India - Grand Trunk Road Project - environmental assessment (Vol. 12 of 18) : Road landscape and tree transplantation plan v.5

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA Nottlwm Trnk Rote in A irit Frm g;(PRJa ouryanF)f I - Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project Road Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan -Northn Twnk Ro*t*.- in Medleval Inda olme sA~~~~~ Voum V_ - '''t@t- t' > ~~E432 Volume 12 PmoftItm Think Road N,, gm ; I - -k _L.' I- - 'I A / ' - tZoUtwnTRord aJi,*. - proposed Thrnk ~OO7 A.D.) FINAL 1REPORT w Fcbruarv 2001 s .T SouthA a Asi'P4-t.Ltd... _-;-_ w 'M  The Independent Review of Environmental Assessment and Consolidation of Environmental Assessment & Management Plans and Resettlement Action Plans consists of: VOLUME I: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT VOLUME IA: ANNEXURES TO EIA VOLUME II: INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT VOLUME III: AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT VOLUME IV: NOISE QUALITY ASSESSMENT VOLUME V: ROAD LANDSCAPE AND TREE TRANSPLANTATION PLAN VOLUME VI: CONSTRUCTION PERIOD ROAD SAFETY PLAN VOLUME VII: GAUTAM BUDDHA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY Lea Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd. DC-V;; LaAssociates New Delhi LeaAsc oZ!77~  Latidscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Impl-ovement Project PART - A THE LANDSCAPE PLAN Lea Associates , :Y,C  Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project TABLE OF CONTENT I.I PROJECT CONTEXT ........................................ I 1.2 LANDSCAPE STRATEGY ........................................ 2 1.2.1 Objectives ........................................................ 2 1.2.2 Selection of Tree Species for Landscaping ....................................................... 2 1.3 CONCEPT OF PLANTATION FOR DIFFERENT AREAS . ......................................... 3 1.3.1 Rural areas 3 1. 3.2 Urban Areas. 4 1.3.3 Edges Along Clear Zone. 4 1.3.4 Water Logged Areas. 4 1.3.5 Protected Forest / Reserved Forest Areas. 5 1.3.6 Taj Trapezium Zone. 5 1.4 ROAD SIDE LANDSCAPE .......................... 5 1.4.1 Criteria for Categorisation of Landscape Zones/Sections .S 1.4.2 Plantation in Innermost Row. 7 1.4.3 Plantation in Outer Rows.7 1.4.4 Plantation on Medians. 8 1.4.5 Species Proposed in each Section. 9 1.5 PACKAGE-WISE LANDSCAPE SECTIONS .. ............................... 13 1.5.1 Packagel -A.13 1.5.2 Package lB .15 1.5.3 Package IC .16 1.5.4 Package IIB . 8 1.5.5 Package IV-A .20 1.5.6 Package IV-C .23 1.5.7 Package V-B .24 1.6 LANDSCAPING AT SPECIFIC IDENTIFIED SITES . ............................................... 25 1.. 1 Lawdscaping At Road Junction/Intersection And Traffic Islands .......................... 25 1. 6. 2 Landscapilng at Sensitive noise receptors ....................................................... 29 1.7 1NSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM AND MONITORING . ........................................................ 31 Lea Associates  Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Description of Locally Significant Species Along the Project Corridor Appendix 2: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package I-A Appendix 3: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package I-B Appendix 4: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package I-C Appendix 5: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package Il-B Appendix 6: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package IV-A Appendix 7: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package IV-C Appendix 8: Landscape Drawings and Tree Transplantation Table for Package V-B Appendix 9: Typical Landscape Drawings for Junctions Appendix 10: Specifications for Horticulture and Landscaping Works Appendix 11 Chainagewise List of Suitable Identified Trees to be Transplanted Lea Associates Cz2=77  Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF RIGHT OF WAY FOR ALL THE PACKAGES, 1988 ...............................I TABLE 2 CRITERIA FOR ROAD LANDSCAPE SECTIONS ALONG THE PROJECT CORRIDOR .........6 TABLE 3 EXISTING CROSS SECTION DETAILS IN GTRIP ..............................................................6 TABLE 4 RECOMMENDED SPECIES IN THE INNER ROW ...............................................................7 TABLE 5 RECOMMENDED SPECIES IN THE OUTER ROWS .............................................................8 TABLE 6 RECOMMENDED SPECIES ON THE MEDIAN ............................................................... 8 TABLE 7 PROPOSED LANDSCAPE SECTIONS ALONG THE PROJECT CORRIDOR .......... ..............9 TABLE 8 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE I-A .......... .... . 13 TABLE 9 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE I-B .1.... ... I5 TABLE 10 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE I-C..17......................7 TABLE 1 PROPOSED ROAD SIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE II-B ..................................... 18 TABLE 12 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE IV-A ................20 TABLE 13 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE IV-C ..................................... 23 TABLE 14 PROPOSED ROADSIDE TREE PLANTATION FOR PACKAGE V-B ..................................... 24 TABLE 15 MAJOR ROAD JUNCTIONS IDENTIFIED FOR ENHANCEMENT ....................................... 26 TABLE 16 MINOR ROAD JUNCTIONS PROPOSED FOR ENHANCEMENT ....................................... 27 TABLE 17 PROPOSED PLANTATION FOR NOISE MITIGATION AT IDENTIFIED SENSITIVE LOCATIONS .................................................... 29 TABLE 18 ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE FOR PLANTATION ALONG THE HIGHWAY .............. ................ 32 Lea Associates  Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project 1. 1 PROJECT CONTEXT The Grand Trunk Road between Wagha border (Amritsar) and Kolkata traverses across the six Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and West Bengal and it mainly falls in the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains. This highway has been the conduit of development for the past several centuries, and seven of the 28 metropolitan cities of the country are located along the highway. It has over 10% of the urbanisation within 10km influence area on either side. As a result of the intense developmental activities along the highway, this area (10km on either side) supports a population of over 40 million. The highway between Agra and Dhanbad passes through two of the most populous and the least developed states in India. The stretch of NH-2, in GTRIP, Packages- I-A, I-B, I-C, Il-B, IV-A, IV-C and V-B, are proposed to be strengtnened and reinforced using various techniques of soft landscapes, principally through plantation of various types. A Road landscape Plan has been developed to enhance the visual quality of the road. The landscape treatments are not only to mitigate the visual impacts of the construction, but also to glorify the historic context of the road. For this detailed landscape plan, the available RoWs and the typical sections applied in the road design were analyzed. The following table gives the percentage distribution of the available RoWs for all the packages. Table I Distribution of Right of Way for all the Packages, 1988 Right of Way (RoW) Length (km) Percentage Less than 20m 0.53 0.1% 20m to 25m 0.27 0.1% 25m to 30m 0.60 0.1% 30m to 35m 88.40 22.0% 35m to 40m 9.18 2.3% 40m to 45m 202.99 50.5% 45m to 50m 10.50 2.6% 50m to 55m 18.80 4.7% 55m to 60m 63.31 15.8% 60m to 65m 3.40 0.8% More than 65m 3.60 0.9% Total 100.00% Source: Compiled From DPR of Packages IA, IB, IC, IIB, IVA, IVC, VB, NHAI. Analysis of RoW along GT Road reveals a highly varied picture. Over 50% of the total length has an average RoW width of 40-45m (nearly 203km) followed by 22% with 30- 35m RoW. A substantial portion of the length, i.e., about 17.5% has a liberal RoW of Lea Associates  Landscape and Tree Transplantation Plan Grand Trunk Road Improvement Project about 60m or more. The space available in the RoW is one major guiding factor for different themes of landscaping applied in the entire corridor. 1.2 LANDSCAPE STRATEGY 1.2.1 Objectives The landscaping along the GT road has been conceptualized keeping in mind a set of objectives to improve the overall visual and environmental quality of the project corridor. The broader objectives of landscaping are: * Climatic amelioration, * Check in air & noise pollution, * Check in soil erosion and reduce water logging, * Moderating the effect of wind and incoming radiation, and * Aesthetics, shade and ornamentation. In addition to the specific aim of landscaping along the GT Road is - * To enhance the visual experience of traveling along the GT Road;