ABBREVIATED LAND ACQUISITION PLAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTION OF LUDA YANA DAM, Public Disclosure Authorized PANAGYURISHTE MUNICIPALITY, BULGARIA 1. INTRODUCTION This Abbreviated Land Acquisition Plan (ALAP) has been prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) of the Republic of Bulgaria to outline the actions undertaken for the acquisition of land required for the construction of the Luda Public Disclosure Authorized Yana dam and its ancillary components (i.e. dam wall, reservoir, water tower, wastewater pipe, main outlet discharge, spillway, potable water treatment plant (PWTP), “sanitary zone”, etc), including the associated infrastructure – water supply pipelines and relocation of electrical lines in the Municipality of Panagyurishte, Pazardijk region. The completion of this project is part of the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project (MIDP), implemented by the MRDPW with a credit facility of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This ALAP has been drafted in conformity with the requirements of the applicable Bulgarian Public Disclosure Authorized laws and the requirements of the MDIP’s Land Acquisition Policy Framework (LAPF) dated March 2009, which is in line with the World Bank Operational Policy (ОP) 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement. The LAPF includes an analysis of the applicable legal framework, valuation criteria, entitlement matrix, stakeholder engagement and grievance mechanism, among other details. This Land Acquisition Plan complements and builds on the findings of the Social Due Diligence (November 2007)1 which describes the historical land acquisition under the construction of Luda Yana dam which started prior to the World Bank involvement in the on- going Municipal Infrastructure Development Project (MIDP). Public Disclosure Authorized Land acquisition for the construction of the Luda Yana dam was conducted in two periods: (1) between 1986 and 1988 (historical land acquisition), and (2) between 2014 and 2016 (land acquisition under MIDP). The preparation of the draft ALAP started in 2014, prior to the start 1 Draft Social Due Diligence in respect of construction of Luda Yana Dam (November, 2007) Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Republic of Burgaria 1 of civil works implemented within the scope of the MIDP, and has been changed during the implementation of the project for updating the acquisition’s actions. In the meantime, affected people received compensation according to the policies and principles laid out in the LAPF, prior to the start of civil works. This revised ALAP was developed in order to document the loss of private land, asset or access to income generating activities as a result of activities conducted within the scope of the MIDP, and mitigation measures employed, so as to ascertain the Project compliance with the LAPF and the Bank’s OP 4.12. 2. LUDA YANA DAM PROJECT DESCRIPTION Luda Yana dam is located about 2 km northeast of Panagyurishte town at Luda Yana river straight after the flowing of Stara reka river and Muleyska river. The objective of the Luda Yana dam project is to provide sustainable water supply to Panagyurishte town and the neighboring villages Oborishte, Poibrene, Popintsi, Banya, Buta, Levski, Elshitsa, Radka mines, sites ‘Opticoelectron’ and ‘Asarel’ included in Panagyurishte municipality as well as five more populated areas in Pazardjik and Strelcha municipalities. Key components of the Luda Yana dam are as follows: dam wall, reservoir water tower, wastewater pipe, main outlet discharge, spillway, potable water treatment plant (PWTP). The construction works for the dam started in 1986. During the period 1990-1995, the works were suspended and in 2000, they were ceased. On 1 September 2016 the construction of the dam was resumed and is expected to be completed by 2019. 3. HISTORICAL LAND ACQUISITION Between 1986 and 1988 the Government of Bulgaria acquired 175.36 hectares of land for the construction of the Luda Yana dam. Of the land acquired in this period, 97.34 % (170.70 hectares) was publicly owned. The remaining 2.66% (4.6 hectares) was subsequently recognized (after the beginning of the restitution procedures in 1991) as belonging to private persons, although restoration of ownership rights was denied due to designation of these lands for the construction of the Luda Yana dam. In total, BGN 4 261 was paid to affected farmers as compensation for the denial of the restoration of ownership rights and for loss of economic assets affixed on the land such as perennial plants and crops. At the current moment, the State owns all of these lands. It is noteworthy that no physical relocation of households occurred under this historical land acquisition. 2 As shown in Table 1, in total 170.70 hectares (97.34 % of the acquired land) was publicly owned, including 85 hectares of agricultural land (48.5% of the total acquired land) expropriated from Farming and Industrial complex – Panagyurishte – in 19872; and 65 hectares transferred from the State Forestry Fund (37% of the total acquired land) in 1987.3 The remaining 20.7 hectares of publicly owned lands were transferred from various government agencies.4 The remaining 4.6 hectares (2.66 % of the acquired land) used to be State-owned real estates prior to the historical land acquisition used solely for agriculture use by citizens in the locality Pod Shterniata. It is noteworthy that, under the then effective law and regulations, these lands were part of the single State fund, i.e. no private property to be expropriated existed. These 4.6 hectares of land was granted for construction of dam production site in 1986 on the basis of the Municipal Council Executive Committee of Panagyurishte Order N 60 /04.03.1986. The farmers were compensated financially with a sum totaling BGN 4 261 when the land was granted for the dam construction mentioned above. Table 1. Summary of historical land acquisition (1986 – 1988) Dam Total amount State-owned Land acquired from private users of the land land required for designated Surface Number Amount of Payment of the for the of people compensation compensation construction construction affected paid Luda Yana 175.3 hectares 170.7 4.6 20 people BGN 4261 1986 dam hectares hectares The construction of Luda Yana dam started in 1986, however, it had hitherto been suspended during 1990-1995 and then completely stopped in 2000. After 1991 and the beginning of the restitution procedures, farmers who had used 4.6 hectares of land for farming purposes which had been granted for dam construction in 1986 lodged requests for the restoration of ownership right. The existence of such right of ownership was recognized, however, since these lands had already been granted for the construction of the 2 Decision N K3-6 of of 21.04.1986 3 Decision No 180 of of 12.08.1987 4 Such as: 9.2 hectares transferred from Forestry and Forestry Industry Association in 1987 (Order No 610 of 01.07.1987); 6,24 hectares granted by the council of Ministers Land Commission granted in 1987 (Decision No K3-3 of 27.02.1986); 0,52 hectares granted by Forestry Industry Association in 1987 (Order No 226 of 19.03.1987 of the Forestry and Forestry Industry Association); 4.7 hectares transferred by the council of Ministers Land Commission in 1988 on the basis of the Decision No КЗ-9 of 31.03.1988 of the Council of Ministers Land Commission; and 0.1 hectares granted by Forestry Industry Association in 1987 (Order No 225 of 19.03.1987). 3 Luda Yana dam, the restoration of the ownership right was denied and the persons claiming restitution rights were instead compensated under the procedures provided for by law. The owners have been awarded compensations in the form of registered compensatory notes – special instruments giving their holders the right to purchase agricultural land from the State land fund at special tenders, to take part in the privatization of State and municipal enterprises, as well as to use and acquire title on lands. The advantage of holding them is that only holders of compensatory notes are eligible by law to take part in tenders for gaining ownership over agricultural lands from the State land fund.5 The registered compensatory instruments may be inherited and are freely transferable. Their owners may earn income through sales on the Bulgarian stock exchange for cash, or through acquisition of shares in State owned enterprises against the bonds. Therefore, the affected farmers were provided with options to acquire lands from the State fund on exclusivity basis, or to earn income from the received compensatory instruments. No claims have been lodged contesting the Municipal Farming and Forestry Office Decision for compensation with registered compensatory notes. Currently the compensation procedure is fully completed. It has not been possible to determine to what extent people who received these compensatory notes have been able to realize their financial value (the notes have no term limit, and some may still be held by the recipients). However, during the local public consultations conducted repeatedly during the preparation phase of the project, no complaints were raised concerning the use or value of these compensatory notes. According to the Agricultural Land Ownership and Use Act 1991, and the Act Restoring Ownership on Forests and Forest Stock Land Tracts form the Forestry Fund, 1997, the last date for people to initiate claims for restitution of agricultural or forest land was May 14, 2007. The Land Acquisition Policy Framework (LAPF) which was developed during the preparation of the Project therefore does not include provisions for addressing new claims concerning the historical land acquisition which may be lodged during the implementation of the Project. The LAPF, however, does cover cases in which the initial claim was made prior to the deadline and in accordance with the law, but which have not yet been resolved.