Resettlement Action Plan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RP781 V1 Laos People’s Democratic Republic Laos Transport Sector Program Public Disclosure Authorized Improvement of National Road 6A Subproject Resettlement Action Plan Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Ministry of Public Works and Transport Department of Roads Public Disclosure Authorized January 11, 2009 Executive Summary of the Resettlement Action Plan A. Background Under proposed Laos Transport Sector Program, upgrading of National Road 6A is selected subprojects to be implemented in the first year. The proposed subproject is located in Houa Phanh Province between Hang long village in Vieng Xay District and Ban Dan village in Et District with 124 Kilometer. Based on the existing alignment, the construction of Road 6A would involve limited amount of land acquisition and house demolition. A resettlement action plan (RAP) has been prepared by the project sponsor – Department of Roads, Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) with assistance of SD & XP Consultant Group to address these potential negative impacts. B. Scope of land acquisition and resettlement According to detailed impact survey, the proposed Project will affect 20 villages in 4 districts of Hoauphanh Province. They are Vieng Xay, Sopbao, Xieng khor and Et Districts. A total of 26 households in 20 villages will be affected by land acquisition, house demolition and attachments removal. They include permanent land acquisition of 1.45 ha of land areas with 1.36 ha of farmland, and 0.1 ha of housing land, and demolition of 1009 square meters of houses with 612 square meters of houses and 497 square meters of shops. Along with land acquisition, the project will also involve removal of 22 meters of fence, 102 collectively owned trees and 22 35kV transmission line poles. All the affected land, houses, shops, and attachments will be compensated based on replacement cost. In addition, during construction, about 2.5 ha of land areas and or renting of sites adequate might be required for the construction camps, which will require about 4 years for the implementation of the Project. Efforts will be made to use waste land or non-productive land and powder along the alignment. If productive land belonging to individual households and villages will be used, full compensation of lost yields, and cost of restoration into original conditions will be provided C. Resettlement Policy and Compensation Standards For people who will be inevitably affected by the project, the resettlement objective is to restore or improve their income to their original levels in accordance to national laws and regulations, as well as the resettlement policy of the World Bank. The project owner will ensure that any person who losses land, other assets or income source will be assisted to fully recover their income and living levels. The resettlement policy and legal framework, and entitlement matrix for the Project are based on the World Bank Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (OP4.12), the Constitution of Lao PDR (1991), the Decree 192/PM on Compensation and 2 Resettlement of People Affected by Development Projects, (Government of the Lao PDR, 2005), plus the associated Lao policies, practices and technical guidelines in the Regulation on Resettlement and Compensation (2005). Also relevant are the Lao PDR Land Law, (1997), the Forest Law (1996), and the Road Law (1999). Where a gap exists, the World Bank policy has been used. The over-riding principle of the Resettlement Action Plan is that where a person or group is affected by land acquisition, damage to income generating assets/activities or resettlement as a result of the project, compensation will be allocated in order that livelihoods are the same or better than before the project. The entitlement matrix, resettlement policies and procedures set out in the RAP reflect this principle. According to national laws and regulations and based on consultation with affected people a set of compensation rates has been adopted for the Project. For house demolition, the compensation will be set at $40 per square meter for concrete house, $35 per square meter for concrete wooden houses, and $30 per square meter for wooden structures. In terms of compensations for land, it is set at $3 per square meter for all acquired paddy land, fish pond and housing land. Along with compensation for structures, replacement housing plots and moving allowance will be provided. For various attachments, the compensations at replacement value will be provided, so that affected individual and village facilities could be restored into original conditions. For temporarily occupied land, if productive land is involved, the affected villages or individuals will be provided compensation for the lost yield, plus compensation for restoring them into original conditions. D. Resettlement and Rehabilitation As for the people inevitably affected by the project, adequate compensation and rehabilitation measures will be provided so that the affected people could restore their income and livelihood to their previous levels. For 24 households losing their houses, housing land and shops, the basic strategy is to provide compensation for lost structures based on replacement value and compensation for lost housing land or alternative housing land if they prefer so that they could rebuild their houses or shops in the same villages and along the road in order to restore or improve their current livelihood. For the households affected by lost attachments , compensation at replacement value will be provided so that affected assets and properties could be restored in nearby locations. For 10 villages losing limited paddy land (13290 m2) and 2 households losing fishing pond (200 m2), compensation based on replacement value will be provided, which will enable the affected villages or households to develop more farmland, improve irrigation conditions, and increase yield of existing farmland. For the impacts of removal of 102 roadside trees and 22 transmission line poles of (35kV), compensations will be paid to relevant local government departments so that 3 the affected facilities could be restored and rehabilitated and basic function could be maintained. For potential temporary land occupation, adequate compensations will be paid to affected villages and individuals for their lost yields and the project owner will be responsible to restore the land areas into their original condition after construction. Overall, the impacts of land acquisition and resettlement are limited for the construction of the subproject, and most of such impacts could be mitigated by provided compensation at replacement cost and relevant rehabilitation measures. E. Public Information, Consultation and Participation In the process of identifying resettlement impacts, formulating compensation policies, and preparing the resettlement action plan, extensive consultation and community participation have been organized by consultants and staff from provincial and district government agencies in the project affected areas. Survey results show that all of local residents support this project; and most of them believe that the project will benefit them. For those affected by house demolition and relocation, based on consultation among affected villages, adequate compensation will be paid and alternative housing plots of same quality will be provided within their existing villages. For those affected by losing various attachments, compensation based on replacement value will be provided. More efforts will be made during the resettlement implementation to encourage further participation by the affected people, such as increase fairness in allocating alternative housing plots, and improve transparency in delivering and using compensation funds. All compensations will be delivered directly to affected households. For the collectively owned assets, compensations will be paid to the affected villages, and the use of such funds will be approved by village members. Following both laws in Lao PDR and the World Bank policy, the project resettlement office had made serious efforts to disclose the content of RAP, and inform the affected people about resettlement impacts, compensation policies, and rehabilitation options. More concrete disclosure will be made prior to implementation of land acquisition, which included distributing resettlement information booklet to affected people, and making RAP available in the concerned districts and villages. To effectively address any complains by affected persons, a grievance procedure will be set up by the project. If one person does not satisfy the compensation amount or rehabilitation measure, he could first voice his complain to the village or concerned district department, which should document such complain and resolve the matter within two weeks. If the affected person is not satisfied with the decision, he could bring his case to project resettlement office, which will provide a formal resolution within two weeks. If the affected person does not agree with the resolution, he could 4 bring his case to Houaphanh Provincial Resettlement Compensation Committee, which will make a decision within 10 days. If DP still does not satisfy the resolution from PRCC, he or she could go to the civil court to appeal. The affected people will be informed about these grievance procedures by meetings, information booklet and public notice. F. Vulnerable Population Detailed survey indicates that among total affected people, 31.3% are ethnic minorities, which include Taideng, Khmou, Taisang,