd consultations held on 9th and on 16'nMay,201513haluwajoi and Bhangeri section in Ramechhap district. During the consultation it is

ildvised ihe stakehold-ers to have meticulous observation and verification of affectedlands and along with recommended price, valuation of affected private trees and:;tructures.

ij e , MachiPul were consultedo g authoritY, nd removing ofo te inets and the road line'

ttations activities with PAPs conducted

of consultation Location Date No

l)ublic Consultation #1 EWH Road 8'" April,2015 23 J

l)ublic Consultation #2 M R Road 6'" April,2015 25 4

Public Consultation #3 HD, LB, MR, 20-27 April,2015

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lllajor Activities:

. Environmental Clearance for all IEE/ElA reports

. Site visit of road projects: MR, EWH and MB

. Consultation and meeting with PlC, RE and Contractors

. Environmental Clearance Checklist filled up and submitted by EFPs (MR, HD,LB, EWH)

. Follow up action for the safeguards compliance

C: Forest Clearance Update

S.N. Road Package Progress Status in September,2015

1 EWH - Koshi Bridge - EWHRoad

Permission for the clearance is under approvalprocess and now the file is in Ministry ofForest and Soil Conservation, Revised SiteSpecific Environmental Management Actionwith revised number of tree to be cut down lsbeing submitted

2. Leguwaghat - Bhojpur Road Necessary procedure completed in earlierphase of the road project (RAP)

3 Halesi Diktel Road (allthree packages)

Permission for the clearance is under approvalprocess. Ministry of Forest and SoilConservation is seeking sorne clarificationfrom DFO, Khotang, but the file is pendingdue to absence of DFO and Project Managerin the district

4 Manthali- Ramechhao Road Approval process for the tree cutting iscomplete. Marking of trees (Chhapan) by DFOoffice is ongoing and cutting of trees isexpected to start from October 18, 2015(Kartik 1,2O72BS)

5 Mechipul- Biftamod Road No forest clearance is necessary

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E): Status of Other necessary clearance and permission

Table3: Status of other local clearance

c;

C:onstructi

C;amp aStorage si

Ctuarry

cp

learance MR Road HD Road LB Road EWH.KoshiBridge-EWH Road

MB road

onstructronamp andtoraoe site

Proposed atBitar (leaseagreement

done), layoutplan

submittedanoapproveo

Proposed atNagi,

Nunthala(lease

agreementdone), layoutplan submittedand approved

Established

atJarayotar(lease

agreementdone),layout plansubmittedandaooroved

Proposed atJadaha,Udayapur(lease

agreementdone), layoutplan

submittedandaooroved

ProposedatBirtamod(lease

agreementdone),layout plansubmittedandaooroved

sites DDCapprovaltaken(Tamakoshi

and SukajorKhola)

DDC approvaltaken(Dudhkoshi,Rawa Kholafor sand), forstone(45+000,

52+ggg,57+999,63+000)

Stonequarrypermrssron

from localCFUG/DFOApprovalprocess

(Aurn riverfor sand,Shyamshilafor stone)

Approvalprocess

ongoing(Chure

region)

BiringKhola

rusherlant

Established Underestablishmentprocess atNagi,Nunthala

Established

atJarayotar

Establishedat Jadaha,Udayapur

Will not beestablishedfor thisproject

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Ii. Progress in the establishment of Grievance Redress Committees:

l-o facilitate activities related with resettlement activities, the project has the provision toerstablish Sub-project Level committees (SLCs) and Grievance Redress Committee(GRC). According to this provision, SLCs must be formed in each Village DevelopmentOommittees (VDCs)'and Municipalities by which the subproject road passes. GRCs arefcrmed in the project district and headed by the Chief District Officer (CDO). The goal istc have a project local-level recourse to resolve grievances, and if they are not solved attris level, to have a district-level recourse.

Ely 30 June 2015,4 GRCs were formed. 1/1 GRC in Saptari, Udayapur, Sunsari districtsirr EWH Sirb-project Roacl ancl 1 in Khotarrg clistricts. In Bhojpur arrcl Rarnechhapcistricts, GRC remains to be established. A total of 16 SLCs were also established: 4SiLCs in Saptari district; 4 SLCs in Udayapur district; 111 SLCs in package-1 andF,ackage-2 in Khotang district, 2 SLCs in Ramechhap, ancl 4 St.Cs in Bhojpur) Onenrore SLC is to be formed in package-3 in Khotang district. Similarly, in Sunsari districtS;LC is yet to be formed.

I'he following Table 4 contains detailed information of the formation status of SLC and(iRC, with details of the name of key persons in corresponding SLCs/GRCs, date offormation and gender-wise distribLrtion of committees

Table 4 - SLCs/GRCs formation progress:

Name of SLC/GRC.r { Gender distribution

!.Road No:,l

E,WH -It,oshiEiridge -E,WH Road(liRcP/tcB/l:WH/01)

1. SLC Nadaha-Rupnagar, Saptari

1. Mr. PancheshorKhadka, CoordinatorMs. Asmita Khatri,Asst. Coordinator

2

8'" May,2015

7 11

2. SLC Barlad,Saptari

1. Mr. Deependra Dahal,Coordinator

2. Ms. Shova DeviChaudhari. Treasure

9"'

May,2015

3. SLC Fattepur,Saptari

1. Mr. GyanendraGhimire, Coordinator

2. Ms. Lila Thapa Magar,Asst. Coordinator

11th May,

20154 I

4. SLC DharampurSaptari

1 Mr. BishwonathNeupane, Coordinator

2. Ms. KalpanaChaudhari, Asst.Coordinator

22nd May,2015

o

5. GRC Saptari1 Mr. Birendra Kumar

Yadav, CDO, Saptari

Mr. Komal PrasadDhamala, LDO,Saptari

z

27th May,

2015

1 SLCra nrpea

ntative

13 membersdilu

3 SLCrepresentati

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1. SLC Lalbazar,Udayapur

1 Mr. Tanka PrasadAhikari, CoordinatorMs. Amrika Rai,Asst. Coordinator

2.

21"',May,2015

z o

2 SLC KamalpurBhagani,Udayapur

It- Mr. Pancheshor

Khadka CoordinatorMs. Asmita Kahatri,Asst- coordinator

2o'hJune,

201stz

3. SLC Mainamaini,Udayapur

1 Mr. Shiva KumarThapa, CoordinatorMrs. lmansari Rai,Asst. coordinator

2

18'nJune,

201510

4. SLC TapeshworiUdayapur

1 Mr. Ram Kumar Rai,coordinatorMr. NageshworChaudhari, Asst.Coodinator

2

3'" June,2015

J 9

5. GRC Udayapur1. Mr Krishna Chandra

Ghimire, CDO.Udayapur

2. Mr. Pitambar Adhikari.LDO, Udavapur

9'n May,2015

,1 SLC

representative

13 members

and 3 SLCrepresentatiVE

1. GRC Sunsari 1. Mr. Rabi Lal Panthi.CDO, Sunsari

2. Mr. YoubarajAdhikari,LDO, Sunsari

16'" May,2015

10

2. SLCs are to beformed

To be formed

2 Road No:2

Leguwagha1: -BhojpurRoad(f;RcP/rcBtLBt01)

1. SLC Pauli Bazar,Bhojpur

1. Mr. Bidur PrasadBhattarai, Coordinator

2. Ms. Uma Karki,Member

1 7',

May,20152 5

2. SLC TiwariBhanjyang,

Bhoipur

1 Mr. Indra BahadurRai, CoordinatorMs. Nanda Kumari

Shrestha. Member

218th may,2015

z 5

3. SLCShayamSilaon,Bhoiour

1 Mr Kiran Dahal,CoordinatorMs. BishnumayaTamang, Member

22OthMay,201

5 2 5

4. SLC Phalitaar,Bhojpur

1. Narayan Niraula,CoordinatorMs. Sunita Rai,Member

2

29'h May,2015 z 5

5. Bhojpur GRC(to be formed)

3,Road no:

1. SLC Nunthala 4t- Mr. Deepak KumarRai, CoordinatorMs. Tara DeviTamanq, Member

2

1 '' J une,2015

3 12

3

P;rckageNo:1,2,and 3Halesi -

2. SLC Akhraule-1. Mr. Keshav Shrestha,

CoordinatorMs. Amrita Puri,Member

z3'd June,2015

1 14

3. In packaqe 3 To be formedPage | 7

p t

u[. lssues and Challenges

' lrregular presence of Environmental Focal Person and reporting (environmentalmonitoring checklist)

. Long government procedure for permission of tree cutting, quarry sites' Delay in construction activities has further affected the implementation of

safeguards measures

' Approval of quarry sites in EWH Highway due to Chure Area and Coordinationwith KoshiTappu Wildlife Reserve

' Revision in EMAP of IEE/EIA report and number of trees to be cut down vary inlarge

. Compensatory Plantation and Bio-engineering cost need variation

l

i

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Annex I

SASEC Road Connectivity ProjectP oject Log Frame; Environmental Safeguards

'l'itle of the ect: SASEC Road Connectivity Proiectttrincipal Activities: Environmental Clearance and implementation of safequards teasures

Ohionf irralrr RiskAssumptionVerification

lndicators

tr.2

Environmental Clearance Presentproject isable toobserveforcemajeure (earthquake,strikes,monsoon

cor-rstitution

of

Nepal is notformalizedand resultson civilu n rest

Monsoon donot results inlandslides

and blockingaccess toPrvJsuractivities andsuspensronofcommunitymobility.

Political

crisis doesnot worsenas to makelocalgovernancenegligibleand inactive.

B2.1 Approval forcampsite establishment

XX no. of layout plan ofcampsites approved

MPR, QPR,Semiannual report,field reports,photoqraphs

B2.2 Approval forStorage site,stockpiling site, tippingareas,

XX no. layout plan ofStorage site, stockpilingsite, tipping areasapproveo

MPR, QPRSemiannual reportfield reportsohotooraohs

82.3 Permission takenfor quarry siteoperation

approval letter fromconcerned governmentaoencres

Approval letters,MPR, QPR.Semiannual reoort

B2.4 crusher olantestablishment

XX no. of crusher plantestablished

field reports,ohotooraohs

82.3 Consultation,awareness andsensitization activitieson environmentalsafeguards measureswith(a) contractor, laborer(b) local communitypeople

XX no. of meetings donewith contractor andlaborersXX no. of orientationdone with contractor andlaborers

)(X project leaflet, andproject guidelinesdeveloped

XX no. of communityconsultation/awa renessactivities done

Field reports, MPR,Minutes Photographicdocuments

lmplementation of safequards measuresB2.4 develop andprovide Institutional Setup chart to PD andADB, NRM forimolementation ofEnvironmentalSafeouards Measures

Organizational set upwith given role andresponsibilitiesdevelooed

Communication withPD and ADB, NRM,MPR

82.5 lmplementation ofcompensatoryPlantation, Bio-engineering, Slopeorotection and othersafeouards measures

XX No of trees planted,XX quantity ofbioengineering worksand slope protection(location and area) done

Field reports, MPR,Photographicdocuments

82.6 Monitoring ofsafeguard measuresand compliances

XX No. of monitoring visitand monitoring reportscompiled

MPR, QPR,Semiannual report,field reports

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4

t-tr

Page I

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