India: Manipur Urban Road, Drainage and Asset Management Improvement Project

OBJECTIVE

To improve the connectivity, safety, and resilience of the urban and sub-urban road and drainage networks in Greater Imphal, and to enhance the technical capacity and budgetary sustainability of Manipur’s Public Works Department.

DESCRIPTION

The proposed project will support the rehabilitation, the upgrade (without capacity expansion), and the maintenance of 547 km-long state road infrastructure, bridges and culverts in Greater Imphal. The civil works will consist of the reconstruction of existing asphalt-paved roads into more resilient rigid concrete roads, together with road safety improvement, pedestrian walkway, street lighting and utility ducts. To address frequent drainage issues that affect the living conditions of local residents and economic activities, continuous lined storm water drains and local side drains will be provided. The proposed project will strengthen PWD’s capacity to manage Manipur road asset and ensure the sustainability of the infrastructure network through enhanced human and budgetary resources.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

Applicable Policy and Categorization. AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) and the Environmental and Social Exclusion List (ESEL), applies to the Project. Appraisal mission has confirmed that ESS 1 (Environmental and Social Assessment and Management) applies to the assessment of environmental and social (ES) impacts of project activities. ESS 2 (Involuntary Resettlement) also applies as road improvement and limited amount of widening are expected to generate economic displacement and minimum physical displacement of title and non-titleholders. More than a third of the population of Manipur state is categorized as Scheduled Tribes and they are present in Imphal city and are likely to be impacted by the Project. Therefore, ESS 3 (Indigenous Peoples) is applicable. Because of those, the risks classification of the Project is Category B.

Environmental and Social Instruments. To manage ES impacts and in accordance with relevant policies and regulation of the Government of India, Government of Manipur and the AIIB’s ESP, the Project carried out Initial Environment Examination (IEE) and prepared a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) and an Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF). The IEE and frameworks helped in conducting ES impact assessment (ESIA) and preparation of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP), a Resettlement Plan (RP), and an Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP) as environmental and social instruments. The IEE, EMP, RP and IPP have been finalized and disclosed in-country. The contractor of the project shall also prepare the Site-Specific Contractor’s Environmental Social Management Plan (SSCESMP) as per the requirement in the EMP and Bidding Document. The preparation of SSCESMP and its review and clearance process has been included in the ES Action Plan (ESAP).

Environmental Aspect. These activities' adverse impacts on the environment are limited to the immediate vicinity of the road alignment. Dust, vibration, noise, construction waste and earth material disposal, tree feelings, water contamination and siltation from the work at riverbank side roads (RSR) to rivers, ponds, community health and safety issues such as traffic safety, workers’ camp management and communicable disease transmission will be among the typical environmental impacts associated with the Project. The DPR consultant has undertaken baseline-environmental sampling program including ambient air quality monitoring, noise monitoring, ground water testing, surface water testing, soil quality testing, micro meteorological monitoring, air pollution modelling, noise quality modelling, ecological study, and avenue trees survey. The contractor is required to prepare a SSCESMP to get no-objection from the Construction Supervision Consultant and PWD, which will include more details of impact assessment and the proposed mitigation measures.

Social Aspect. As per the ESIA carried out by the Project, a total of 22.8 hectares of land will be required for the purpose of road widening (where possible) and improvement of which 19.05 hectares is private land. The Project is impacting 4,843 households that includes 4,442 titleholders. Among the affected households, 704 are either socially and/or economically vulnerable. The impacts are partial, and no households will be physically relocated. An analysis of alternative was carried out to minimize adverse impacts. As a result of analysis of alternatives, total affected households have come down to 4,843 from originally estimated at 15,193. Similarly, land requirement has been reduced to 19 hectares from 78 hectares. Private land required for the Project will be directly purchased on a willing seller-willing buyer basis. In case direct purchase does not work, PWD will acquire land through eminent domain following the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act of 2013. A resettlement plan (RP) has been prepared in accordance with ESS 2 to minimize and mitigate impacts on the community and individuals. The RP, apart from baseline information on affected households, includes quantification of impacts, mitigation measures, legal framework, gender issues and gender plan, labor management plan, monitoring frequency and indicators, grievance redress mechanism, stakeholder engagement plan, institutional arrangement for implementation of RP and resettlement budget.

Gender and Indigenous Peoples (IP). A Gender Action Plan (GAP) is prepared to promote gender inclusive design and implementation of the Project. Along with providing visibility and enhancing accountability for gender mainstreaming, The GAP covers the (i) design phase of the project; (ii) construction phase of the project; (iii) the operation phase of the project; and (iv) the stakeholder engagement activities. The socioeconomic survey conducted as part of preparing the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) has identified 63 tribal households belonging to the Kubai and Naga Tribal community that will be impacted by the Project. As part of IPP preparation, the project team has conducted several free, prior informed consultations with Scheduled Tribe community to better understand the concerns and aspirations of the communities. In the process, the Project has obtained broad support of the affected tribal households. Manipur PWD along with the DPR consultants met the affected tribal households and explained about the Project and adverse impact the project will have on their land. An IPP has been prepared in accordance with laws and regulations of the Government of India, State Government of Manipur and AIIB’s ESS 3. The plan provides information about the socio-economic characteristics of the tribal community, impact of the Project and management measures to mitigate the adverse impacts; community level requirements; institutional arrangement for implementation and budget.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Labor and Employment Conditions: There will be OHS risks during road rehabilitation works and operation phases of the Project. Typical with any infrastructure project, construction risks such as working with heavy equipment and machineries, hazards from excavation works and falling debris, accident during transportation, working with asphalt and other heat sources, electricity and other typical risks will be present, whilst in the operational phase key risks will be present for maintenance staff working in the vicinity of roads, etc. The EMP contains annexes to guide the contractor in forming an OHS Management Plan, Community Heath Safety and Traffic Management Plan. These managements plans will form a key part of the SSCESMP as required in the Tender Document. The content of the SSCESMP and the respective OHS management plans will be checked by the ES team at EAP PWD Manipur and the Bank for quality assurance. Labour and employment condition including labour influx risks have also been assessed in the Labour Management Plan (LMP).

Consultation and Information Disclosure. Stakeholder engagement through public consultation and communication and focus group discussion have been carried out with various groups of stakeholders including women and vulnerable groups as part of the preparation of the ES documents and will be carried out throughout the project cycle. The findings of community consultation have been incorporated in the project design and ES risk management instruments. The mechanism to engage stakeholders during the project implementation has been described in RP that includes issues to be discussed, frequency and form of engagement. The IEE, EMP, RP and IPP have been finalized and disclosed in-country. The Bank has also disclosed those ES documents in English at its website.

Monitoring and Reporting. The Construction Supervision Consultant (Supervision Engineer) will supervise the ES performance of the contractor and subcontractors and ensure strictly adherence of EMP and RP requirements. The Supervision Engineer and PWD team will arrange for regular monitoring, reporting and site inspections during the implementation phase, as detailed in the ESMP. PWD will work together with the Bank’s specialists to review the E&S report format for the contractor that will be prepared by the Supervision Engineer. This will ensure contractor’s adherence to EMP and E&S good practices. AIIB E&S specialists will conduct an implementation support mission twice a year. In addition, PWD has also agreed to appoint an Independent ES monitor for concurrent monitoring of EMP, RP, and IPP implementation.

Project Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). A project-level GRM will be established in accordance with the requirements of AIIB’s ESP as described in RP. An integrated system will be established with Grievance Redressal Cell (GRC), with necessary officers, officials, and systems at PMU. The GRM will be in place before initiating the implementation of EMP and RP in the project area. The Project, apart from web-based mechanism, will have a three-tier GRM at the project site level, PMU level and State level respectively. Locally appropriate public consultation and disclosure process will be used to disseminate information timely about the GRM and the Project-affected People's Mechanism (PPM) of the Bank.