ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES IN NAGPUR METRO
A B Gupta, General Manager
Urban Transport, RITES, Nagpur
0.1 INTRODUCTION
Nagpur is the third largest city of Maharashtra and also the winter capital of the state with a population of approximately 25 lakhs. Nagpur Metropolitan Area is the 13th largest urban conglomeration in India. It has also recently been ranked as the cleanest city and the second greenest city of India. It is also known as "Orange City" for being a major trade centre of oranges that are cultivated in the region. Nagpur lies precisely at the centre of the country with the Zero Mile Marker indicating the geographical centre of India.
The city has recently become a home for a Multi-Modal International Cargo Hub and Airport termed as MIHAN. The project is considered as a mile stone in the economic development of the country. Keeping in purview of the various economic activities being planned in and around the city, the transportation system of the city is expected to change dynamically in coming decades. In addition to above, increase in urban agglomerates and interaction between various land uses make the Transport System planning as the need of the hour. For this purpose provision of Rail-based Metro system in the city has been considered.
DMRC provided Consultancy Services for preparation of a Detailed Project Report for Metro Rail System in Nagpur, and finalised DPR on November, 2013. The total length of the alignment is 38.215 Kms and the same is bifurcated into North-South & East-West Corridor.
l Line 1 – North-South Corridor: Automotive Square to MIHAN (19.658 km). The corridor is again sub-classified into two reaches namely:
Reach 1 - From Khapri to Sitaburdi
Reach 2 - From Sitaburdi to Automotive square
l Line 2 – East West Corridor:Prajapati Nagar to Lokmanya Nagar (18.557 km). The East - West Corridor is again sub-classified into two reaches namely:
Reach 3 - From Lokmanya Nagar to Sitabudi
Reach 4 - From Sitaburdi to Prajapati Nagar
Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) intends to implement the Nagpur Metro Rail Project with international/multilateral funding from funding agencies like KfW/AfD.
During construction and operation stages there is significant environmental impact due to project. Nagpur Metro is taking significant steps in project design, construction and operational phases to have positive impact on environment. Detailed Environment impact assessment is done based on detailed field reconnaissance surveys, inventories and available secondary information.
The MoEF, Government of India, Notification of 14th September 2006 and its amendment enlist projects in Schedule that require environmental clearance. As per notification metro projects does not require environmental clearance from MoEF.
0.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project North-South corridor (19.658 Km) runs from Automotive Square to MIHAN and South-West corridor (18.557 Km) runs from Prajapati Nagar to Lokmanya Nagar. Total 36 stations are proposed along both the corridors with interchange between the lines at Sitabuldi elevated station. Daily ridership for north-south corridor is expected at 2,77,704 No. with maximum PHPDT of 15729 by 2041 whereas for east-west corridor daily ridership is expected at 2,86,031No. with maximum PHPDT of 11882 by 2041.Two depots are planned at MIHAN and Hingna to serve the N-S and E-W corridors respectively. The completion cost of the project with all taxes, escalation & private land comes to Rs. 8683 Crores. The salient features of both the lines are as given below:
Alignment 1 North – South Corridor / Alignment 2 East – West CorridorAutomotive Square / Prajapati Nagar
Nari Road / Vaishnao Devi Square
Indora Square / Ambedkar Square
Kadvi Square / Telephone Exchange
GaddiGodam Square / ChittarOli Square
Kasturchand Park / Agrasen Square
Zero Mile / DosarVaisya Square
Sitaburdi (Interchange) / Nagpur Railway Station
Congress Nagar / Sitaburdi (Interchange)
Rahate Colony / Jhansi Rani Square
Ajni Square / Institute of Engineers
Chhatrapati Square / Shankar Nagar Square
Jaiprakash Nagar / LAD Square
Ujjwal Nagar / Dharampeth College
Airport / Subhash Nagar
New Airport / Rachana Ring Road Junction
Khapari / Vasudev Nagar
-- / Bansi Nagar
-- / Lokmanya Nagar
The design speed and scheduled speed of the metro rail will be 85 km/h and 30 km/h respectively. The power demand in 2016 will be about 12 MVA and sub-station will be planned at Uppalwadi and Butibori grid sub-station for Line-1 and at Pardi and Hingna for Line-2. The train carrying capacity for 3 car train is 764 passengers @ 6 standee/sqm. Automatic train Control system with Automatic Train Protection (ATP) will be adopted. Fare collection system will be proposes as Automatic Fare Collection System with POM and smart card.
0.3 BASELINE STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS AT PROJECT SITE
Base line studies were carried out in the study area. Environmental attributes such as air, noise, water, land, biological and socio-economic environment have been identified and the study was conducted generally confirming to the requirements of the EIA Notification, 2006 and subsequent amendments.
Ambient Air Quality: The prime objective of baseline air quality survey was to assess the ambient air quality of the area. Air quality monitoring was carried out at E-W and N-E corridor by collecting 24 hourly samples at 6 locations for parameters PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, and HC; and 8 hourly samples for 1 day at 12 locations for Parameters CO and O3. All values were found to be well within the limits specified by CPCB, except for Sitaburdi location where maximum values recorded for PM10 exceeded standard limit.
Noise Environment: The identified twenty (20) ambient noise monitoring locations are falling under the commercial and sensitive categories. The day and night noise levels are observed to be in the range of 68.5 to 84.3 dB (A) & 42.5 to 58.8 dB(A) as against the CPCB Standard of 65 & 55 dB(A) respectively.
The baseline day & night noise levels are found to be higher than the CPCB limit in almost all locations. The main source of noise in the project area is the traffic movement on the road.
Vibration Analysis: Twenty two (22) locations are identified/selected for carrying out Ambient Vibration Monitoring in the study area covering different category of buildings viz. residential, commercial/industrial and sensitive zone like Archaeological/ Historical buildings along the metro rail alignment.
North - South and East-West Corridors the monitored vibration levels are given for existing in inhabitant area. The values are monitored at major locations floor-wise. The values observed at ground level for North-South alignment are ranging from 0.0060 inch/sec to 0.126 inch/sec as against the national standard (limit value) of 0.20 inch/sec. The values observed at ground level for East-West alignment are ranging from 0.012 inch/sec to 0.125 inch/sec.
The monitored values at different floors of the locations are gradually reducing or increasing depends upon the material used for the construction and age of the building. However, all the monitored values at different floors of the locations are well within limits specified in national standards[1].
Surface Water Quality: In order to understand existing surface water quality status in the study area, surface water samples at seven different locations were tested for various parameters. The surface water collected from various sources are analysed for physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters. The results are compared with BIS- 2296 Class C Limit (Drinking water source after conventional treatment). It is observed that surface water was acceptable in reference to above mentioned BIS standard except occasional exceedance with respect to BOD particularly at Ambazari Lake and stream near Nildoh area. Exceedance in BOD at these locations is attributed to uncontrolled sewage discharge from nearby residential/commercial developments.
Ground Water Quality: groundwater samples at eight different locations were tested for various parameters and results of the same is briefly described below. Physical characteristics indicated variations in pH ranged between 7.14 – 7.95 as against IS standard of 6.5 – 8.5. Total Hardness is in the range of 142.56 to 477.18 mg/l and are well within the permissible limit 600 mg/l. Total Dissolved Solids observed in ranged between 319 mg/l to 1141 mg/l as against the standard of 500-2000 mg/l. Chlorides are ranged between 26.22 – 398.23 mg/l, and are well within permissible limit of 1000mg/l. The Nitrates and Sulphates values observed to be low and are ranged between 1.9 – 28.64 mg/l and 2.54 – 55.13 mg/l as against the desirable limit of 45 mg/l and 200 mg/l respectively.
Soil Characteristics: Six (06) samples were selected from different locations in the study area to understand the Physico-chemical properties of the soil. The soil along the study area is classified as silty-clay in nature and characterized by pH, the values are in the range of 6.10 – 7.87. NPK values of soil in the sampling locations classified it as fertile soil. Heavy metal and hydrocarbon contamination was not observed in the soil samples.
Ecological Environment: An ecological study of the ecosystem is essential to understand the impact due to project development activities on the existing flora and fauna of the area. Flora: Trees survey has been conducted along the proposed alignment, at station locations and at depot area. The proposed alignment of metro rail is in urban/ city area and not passing through any forest area. Total number of trees observed along the alignment, station & depots is around 639. The types of species observed are Subabul, Neem, Gulmohar, Peepal, Coconut Palms, Ashoka, Mango, Karanj etc. There are no endangered or rare species present in the project impact area. Fauna: No wildlife envisages in the project area. The domestic animals in the project area consist of cows, bullocks, sheep, goats and dogs.
0.4 NEGATIVE IMPACTS
i) Impacts during Construction
The environmental hazards related to construction works are mostly of temporary nature. Appropriate measures included in the work plan and budgeted for. The most likely negative impacts related to the construction works are: -
Soil erosion: Soil erosion is expected on account of runoff from unprotected excavated areas may result in soil erosion, especially when soil is dry and lose. Problems could arise from dumping and storage of excavated soils causing temporary but visible degradation of ambient air.
Traffic diversion: During construction period, partial traffic diversions on road will be required, as most of the construction is to be carried out on the middle of the road. Suitable traffic management planning is proposed to cope the traffic disturbances during construction phase.
Spoil /Muck Disposal: During construction the major share of spoil/ muck estimated in the project is from excavation of the foundations of the piers is 2.40 Lakh Cum and Depots are generating 1.19 Lakh Cum. The construction & demolition waste is also considerable in the project which is estimated to be 0.24 Lakh Cum and others estimated to be 0.126 Lakh Cum. Overall spoil/ muck generation estimated in the project is 3.96 Lakh Cum.
Dust Generation: Dust will be generated during construction phase from various activities like transportation of earth and establishment of the material due to use of heavy machinery like compactors, rollers, water tankers, and dumpers. This activity is machinery intensive resulting in dust generation. However, this activity will be only short-term. However, the sprinkling of water will be made in the construction areas throughout the construction period to suppress the dust.
Ground and Surface Water: Construction activities may have an adverse impact on water bodies due to disposal of waste. The waste could be due to: the spillage of construction materials, dumping of used water from the stone crusher, oils and greases and workers camp. But the quantities of such spills are very negligible. Care, however, needs to be taken to provide adequate sanitary facilities and drainage in the temporary colonies of the construction workers. Provision of adequate washing and toilet facilities with septic tanks and appropriate refuse collection and disposal system should be made obligatory. Contamination of ground water can take place, if the dump containing above substances gets leached and percolates into the ground water table. This is not the case with the present project, as the activity does not involve usage of any harmful ingredients. Moreover, activities are of short duration. Hence, no adverse impact on either ground or surface water quality is anticipated in the present project. The debris, solid waste, wastewater from campsites etc generated from the project shall not be disposed/ discharged close to the rivers, lakes, ponds, nallas etc.
Workers Camp: About 1200 persons are likely to work during peak construction activity for one reach. Water requirement at camp in the reach where construction is happening will be around 44.80 KLD, from which wastewater generation will be around 35.84 KLD. Municipal solid waste generation will be 288 Kg per day. The workers camp shall be provided with the Bio-digesters size of 100 KLD.
Loss of Historical and Cultural Monuments: No historical/cultural monuments will be affected/ damaged as a result of the proposed development.
Air Pollution: An impact on existing air quality during the construction phase would be due to dust generated during excavation, earth work, vehicles movement, loading and unloading of the construction materials. The impact on air environment during the construction phase is temporary and localized in nature. However, sprinkling of water will be made in the construction areas throughout the construction period.
Impact on Noise: During the construction phase, noise will be generated due to movement of vehicles, and operation of light & heavy construction machinery including pneumatic tools (dozers, tippers, loaders, excavators, graders, roller, concrete mixer, generators, concreting pumps, vibrators, cranes, compressors, etc). The construction activities are expected to produce noise levels in the range of 104 – 109 dB (A) at source which decreases with increase in distance. Provision of construction noise barrier will reduce noise level up to 10-15 dB(A).
Vibration Impact: Construction activities can result in varying degrees of ground vibration, depending on the equipment and methods employed. Ground vibrations from construction activities do not often reach the levels that can damage structures, but they can achieve the audible and feelable ranges in buildings very close to the site. The permissible limit of ground vibration considered here at frequency 8-25 Hz for Domestic houses/structures is 10 mm/s. The predicted vibration levels are given for existing in inhabitant area, reference distances.