Social Monitoring Report Project Number: 35338 April 2008 PRC: Hunan Roads Development II Project External Monitoring Report on Land Acquisition and Resettlement For Yuanling Local Road(I) Prepared by: Social Investigation Centre of Politics and Public Administration College in Hunan University, People’s Republic of China For Hunan Provincial Transportation Department This report has been submitted to ADB by Hunan Provincial Transportation Department and is made publicly available in accordance with ADB’s public communications policy (2005). It does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB. Loan Project of Asian Development Bank The People's Republic of China Hunan Roads Development Project (II) External monitoring report on Resettlement of Yuanling Section of Zhangjiajie- Yuanling Highway Social Investigation Centre of Politics and Public Administration College in Hunan University April, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 PROJECT INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 2 IMPACTS OF LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT 4 CHAPTER 3 METHODS OF EXTERNAL MONITORING 5 CHAPTER4 RESETTLEMENT POLICY 5 CHAPTER5 LAND ACQUISITION, COMPENSATION AND ADJUSTMENT 6 CHAPTER6 RELOCATION, COMPENSATION AND RECONSTRUCTION 6 CHAPTER 7 INCOME RESTORATION 7 CHAPTER 8 RESETTLEMENT AGENCY 12 CHAPTER9 CONLUSIONS 13 External Monitoring Report on Resettlement of Yuanling Section of Zhangjiajie-Yuanling Highway I. CHAPTER 1 PROJECT INTRODUCTION The proposed upgrading of Zhangjiajie-Yuanling highway is one of the local roads components integrated into the Hunan Roads Development II Project financed by ADB. The upgrading of Zhangjiajie-Yuanling Highway will improve the existing Non-class Highway to Class III. The upgrading of the highway will be divided into two sections: Yuanling section and Zhangjiajie section. As for the Zhangjiajie section has not been relocated until now, so the report only includes resettlement condition about Yuanling section. The proposed local road improvement is located in Yuanling County, HuaiHua City in HuNan Province. The total length of the alignment is 75.445 km which will cross 3 townships and 22 villages in Yuanling County. Yuanling County, the project area, located at the west part of Hunan Province, is one of the poverty Counties designated by the provincial government in 2001. Yuanling County, which in the vicinity of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, both they have two primary advantages: mineral depositions and tourism resources. The weak transportation links with the outside world severely constrain these advantages. The construction of project will serve as an interconnecting road between Changde-Zhangjiajie Expressway completed in 2005 and the Changde-Jishou Expressway under construction. It will play a vital role of constructing the Golden Triangular Tourist Zone among Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang and Yuanling, and will provide a substantial boost to the economic development of the project area. The construction of the proposed project will help to improve the accessibility of people in the project area, hence increase the agricultural production and assist with poverty alleviation, improve welfare of minority nationalities in the project area. II. CHAPTER 2 IMPACTS OF LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT Impacts of land and property acquisition will be widely spread over 22 villages, and about 517 private households will require relocation. The floor space of house and building that need demolished is 52171.7 (m2). The total land acquisition area is 689.257 mu (1.1ha), 197.05mu of which is farmland， about 1103 household are affected. The investigation was undertaken in May 2006, In addition to a few households, massive households have received compensations for land acquisition and relocation in November 2006. Until the end of 2006, besides 57 houses near Yuanling town and 9 houses at Jiemuxi Township, other houses and subsidiary buildings have been relocated. Up to now, 369 houses have been demolished (excluding subsidiary buildings), the floor space is 37,783 square meters. Among them, 247 households at Jiemuxi Township, count 23,712 square meters; 66 households at Shenxikou Township,count 7,038 square meters; 56 households in Yuanling Town, count 7,033 square meters. The permanent land acquisition project ended at the end of 2006, a total of 689.257 mu various types of land were acquired, of which 375.637 mu at Jiemuxi Township, 223.77mu at Shenxikou Township, 89.85mu at Yuanling Town. The infrastructure that will be affected includes fiber cable, power lines, telecommunication lines and cables. After continuous consultation, the cable began to remove in December 2006. Most of power, telecommunications, lines and wires have been completed diversion in May 2007. Schools and factories along the road have far away from the reconstruction project, accordingly, the highway reconstruction failed to have impacts on them. III. CHAPTER 3 METHODS OF EXTERNAL MONITORING As a loan project of Asian Development Bank, in order to assure the resettlement program in accordance with Asian Development Bank’s policy on Involuntary Resettlement, we carried an external monitoring survey for the resettlement project. The major contents of monitoring include: （1）Whether the compensation standards of land acquisition and relocation are consistent with the requirements of Asian Development Bank, that is to say, whether reflect replacement cost; （2）Resettlement and availability of funds allocated; （3）Livelihood comparison of land acquisition and without project; （4）Executing agency and condition about land acquisition. The specific monitoring methods include both quantitative and qualitative. （1）Visited Zhangyuan Highway Construction and Development Co. Ltd in Huaihua and other staff in related department, inquired about the whole process of resettlement program. （2）A total number of 71 affected households received questionnaire survey in March 2008. The major information include: family background, land acquisition and compensation, compensation for housing relocation and reconstruction, family property, business operating status, income and outcome and so on. （ 3 ） 15 affected villages received questionnaire survey in March 2008,and asked something about relocation, reconstructing, income recovery etc. The present report is based on the detailed measurement survey above. IV. CHAPTER4 RESETTLEMENT POLICY The project of land acquisition is accordance with the Resettlement Plan compiled in June 2006 and based on a combination of PRC laws、regulations and Asia Development Bank’s policy on Involuntary Resettlement. The following laws and regulations will be utilized for this project: z Implementation Regulations for Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective January 1999. z Measures of Information Publicizing for Land Acquisition, No. 10 Order, Ministry of Land and Resources, effective on January 1, 2002. z Implementation Measures for the Land Administration Law of PRC in Hunan Province, effective as of March 31, 2000). z Decree 28 for Land Administration Law (Promulgated in October 2004) and Hunan Provincial Document No. 24 (February 2005) z Management Measures on Temporary Land Occupation, No. 140 Order, Human People’s Government, effective 2001. z Forestry Law. V. CHAPTER5 LAND ACQUISITION, COMPENSATION AND ADJUSTMENT The permanent acquisition of land in Yuanling section of Zhang-Yuan highway has been finished at the end of 2006, Land compensation and resettlement subsidies have already been allocated. Land has been transferred completely. Those farmers whom we visited have also obtained land compensation and resettlement subsidies. However, a series of farmers believed that the land compensation standard is somewhat low. After land acquisition project, only few villages have adjustment of land, the vast majority of villages haven’t land adjustment. The compensation for the villages which have land adjustment will be distributed in the village. Villages which have no land adjustment will be paid directly to the affected families. From the survey of 71 households, we noted that each household have acquired an approximately of 0.17mu land. Yuanling County, located in mountainous areas, hence the area of farmland is few, and lesser than other areas. The survey from 71 households indicated that the average of farmland is 2.22mu, while the per capita farmland is no more than 0.48mu. Thus long term impacts on land acquisition will be extensively. We should put emphasis on income recovery about farmers who own little per capita farmland. VI. CHAPTER6 RELOCATION, COMPENSATION AND RECONSTRUCTION The relocation project started in May, 2006, a wide range of houses have been demolished at present. In according to the survey from affected farmers, we get to know that all the affected households have received Houses and Buildings compensation. Among 55 families, the highest compensation hit CNY67,547 and the average of compensation is about CNY20,000. Standards of Compensation for Houses and Buildings as follows: Table 1 Compensation Rates for Houses and Buildings Unit: CNY/m2 Brick & Brick & Clay & Wood & tile Simple Structure Concrete wood (tile) Wood (tile) roof Houses Rate 280 220 180 160 90 According survey to 15 villages, we concluded that 79 new houses have been completed, 13 new houses are under construction and 117 households have not yet begun to build for short of alternative residential land. From those new houses have been built, we knew that an overwhelming majority of families enjoyed better condition than the pre-project levels of vulnerability.