An assessment of air pollution impact for an Indian highway project A GIS based approach

Purpose - The paper aims to demonstrate a geographic information system (GIS) based study on environmental impact assessment (EIA), due to air pollution, for a highway project. Design/methodology/approach - An approach has been designed to explore the scope for the combination of EIA and GIS in development for the proposed Allahabad Bypass Project. The air quality in the study area has been quantified in terms of the air pollution index (API). GIS has been exploited to obtain the spatial information for the prediction of air pollution impact at different suburban and rural areas adjacent to the stretch of bypass. Findings - The study has enabled the researchers to understand the variation in air quality along the total stretch of the bypass keeping in view the "with" and "without" project scenarios. The results obtained from the study show considerable increase in air pollution levels from baseline to the projected period of 20 years, due to gradual increase in vehicular traffic along the highway. Originality/value - The information presented in this paper serves as an example to quantify the negative impacts of countryside air quality associated with highway projects. The approach utilized the spatial evaluation of air pollution and helps to provide a critical insight to the problem, which is not apparent while carrying out such an exercise in the traditional manner. Practical implications - Hopefully, this study will encourage the highway planners in India to make a wider application of the technique for an indepth assessment of environmental impacts.