Environmental Impact Assessment Guidance Manual - Highways - for highways

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidance manual for highways establishes EIA as a planning tool supporting sound decision-making by assessing environmental consequences before project action begins. It highlights how early identification and characterization of critical impacts enable the public and government to judge environmental acceptability and define conditions to mitigate risks. The manual also outlines the Environmental Clearance (EC) framework introduced through India’s Ministry of Environment & Forests notifications, reflecting experience and stakeholder demands.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages117

Reading Time4 h 55 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.0 Preamble

1.1 General Information on Highway Projects

1.2 Environmental Clearance Process

1.3 Terms of Reference (TOR)

1.4 Validity of Environmental Clearance

1.5 Post EC Monitoring

1.6 Transferability of EC

1.7 Generic Structure of EIA Document

1.8 Identification of Project Proponent

1.9 Brief description of the Project

1.10 Environmental Standards and Code of Practices

Chapter 2 Project Description

2.0 General

2.1 Broader Details of the Project and Location

2.2 Activities for Site Preparation

2.3 Summary of Project Details

2.4 Natural Resources

2.5 Man Power Requirement

2.6 Project Implementation Schedule

Chapter 3 Analysis of Alternatives

3.0 General

3.1 Consideration of Alternatives

Chapter 4 Description of the environment

4.0 General

4.1 Study Area

4.2 Land Environment

4.3 Water Environment

4.4 Air Environment

4.5 Noise Environment

4.6 Biological Environment

4.7 Socio-economic and Health Environment

Chapter 5 Analysis of Potential Environmental Impact & Mitigation Measures

5.0 General

5.1 Land Environment

5.2 Water Environment

5.3 Air Environment

5.4 Noise Environment

5.5 Biological Environment

5.6 Socio-economic Environment

5.7 Solid Waste Management

Chapter 6 Environmental Monitoring Programme

6.0 General

6.1 Control Initiatives

Chapter 7 Additional Studies

7.0 General

7.1 Items Identified by the Proponent

7.2 Items Identified by the Regulatory Authority

7.3 Items Identified by the Public and Other Stakeholders

7.4 Natural Resource Conservations and Optimization

7.5 R & R Action Plans

7.6 Road Safety Management System

Chapter 8 Project Benefits

8.0 General

Chapter 9 Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis

9.0 General

Chapter 10 Environmental Management Plan

10.0 General

10.1 Component of EMP

10.2 Environment Cell

Chapter 11 Summary & Conclusions

11.0 General

Chapter 12 Disclosure of Consultants Engaged

12.0 General

Bibliography

Table

EIA GUIDANCE MANUAL -HIGHWAYS Ministry of Environment & Forests GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI Environmental Impact Assessment Guidance Manual for HIGHWAYS Environmental Impact Assessment Guidance Manual for Highways Siripurapu K. Rao M.A. (Cantab), Ph.D. (Cantab) DIRECTOR GENERAL Leadership through Learning Acknowledgements Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a planning tool generally accepted as an integral component of sound decision-making. EIA is to give the environment its due place in the decision-making process by clearly evaluating the environmental consequences of the proposed activity before action is taken. Early identification and characterization of critical environmental impacts allow the public and the government to form a view about the environmental acceptability of a proposed developmental project and what conditions should apply to mitigate or reduce those risks and impacts. Environmental Clearance (EC) for certain developmental projects has been made mandatory by the Ministry of Environment & Forests through its Notification issued on 27.01.1994 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Keeping in view a decade of experience in the Environmental Clearance process and the demands from various stakeholders, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued revised Notification on EC process in September 2006 and amended it in December 2009.It was considered necessary by MoEF to make available EIA guidance manuals for each of the development sector. Accordingly, atthe instance of the MoEF, the Administrative Staff College of India, with the assistance of experts, undertook the preparation of sector specific Terms of Reference (TOR) and specific guidance manual for Highways. I wish to thank Mr. J. M. Mauskar, IAS, Additional Secretary, Govt. of India MoEF for his continuing support during the preparation of the manuals. I wish to place on record also my sincere thanks to Dr. B. Sengupta, former Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board and Chairman of the Core Committee for his help in the preparation of the manuals. His suggestions helped us a great deal in improving the technical quality of the manuals. Mr. M. Parabrahmam, Former advisor MoEF and Chairman of the Peer Committee for this project, has given constant guidance to the ASCI project team. His vast experience has been immensely helpful in preparing these manuals. I would like to thank the officials of the Ministry, Dr. Nalini Bhat and Dr. T. Chandini, for coordinating the project from the Ministry side and for providing guidance whenever needed. My thanks are also duetoDr. Bharat Bhushan and Dr. A. Senthil Vel of MoEF for the valuable inputs they had given during our interactions with the officials at Delhi and Hyderabad. I thank Mr. G. K. Anand, Professional Consultant and Mr. G. Bala Subramanyam, Advisor, Environment Area, ASCI, who, drawing on their vast experience in the sector, prepared the EIA guidance manual for the Highways. The efforts put by them are commendable. I would like to thank all the Peer and Core Committee members for having given a valuable feed back in the preparation of the manual. I hope the manuals would prove to be useful to the community at large and to the experts working in this area in particular. 26 February, 2010 S.K. Rao ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF COLLEGE OF INDIA Bella Vista, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad-500 082 (India) Tel: +91-40-2331-0852, Fax: 2332-1401 Email: [skrao@asci.org.in](skrao@asci.org.in) CONTENTS Chapter No. Title Page No Foreword Acknowledgements Team vii Core Committee viii Peer Committee ix Abbreviations x List of Tables xi List of Annexures xii List of Figures xiii About The Manual xiv Chapter 1 Introduction 1.0 Preamble 1 1.1 General Information on Highway Projects 1 1.2 Environmental Clearance Process 1 1.3 Terms of Reference (TOR) 6 1.4 Validity of Environmental Clearance 6 1.5 Post EC Moni

FAQs

What is the purpose of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in highway decision-making?

EIA evaluates the environmental consequences of a proposed highway activity before action is taken. It supports sound decision-making by identifying critical impacts and helping define mitigation conditions.

How does the manual relate EIA to Environmental Clearance (EC) requirements in India?

Environmental Clearance for certain projects is mandated by the Ministry of Environment & Forests through notifications. The manual reflects revised and amended EC process requirements and the need for sector-specific EIA guidance.

What main topics are covered in the manual’s highway EIA structure?

The contents include project description, analysis of alternatives, baseline environmental description, assessment of potential impacts and mitigation, monitoring programmes, additional studies, project benefits, cost-benefit analysis, and the Environmental Management Plan.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

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