The document provides details of the proposed Renuka Dam project located in Himachal Pradesh, India. It will be a 148m high rockfill dam built across the Giri river to supply drinking water to Delhi and generate hydroelectric power. Key impacts include submergence of 1197.6 ha of land including 955.82 ha of forest land, displacement of people from 24 villages, loss of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and changes to land use and soil erosion during construction. Extensive baseline studies were conducted on climate, geology, soil, water, air, noise, flora, fauna and socioeconomic conditions. Mitigation measures are proposed to minimize environmental impacts and support resettlement of project affected families.

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
LOCATION across river Giri about 1.5 km upstream of
Dadahu bridge on Dadahu-Sangra motor road in
district Sirmaur of Himachal Pradesh.
longitude 770-03’12” to 77039’10” E
latitude 30036’51” to 31015’23” N
Characterstics of dam 148m high rockfill dam with centrally inclined
impervious clay core dam at
an elevation of 778 m, full reservoir level at
elevation 766 m, 63 m wide chute
spillway on the left bank with crest level
elevation 755 m &discharge7067 cumecs
Total land requirement 1532.60ha out of which
forest land 955.82 ha
private land576.78 ha
submerge land 1197.60 ha
Catchment area above dam site 2175 sq km
storage capacity 49800ha m
Power house capacity 2 X 20MW
Total cost of the project 3896.83 crores

3. RENUKA DAM
PROJECT.

4. NEED OF THE PROJECT
supply of drinking water to National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi 1000 million
litres everyday
•powerhouse with installed capacity 2 x 20 MW in a 90% dependable year shall
generate 296.80 GWH for H.P.

5. PERTINENT INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION
Name Scope and Objective
Water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1974, 1988
To provide for the prevention and control of water
pollution and enhancing the quality of water
Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981, 1987
To provide for the prevention and control of air
pollution
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,
1988
To consolidate acquisition of common property
such as forests, halt India’s rapid deforestation and
resulting environmental degradation
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, 1993 To protect wildlife
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 To provide for the protection and improvement of
environment
National Policy on R & R, 2003 Resettlement and rehabilitation of project affected
people
EIA Notification 14th September
2006
Environmental Impact Assessment

6. •Though the project falls under category ‘B’ but has been classified
in category ‘A’ because the project lies within 10 KM from boundary
of Renukaji Wild Life Sanctuary ( notified under the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972 ).
•A comprehensive EIA is required.

7. TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)
The study comprises of the five following stages:
A. Determination of baseline conditions with respect to each of the Land Use,
Soil, Geology, Hydrology, Meteorology, Water Quality, Air and Noise Quality,
Terrestrial Ecology, Aquatic Ecology and Public Health, Demography and
Socio-Economics.
B. Identification of the different components of the project that would have an
effect on one or several aspects of the environment
C. Estimation of the quantum and character of the polluting discharges of such
components
D. Assessment of the impacts of such polluting discharges on the different
aspects of the environment and
E. Formulation and recommendation of mitigation measures necessary to
control the adverse environmental impacts to acceptable levels.

8. DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT & BASELINE STUDIES
The area falling within 10 km radius of the proposed Renukaji dam project has
been assessed and evaluated for the all existing environmental conditions.
CLIMATE
•The climate is sub-tropical interspersed between cold weather, hot weather
and southwest monsoon
•Winds are generally moderate throughout the season and lie in the range of 1-
19 km / hr .
• The relative humidity of the area varies from 33 to 90%.

9. Windrose Diagram for Monsoon Season

10. Windrose Diagram for Post-Monsoon
Season

11. SEISMICITY
the area of Renuka dam project falls within Zone IV. Therefore, suitable seismic
factor in design of structure would be kept under consideration.
SOIL CHARACTERSTICS
•slightly acidic in nature having pH values from 6.35 to 6.90.
•soil texture varies from coarse sandy loam to clay loam having predominantly
Sand.
•The soil near river terrace isgood for paddy cultivation.
•SLOPE
•The area has moderate slope(32%) and steep slope(38%) in majority.
LAND USE
the catchment area is characterized by steep hills and deep valleys, the
dominating classes are dense forest, open forest, waste land, agriculture &
settlement patches and some degraded forest.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL / RELEGIOUS / HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
No archaeological monument of national importance either lies in the project
area or in its submergence area.

12. Station
Code
Station
Name
Location with respect to
Site
Distance (Km)
Direction
Description
S-1 Renuka 2.5 SE Agriculture
land
S-2 Dhanoi 1.0 NE Forest land
S-3 Khalna 4.0 SW Forest land
S-4 Dabhuri 5.0 SW Agriculture
land
S-5 Trimali 4.0 SE Agriculture
land
S-6 Dhar 5.0 SE Agriculture
land
Soil sampling sites

13. Soil Sampling Stations

14. Air Quality Assessment
•The number of sampling at each station was for two consecutive days. The
baseline data of ambient air environment is generated for the mentioned
parameters as given below:
1. Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)
2. Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM)
3. Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
4 Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
•The major sources of air pollutants in the project area are vehicular traffic,
blasting (during road construction at present), dust arising from local and
village road, forest fire and domestic fuel burning.
•“Respirable Dust Sampler Envirotech Model APM 460 BL” was used for air
monitoring.
OBSERVATIONS
•Ambient Air Quality Status with respect to RSPM ,SPM ,SO2 NOX were within the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 24 hrs monitoring.
• However,the air quality will be affected during construction period.
• The concentration obnoxious gases and dust emission, will be cleared on daily
basis as the area is located in a valley and the gush of strong winds during
morning and evening hours is a common phenomenon.

15. Sound Level Measurement
•The sound level was measured by using sound level meter (RS 232 digital
Instrument) at 6 different locations.
•Maximum and minimum level of sound was recorded for the particular site and
then average was calculated which gave the final readings.
•The noise levels in the study area were well within the permissible standards.
Water Quality
•Over a stretch of 35 km length on river Giri and its tributaries nine sites were
selected for water sampling.
•The sampling was carried out for about a year time keeping the frequency of
observation once in 30 days time
OBSERVATIONS
The water quality results shows that all the parameters are within the
permissible limit of Drinking Water Standards (IS: 10500), except the
bacteriological parameters. The discharge in the river is more in monsoon
season and the water quality is also better as compare to post monsoon season.

16. Parameters Instrumentation
Ambient temperature Digital thermometer
Transparency Seehi dise method
Water velocity EMCON digital current meter
Turbidity Nephelometer
Total Dissolved Solids Titration method
pH Digital pH meter (HANNA)
Alkalinity, Acidity, Chlorides,
Silicates, DO, Free CO2, Zn, Si, Fe,
Nutrients (Phosphorus, Sulphates) Aquamerck / Aquaquant kits
Total Ca and Mg Hardness – EDTA Titrametric methods
Inorganic phosphates Colorimetric Methods
BOD Titration
E-Coli and Total Coliform Macconkey broth

17. AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT
Data on existing aquatic environmental conditions includes
• Biological characteristics of river water
• Estimation of coliform organisms
• Present status of fish fauna: Identification of fish species
• Their migratory pattern, feeding and breeding grounds
OBSERVATIONS
the proposed dam will have major impact on the endemic fishes,
which play a major role in maintaining the aquatic ecosystem and contribute to
the livelihood opportunities for the local inhabitants.
BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
Floral Study
•The study area in the Giri river Valley was divided into submergence and
influence zones.
•The plant species were identified with the help of Botany Division, FRI,
Dehradun & local inhabitants.
Floral studies were carried out
1. To make an inventory/checklist of plants found in the study area.
2. To analyze the existing vegetation under submergence and influence zones
of the project.
3. To know the density (trees/unit area) of each of the woody species under
submergence and influence zones of the project.

18. Faunal Study
Terrestrial fauna
The terrestrial fauna of important animal groups such as butterflies (insects),
birds, mammals and reptiles was evaluated during a week long post monsoon
survey (Ocotber’2007) in 5 km radius of the impact zone. Terrestrial fauna was
evaluated
1. To prepare an inventory of the terrestrial fauna present in the study area.
2. To assess present status of the terrestrial fauna present in the study area
3. To assess the impacts of the proposed dam on the terrestrial fauna.
OBSERVATIONS
Renuka Sanctuary and Kashoga Reserve forest support high species richness
and diversity of birds. Thus, these sites are most crucial for the conserving the
bird diversity of the area and should be protected during the course of dam
construction and thereafter.
Aquatic Fauna
•Evaluation of Phytobenthos and Plankton
•Evaluation of Benthic Macro-Invertebrates
•Evaluation of Fish Fauna
•OBSERVATIONS
•decline of migratory species. The dam prevents migration between
feeding and breeding zones.
•Loss of habitat
•Change in Water temperature and water quality changes and discharge
fluctuations

19. Site I
Site II
Site III
Site IV
Map showing the terrestrial fauna study sites in the Impact zone of dam

20. SOCIOECONOMIC STUDY
The data were collected in two stages-
• The first stage involved a rapid assessment of the study area in order to obtain
an overall perspective of the villages of District Sirmaur that were located in the
submergence zone.
•The second stage of data collection was done in the villages, which are going
to be directly affected by acquisition of land
Secondary information was collected from different government and
nongovernment offices.
In order to gather information on public perception of the proposed project
the attitude survey was carried, which depicts the prevailing awareness and
acceptance about the project

21. OBSERVATIONS
•Agriculture was the main occupation of the project affected people
Attitude of affected families of Renuka Dam Project
Questions Yes (%) No (%)
Do you know about the Project to be constructed in
the area?
100.00 00.00
Are you in favour of Project? 4.38 95.62
S. No. Reasons to be in against Views of PAP (%)
1 Loss of Fertile Agriculture
Land
95.62
2 Deprived of fuel and
fodder
91.34
3 Losing their ancestral
place
67.13
4 No problem 4.38
Views of PAP (%) of Renuka Dam Project

22. S.No. Reason for supporting
Renuka DamProject
Views of PAP (%)
1 Underdevelopment 91.04 91.04
2 Employment
opportunities 18.32
18.32
3 Others 7.64 7.64

23. IDENTIFICATION, PREDICTION AND EVALUATION OF IMPACTS
IMPACTS ON LAND ENVIRONMENT
• Change in land-use due to submergence and construction of the project.
• Alteration of terrain due to construction of approach and access roads.
•Localized increase in erosion due to excavation of tunnel, powerhouse and
other appurtenant components.
• Generation of solid waste due to construction and deployment of construction
workforce.
Impacts on the Microclimate of the Area
• Localized fall off temperature in and around reservoir.
• Localized increase in humidity and evapo-transpiration.
• Localized decrease in aridity around reservoir.

24. Change in Land use / Land cover
Construction Phase
•The change in land use will be from riverine environment to lacustrine
environment and the change in land cover will also be from agriculture/forest
land cover to reservoir area.(permanent change)
•The unutilized muck may bring change in landscape of the dumping yard.
Operational Phase
no significant change on land use is expected.
Mitigation measures
the land cover will improve, due to implementation of landscape restoration and
catchment area treatment works.
Soil Erosion and Siltation
Construction Phase
• Soil erosion due to excavation for different components of the project,
construction of roads and dumping of muck into disposal yards will accelerate
soil erosion during the construction period.
Operational Phase
No significant impact
Mitigation measures
landscape restoration work& reservoir rim treatment would be implemented that
will restore erosion.

25. IMPACTS ON AIR AND NOISE ENVIRONMENT
Construction Phase
• Temporary changes in air quality and noise levels during construction phase
are expected
Operation Phase
• The ambient air quality during the operation phase is not expected to
deteriorate.
• Noise level in power house is also not expected to increase as the powerhouse
is underground.
Mitigation measures
During construction phase, monitoring of parameters required to be carried out
IMPACTS ON WATER ENVIRONMENT
•water quality downstream of dam shall improve.
Construction Phase
•The sewage generated at the labour camps and other residential areas may
also bring considerable pollutants to river sections
•The muck disposal yards, quarry areas would be the areas of concerns for
leaching of sediments during rains.
Operation Phase
the water environment in general will not deteriorate as the reservoir of the
project will be continuously operated or used for power generation.

26. IMPACTS ON FLORA AND FAUNA OF PROJECT AREA
Impact on Flora (Plant Biodiversity)
1. Degradation/destruction of Northern Tropical Dry deciduous Forests
2. Impacts in the submergible area-there will be a sudden shift in the
population density of the species, which certainly will have some impact on
the ecology of the region.
3. Loss of threatened/ economically important species
4. Invasion of the habitat by exotic and Invasive species
Impacts on Fauna
1. more loss to aquatic environment than the terrestrial one.
2. Terrestrial wildlife change in their route in search of their food etc.
aquatic communities present in the submergence areas are going to vanish.
Mitigation measures
• The area downward from dam site, the backwater formed from its
tributaries is going to support the present aquatic fauna to some extent.
•Provision of fish ladder
IMPACTS ON THE SOCIOECONOMICS
1. About 1281 ha land of 32 villages will either be submerged or acquired for
project construction. Out of the 32 villages, the people from 24 villages will
lose their individual land.
2. Most of PAFs are going to be displaced so they should be placed in the
area nearer to their existing location with development of proper facilities,
training and financial assistance to earn their living.