RP499 AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT ROAD TRANSPORT SERVICE DEPARTMENT Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized
IDA Credit 3517 – AZ TOVUZ BYPASS
DRAFT LAND ACQUISITION PLAN
Public Disclosure Authorized
September 9th 2006 2
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION...... 2 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION...... 3 3. SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION...... 3 4. AVOIDANCE OR REDUCTION OF DISPLACEMENT ...... 5 4.1. Bypass alternatives ...... 5 4.2. Preliminary impacts of the new road ...... 5 5. POLICY, LEGAL AND FRAMEWORK ...... 6 6. IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT AFFECTED PEOPLE (PAP)...... 8 7. CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION...... 9 8. THE LAND ACQUISITION MECHANISM...... 9 9. COORDINATION OF CIVIL WORKS ...... 10 10. CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH PARTNER INSTITUTES ...... 10 11. INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, IMPLEMENTATION SKILLS AND TRAINING ...... 11 12. MONITORING ...... 11 13. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES...... 12 14. TRANSPARENCY OF PROCESS...... 12 15. COMPENSATION POLICY, BUDGET AND FUNDING...... 13 15.1. Compensation policy...... 13 15.2. Budget and funding...... 13 16. CONTINGENCIES AND FLEXIBILITY ...... 14 17. ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT...... 14
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Scope of land acquisition
Table 2: Number of households affected
Table 3: Overview of the Existing National Regulatory Framework Related to Social Aspects in the Road Sector
Table 4: Land Acquisition Budget Estimate
Table 5: Entitlement matrix
Annex 1:
Table of inventory and assessment of houses, communication and other structures to go under the construction of Tovuz bypass
1. INTRODUCTION
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The Government of Azerbaijan has received a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and wishes to apply part of the funds for the construction of a bypass around the city of Tovuz.
According to the World Bank safeguard policies and procedures, OP/BP. 4.12, loss of land and/or livelihood that may result from projects financed under the Bank project must be adequately compensated. The OP/BP. 4.12 stipulates that the Land Acquisition Plan (LAP) or Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), as appropriate, be prepared that sets out policies and procedures that will be applied for the provision of compensation.
Preparation of the LAP is the responsibility of the Borrower. The Azeri government employed the service of the Finnroad Ltd. Company that assessed relevant Azeri laws and procedures, land ownership and local socioeconomic conditions in the project areas. The affected households and local authorities were consulted to explore their perceptions and obtain local knowledge. Since the preliminary social screening found out that no physical relocation of households were expected but that private land would be acquired as a result of the Project, Land Acquisition Plan was developed as per OP/BP 4.12.
This Land Acquisition Plan (LAP) has been prepared as part of the detailed road design in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan and the Bank Policy concerning land acquisition.
2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Tovuz bypass is a section of the existing east-west corridor between Baku and Tbilisi. The technical assistance document for Tovuz bypass, environmental and socio-economic assessment, included a Resettlement and Land Acquisition Plan. The Tovuz bypass alignment is approximately 10,5 km long. The proposed bypass road will have two lanes now (1st phase), but will be widened in the future to a 4-lane-road (2nd phase). The land acquisition in question will be done for both the 1st and 2nd phase.
3. SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION
According to the Azerbaijan’s legislation the road reserve that will be taken is 60 meter wide for the main road (bypass) and 25 meters for local roads.
The physical construction works for the 1st phase will require additional land acquisition outside of the designated 60 and 25 meter wide road reserve at interchange areas and for excavations and embankments. These areas are included in the total sum of land required for the road.
The road is situated in the area of 7 settlements. The settlements are Duz-Jirdahan, Bozalgalni, Abulbeyli, GaraGanli, Khatinli, Dondar Gushchu and Ashagi Hushchu.
It is anticipated that the project will impact about 580.558 m2 (approx. 58 ha) that will be required permanently (private land 430.824 m2 and municipality land 134.590 m2). See table 1 below.
Table 1: Scope of land acquisition for the Tovuz bypass project
Settlement/VIL Permanent loss of land, m2 4
LAGE Residential Agricultural Public/ Total municipality 1 Albulbeyli 0 63777 16511 80288 village 2 Ashagi Gushchu 0 154498 46582 201080 village 3 Bozalganli 0 55900 42933 98833 village 4 Duz-Jirdahan 0 103258 0 103258 village 5 Dondar Gushu 0 0 21600 21600 village 6 Qarakhanli 0 35859 2158 38017 village 7 Xatinli village 0 32676 4806 37482 Total 0 430824 134590 580558
The land required for the road is mainly agricultural land/garden owned by private farmers or public land owned by municipalities.
The private landholdings are mostly small and narrow strips. On the other hand there are farmers that own more than one piece of land.
Private owned properties that are affected are precisely 399 in 6 villages. In the seventh village the land required for the road is owned by the municipality.
Table 2: Number of households affected
Settlement/VILLAGE NUMBER OF PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS 1 Albulbeyli village 73 2 Ashagi Gushchu village 89
3 Bozalganli village 39 4 Duz-Jirdahan village 82 5 Dondar Gushu village 0 6 Qarakhanli village 58 7 Xatinli village 58 Total 399
There are also areas in the road reserve that are not included in the above mentioned areas. These areas are parts of the existing road in the beginning and the end of the bypass, river bed, road crossing with 3 local roads and gas line area. The approximated size is about 70 000 m2. The above mentioned existing road is controlled by the state (RTSD) and does not need expropriation measures. The river bed does not need expropriation measures. The gas line area will need an agreement with the gas line organisation.
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4. AVOIDANCE OR REDUCTION OF DISPLACEMENT
4.1. Bypass alternatives
The existing road through Tovuz can not be widened or upgraded to the planned future standard design for the M 1 and as a result the ‘without-project scenario’ cannot be recommended for consideration either. The existing road trough Tovuz would have had major negative impact for the town, so the impacts to the local inhabitants will be minimised by the bypass alignment.
In the earlier phases of the project there was compared and assessed two alternative corridors for a northern detour of Tovuz town. Both alternatives begin a few hundred meters to the west of the Tovuz Chay river bridge of the M1 and have a common corridor on the first 6.7 km of their alignment.
• Alternative 1 has a total length of 14.1 km and rejoins the M 1 to the northwest of Jalilli on the boundary of the Agstafa District. • Alternative 2 is about 10.4 km long. After splitting from the common corridor with Alternative 1, Alternative 2 turns to the western direction, then runs to the south-west between Jalilli and Duz-Jirdahan and connects to the M1 in the south-east of Jalilli. After splitting from the common corridor, Alternative 2 continues about 3.7 km in the western direction, then runs to the south-west, and connects to the M1.
A 3rd Alternative was studied, but was eliminated from further consideration in the early stages of the study because the required design parameters for a Category 1 road could not be met. In addition, the number of settlements constructed close to the area of this alternative, would cause a problem of population resettlement.
The potential direct physical impact that any of the 2 alternatives may entail, is expected to mainly take place inside the boundaries of the future road reserve. Regarding the human environment, socio-economic implications of the road construction in the alternative study corridors may be severe due to the acquisition and overbuilt of large areas of private agricultural land that presently generate reliable income for many families of Tovuz and surrounding villages. Taking into consideration the additional 3,7 km length of the bypass Alternative 1 and appropriate number of population affected by land acquisition, Alternative 2 is a more preferred scenario. Both road Alternatives do not consider any resettlement of population. Based on favourable results of analysis of environmental and socio-economic impacts and lower cost, the shorter alternative 2 was selected as preferred alignment over the Alternative 1.
4.2. Preliminary impacts of the new road
In general, the new bypass is clearly preferred by the local people and also accepted by the people who will lose their agricultural land against the fare compensation based on the land’s current market price.
Most of the properties lose a marginal part of their land. There are only a few properties that more than 30 % of their agricultural land. The project includes only one building that has to be demolished or moved away. The project does not include permanent housing resettlement. The impacts on displacement of the project are determined not to be significant. The chosen bypass alternative is in the question of land acquisition relatively good, because there is no dislocation of any family houses required.
To avoid or minimize negative impacts due to land loss there is investigated possibilities for reallocation and reallocation of pieces of land between property owners.
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At the public meetings (see chapter 7) there were concerns among the public about questions related to land acquisition. Following questions were raised: What will be the land acquisition process? Can we plant and use our harvest this year?‘ What is the classification of the land categories? I want to definitely know whether my land will be acquired or not. Will our ideas on compensations be considered or will the Government establish their own rates? What is the basis for the determination of the price for our land? Will the price be a lump sum or a lifelong rent?
One of the biggest complaints of the local people has been the heavy traffic causing accidents in the town. The safe movement of school children is a big concern. Road safety will improve, because the traffic, especially heavy traffic, will move from the old road to the new safe and fast road.
Better, faster and safer road transportation is expected to improve also local economics, especially (agricultural) trade.
The volume of trade is expected to grow and have a positive impact on the national economy. The permanent loss of agricultural land will have negative impact on agricultural production, but the impacts are not severe on the macro level.
5. POLICY and LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The WB Operational Policy/Bank Procedure on Involuntary Resettlement (World Bank OP/BP 4.12) requires that WB-assisted projects avoid or minimize involuntary land taking. If such cannot be avoided, displaced persons need to be meaningfully consulted, compensated for lost/damaged assets and assisted in restoring or improving their living standards and livelihood. The policy requires that if involuntary land taking and resettlement become necessary, a clear plan for compensating and assisting displaced persons be prepared by the borrower by appraisal for the Bank’s review. Such a plan shall be substantially completed prior to the commencement of civil works.
WB’s policy on public consultation and disclosure follows specific procedures: In accordance with OP/BP 4.12 and Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information, the Borrower (i.e. the Government of Azerbaijan) will have to make the draft Land Acquisition Plan/Entitlement Matrix available in Azerbaijan at a public place accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs. Moreover, the Borrower must officially submit the Land Acquisition Plan to the Bank. Once the Land Acquisition Plan have been locally disclosed and officially received by the Bank, the Bank will also make them available to the public.
Most national requirements for social assessment and land acquisition are similar to the World Bank practice. One difference between the Azeri law and the Bank policy is that The Azeri law does not include mandatory income restoration support. On the other hand the Azeri law does not prohibit the use of income restoration. In this project there would be an excellent opportunity to “pilot” the idea, because of the project size.
Table 3: Overview of the Existing National Regulatory Framework Related to Social Aspects in the Road Sector
Azerbaijan Constitution Established the right of individuals to possess property and that such ‘property (12 November 1995) rights’ shall be protected by law; also, establishes that no-one will be dispossessed 7
Article 29 of land without a ‘decision of court’, and that alienation of property for state needs shall only be allowed upon ‘fair reimbursement of its value’ Land Code of Azerbaijan 1. All lands in use or in rent can be bought for state, municipality or for public Republic (25 June 1999) needs Article 70 3. Lands in use could be taken back by Local Executive Power and Municipalities via the legal enforcement on the basis of the court decision 4. Privately owned land can be forced to be sold if there is planning to locate something for state, municipality or public needs 8. People can be compensated with the same amount and same category of land in other place if the expropriated land is used for state, municipality of public needs Article 86 1. Following categories of lands and their rights can be sold: private land, municipality lands, and lands under privatized state property. 4. Foreigners and non-citizens are not allowed to buy land in the Republic of Azerbaijan Article 94 2. There are two kinds of values for lands: nominal and market price
Article 95 1. The nominal price of lands is a value indicator reflecting quality and productivity 2. The nominal price is used as a basic value in the following situations: when lands are taken back or expropriating from owners and when the land is sold by owner, and when the lands category is changing 3. Nominal price is indexed by inflation rate and calculated by the District’s Executive Power (Local Executive Body) Article 96 2. When the privately owned land is sold the value is calculated by agreement of correspondent sides on the market place (seller and buyer) 3. When municipality land is sold, market prices must be higher than nominal price and determined by municipality administration 6. When the land is sold for public needs, the price of this land will be determined by independent experts in this process. There must be an agreement by both sides. Article 103 Disputes about land are solved by the District’s Executive Power, Municipalities and Court. Law on Land Market Establishes requirements for land transactions such as purchasing and selling of (7 May 1999) land, mortgages, transferring of rights to other users and lessees, and transfer of land through inheritance; makes recommendations on the nature of land market agreements and contracts; requires registration of all land rights and sets out documentation requirements; and outlines penalties for failure to comply with regulations. Resolution No.42 of “On Expands on provisions of the Land Code with respect to the following areas: a) some Normative and Legal procedures for determining payments for agricultural and forestry production Acts Relating to the Land losses and damage resulting from restriction of use, or change in land use; b) Code of the Azerbaijan procedures for resumption of private land for state or public needs; c) procedures Republic” for granting leases for grazing and hayfield use; and, d) procedures for allotting (15 March 2000) land for industrial, transportation, communication and other purposes. Cabinet of Ministers Sets out standard or normative values of land for each district in Azerbaijan. For DecreeNo.158 on normative Ganja-Gazakh region, which includes the Tovuz district, the normative price for 1 Costs of Land ha of pasture land is specified as 4,318.600 Az. Man (equivalent of USD 920). (23 July 1998) Law on Land Leases Sets general rules governing leasing of land, procedures for changing lease (11 December 1998) conditions and establishes the requirement for registration of leases. Civil Code Defines types of legal interests in property (full ownership, lease, third party); (1 September 2000) requires proprietary rights and other rights for immovable property, as well as restrictions, formation, assignment or transfer of rights to be registered with the State. Use rights, servitude rights and mortgages must also be registered. Requires that land acquired for state or public needs shall be purchased by ‘an authorized body of the Azerbaijan Republic’ or municipality, by paying the market price in advance. Provides for people to have the right to register their ownership due to long, actual possession. Civil Procedures Code Sets out procedures and applicable timeframes for actions and appeals through the (1 September 2000) courts. Court decisions on compulsory acquisition and the basis of any land Article 360 valuation must be appealed with the higher court within one month of such 8
decision Land Acquisition The Memorandum of Understanding on Land Acquisition between the International Development Association (IDA) and the Government of Azerbaijan, which is used in the Baku-Gazakh-Georgia Borders road construction, states which information is collected for compensation applications. This includes (a) the type of land: if sowing land, pasture, garden, dry-farming or irrigated land, (b) buildings, (c) plants already sown or to be sown during the next season and (d) perennial herbs, trees and their age and quantity. This information is collected by the representatives of the District’s Executive Power and Azerbaijan State Land and Cartography Committee for compensation which is finally approved and accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers. Although the state is responsible to compensate, there is no permanent and clear Compensation Funds compensation system and the accepted compensations are paid from different state funds as the case be. For the Tovuz Bypass Project it is recommended that compensations are paid from the Government funds of the IDA loan project and monitored by the RTSD or a supervision consultant engaged in the project. Compensations must be paid immediately after the final road design has been finished and those eligible to compensation are known. Compensations must be completed before any of the construction work starts. Law of the Protection of Protection of Monuments states that no historical and/or cultural monuments Historical and Cultural which are declared as such by the Azerbaijan Science Academy, are to be Monuments demolished. No such monuments were found in the corridors under study. Article 10: (Source: IDA Credit 3517 – AZ, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR TOVUZ BYPASS, LAND ACQUISITION PLAN, Finnroad, Baku, May 2005)
6. IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT AFFECTED PEOPLE (PAP)
A PAP is any person or persons, household, a firm or private institution, who would have their assets acquired, possessed or otherwise affected by the project.
Categories of project affected people in the Project are:
♦ Category 1: Property owners/farmers, who lose less than 30 % of their land ♦ Category 2: Property owners /farmers, who lose 30 % or more of their land ♦ Category 3: Property owner, that lose a garage
The number of property owners/farmers that lose land (categories 1 and 2) are exactly 399. Almost all of them are in category 1.
The number of farmers in category 2 will be determined at the public consultation that will be held in September 2005.
There is only one 3rd category PAP. The object is a building, a garage, which has to be demolished or moved away.
There is not known tenants, encroachers or squatters in the area required for the road.
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7. CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION
During the planning process there has been two public meetings held in Tovuz. The first meeting was held at the very early stages of the Project on December 25th 2004 and the second on February 25th 2005.
To strengthen the public consultation process according to the Bank Policy there were following meetings held in spring 2005: ♦ project results was presented to the public and local authorities in Tovuz on March 26 ♦ formal project presentation to RTSD on March 30 ♦ public consultation meeting was held in Baku on April 8
The affected persons have been contacted by the Land Commission in the start of the land acquisition in July 2005. The determination of the road reserve and the inventory of the assets in the road area have been presented to the property owners. If possible the property owner’s approval for the inventory should be gathered.
In accordance with the Bank Policy the Draft Land Acquisition Plan has been presented to the public on April 8, 2006.
To ensure that PAP’s, their representatives, local governments and local media in the affected areas understand the details of the land acquisition, a brochure of the final LAP will be prepared. The brochure will include the main issues such as entitlement principles and time-schedule of the LAP. A translation of the LAP will also be made available at the offices of the local government. Local media such as local radio will be used to notify key issues of the LAP widely within the local community.
8. THE LAND ACQUISITION MECHANISM
The procedure for land acquisition is as follows:
1. Detailed design In detailed design the objective is to minimise the negative impacts on properties and affected people.
2. Identification of the present situation. Identify structures, properties and owners in the road reserve. Make a list/table of the information for the further process. Collect information about property boundaries.
3. Involvement of relevant authorities and property owners. Inform government and local authorities about the project and the land acquisition. The Local Executive Body and the Land Commission informs the property owners and others concerned by the land acquisition.
4. Field inventory The road reserve and the property boundaries are going to be determined on project location. The inventory of the assets in the road reserve will be done by the detailed design consultant in cooperation with the Local Executive Body and the Land Commission. The local authorities and property owner’s approval of the inventory information will be obtained.
5. Valuation of the land and other assets The detailed design consultant makes the first valuation in cooperation with the local authorities. The preliminary valuation is submitted to the Land Commission. Land Commission reviews the valuation 10
and submits it to the Cabinet of Ministers. The Cabinet of Ministers makes a decision on the valuation and compensation prices and sends it to the Land Commission for further action.
6. Agreement between authorities and property owners about compensation The Land Commission prepares the agreements form individually for each property according to the decision made by the Cabinet of Ministers. In case of no-agreement, see chapter 13.
7. Compensation paid to affected persons before the start of construction. The compensation is paid by a government organisation.
8. Notification Affected people are given adequate notice (minimum 3 months) to self-demolish and salvage materials from their structures (measured from date an agreed resettlement plan is achieved). In this project there is only one building, a garage, which has to be demolished.
9. Monitoring See chapter 12.
9. COORDINATION OF CIVIL WORKS
The construction is planned to start in the beginning of year 2006. The construction time is forecasted to take a maximum of two years.
According to Azeri law and Bank Policy all compensations are due to be paid before start of construction.
It is necessary that there is information given locally responsibilities during project implementation. Information about persons responsible for construction, information or construction time damages outside the road reserve, in case that the property owners need to contact the responsible party.
10. CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH PARTNER INSTITUTES
The parties and responsibilities in the land acquisition procedure for public roads are as follows:
Cabinet of Ministers approves and accepts the information for compensation.
Responsibility for implementation of duties concerning road keeping is formally allocated to the Ministry of Transport and passed down to the Road Transport Services Department (RTSD). Road Transport Services Department (RTSD) is responsible for control of the use of the road reserve and for the preparation of the inventories of properties within the road reserve.
Land acquisition Department (LAD) of RTSD is responsible for project implementation and for land acquisition monitoring. It is possible that PIU heads over the monitoring to a third party.
Azerbaijan State Land and Cartography Committee (Land Committee) is the governmental expert organisation for land acquisition issues in Azerbaijan. The cadastral information for the land acquisition was obtained from The Land and Cartography Committee by the consultant.
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The Local Executive Body includes of the representatives from the local settlements. The Local Executive Body names their representatives for the Land Commission.
The Land Commission is a local commission organised for the land acquisition in the Tovuz bypass project. The Land Commission has representatives from the Local Executive Body and if necessary also from the Land Committee. The Land Commission is responsible for the inventory information, valuation of compensation and for negotiations with the property owners.
For the Tovuz bypass project the Detailed Design Consultant has prepared following duties: ♦ the cadastral information and the property owner information ♦ the field inventory of the road reserve ♦ the preliminary valuation of the losses
11. INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, IMPLEMENTATION SKILLS AND TRAINING
Capacity development and training will be required, so the RTSD can implement the land acquisition plan in accordance with he relevant national and WB standards. The nature and expected relatively short duration of the present Project are assessed as an ideal opportunity for capacity building and on-the-job training throughout construction. Taking into consideration the complexity and high sensitiveness of Land Acquisition procedures, the RTSD staff requires considerable administrative capacity at the local level, which is not available. Also deep knowledge in public participation would be an important asset in future projects.
In order to avoid potential problems during the land acquisition implementation, additional staff and appropriate training is needed.
In the early planning phases there is need to be aware of the preliminary impacts to properties and other assets. Negative impacts can be minimized if the RTSD project engineers have general knowledge in land acquisition, both process and impacts. Future training is proposed for RTSD project engineers in cadastral information and how to minimize impacts on properties.
12. MONITORING
Monitoring is the continuous process of assessment of project implementation in relation to tasks and schedule of the project.
Monitoring verifies that all project activities have been completed and these activities are achieved.
A monitoring programme for the Tovuz bypass project will be established by LAD of RTSD, to ensure that the land acquisition is carried out within the procedures given by the national legislation and the Bank Policy. This programme will have the objective of:
♦ monitoring people affected by the loss of land to ensure that they are treated fairly, to monitor compensation payment and that the people affected are not made worse-off by the project;
♦ monitoring the restoration of livelihood of - the 2nd category PAP’s and 12
- people dependent on those who loose almost all their land, that they are enabled a livelihood same or higher than before the project
♦ monitoring impacts of construction on the people affected and there properties (for example construction damages to the properties/assets outside the road reserve)
♦ monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency of the land acquisition process to identify problems in the process and ensure that urgent action is taken to resolve these problems to minimise the risk of delays to the project completion.
♦ To avoid or minimize negative impacts on land loss there is a need to monitor and investigate possibilities for reallocation and reallocation of pieces of land between property owners.
The monitoring starts before construction and carries on for a period of time after the construction has been finished. The suggestion is that the monitoring would go on until one year after the end of construction.
The size of land acquisition in the project does not justify the use of local NGO’s. Therefore the monitoring is suggested to be supervised by LAD of RTSD, assisted by a recruited local land acquisition monitor/consultant. It is important that post monitoring starts at latest three months after the compensations measures has been finalised.
13. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
Possible disputes of land acquisition for the Tovuz bypass are solved by the District’s Executive Power, Municipality and Court.
In the event that an agreement for land acquisition between authority/property owners cannot be reached, the acquiring authority can process its application for acquisition through the courts. The land owner also has an option for seeking recourse through the courts. There is a possibility for exchange land to be given, that is equivalent to the land being acquired. Where a relevant local executive authority decides a land case, the decision shall come into force immediately and this decision will not be terminated by the lodgement of a complaint with the relevant court. This means that the first decision is in force until the relevant court decides otherwise.
14. TRANSPARENCY OF PROCESS
The process for land acquisition has been open and has given possibilities for the affected persons to collect information and also to participate in the process. There has been organised several local public meetings and announcements during the planning phases.
However, there are following issues suggested to be improved: ♦ transparency of the authorities responsibilities in the process ♦ information to the public of there rights and responsibilities ♦ information to the public about the time schedule for land acquisition and the project implementation ♦ information to the public about the compensation principles and prices
The information dissemination strategy will seek to address the possible problems in transparency of the process (see chapter 7: Consultation and participation). 13
15. COMPENSATION POLICY, BUDGET AND FUNDING
15.1. Compensation policy
All three PAP categories are entitled to full compensation for their loss. The farmers will either get full money compensation or alternative land, where possible.
Land swap (alternative land) is possible according to Azerbaijan legislation. The local authorities do not have enough land reserve to be used as alternative land. On the other hand the quality of the alternative land is much lower than the land owned by people. Therefore money compensation is preferred.
In case that more than 80 % of a farmers land is expropriated, the government will also buy the rest 20 % with full compensation.
The 2nd category PAP’s will have possibility for income restoration measures, which is supported by the government. Also income restoration measures such as privileged access to employment opportunities created under the project will be provided. The assessment for the need of training will be included in the monitoring programme. RTSD and local authorities will be responsible for possible income restoration measures.
The project has one 3rd category PAP. The object is a building, a garage, which has to be demolished or moved away. There will be established full compensation to the garage owner for his loss of land, garage and income. His livelihood will be at least the same as before the road construction.
Municipality owned land that is required for the road will be compensated.
The land compensation price must be based on the market price, provided that such price is not less than the cadastral or normative price for the subject land (Land Code, article 96.5). Normative or cadastral rates for lands in each district are established by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 158 On Establishment of New Normative Prices for Land in the Azerbaijan Republic (23 July, 1998).
RTSD hired a consultant who carried out the valuation of market price of properties in the project areas. It was confirmed and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers that the unit price of 1ha of land is AZN 12,000.
The Project will pay compensation for permanent acquisition of land based on negotiated rates. The government normative or cadastral rates will be the minimum.
15.2. Budget and funding
The Tovuz land acquisition budget (compensation, monitoring etc.) will be determined later by the government authorities.
Table 4: Land Acquisition Budget Estimate 14
Activity Budget Cost Remarks (US$)
1. Compensation of any Affected Properties 655 000 This is a rough estimate, that (loss of land and other assets) will be determined later
2. Compensation of Affected Properties outside the Road Reserve (for example construction damages to 10 000 This is a rough estimate, that the properties/assets outside the road reserve) will be determined later
3. Managing and implementing costs for the LAP Process 15 000 LAD of RTSD etc.
4. Monitoring costs 15 000 LAD of RTSD etc.
Total Cost Estimate 695 000
The payment will be monitored by LAD of RTSD or a supervision consultant engaged in the project.
16. CONTINGENCIES AND FLEXIBILITY
The project requires land acquisition from almost 400 private properties. The theoretical medium width of a property is approximately 25 meters. Considering this, there will be problems in the use of the areas, when the road cuts the areas in the separate parts. There is a risk that this situation in many cases will lead to no- agreement on land acquisition. Therefore it should be created a mechanism for reallocation of pieces of land between property owners.
The cadastral information (property borders, ownership etc.) is not accurate enough to assess the impacts on properties in the early phases of the project. This might lead to difficulties when negotiating about compensation with the property owners, when relevant information is not available.
17. ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT
The Draft Land Acquisition Plan will be submitted to government and the WB. After comments the Draft LAP will be reviewed and completed. The LAP will be made available at a public place accessible for public, local authorities and NGO´s.
The World Bank will make it available to the public through InfoShop (website). After the Bank has approved the final Land Acquisition Plan, the Bank and RTSD disclose it again in the same manner.
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Table 5: Entitlement Matrix
The Entitlement Matrix has been developed based on the information collected at the field inventory and consultation with the local authorities. The matrix describes the method/volume of compensation/assistance that the affected population and counterpart officials agree as satisfactory to each other. The Entitlement Matrix is presented below.
Category of Entitlements LAP Compensation Compensation Compensation Compensation Moving Other for loss of for loss of for loss of for loss of allowance assistance land structure assets income
1. Property 1.Compensatio Compensation owners that n at market at market price lose less price or than 30 % 2. Alternative of their land land If the land 2. Property 1.Compensatio Compensation Income expropriated is owners that n at market at market price restoration over 80 % of lose 30 % price or measures the farmers or more of 2. Alternative land, the rest their land land 20% will be bought by the government 3. Property Compensation Compensation Compensation Compensation owner that at market price at market price at market price of loss of lose the (building cost) income as a garage plum sum property
NB: structure refers to all types of buildings including community buildings; assets may tangible commodities of individual or common ownership including crops, trees and wells. wb233666 C:\Documents and Settings\wb233666\My Documents\Tovuz bypass\Tovuz LAP\draft LAP tobesubmitted to COM\LAP_TOVUZ_week36_2005_SENT09092006.doc 04/01/2007 14:33:00 16