TAMIL NADU ROAD SECTOR PROJECT SOCIAL IMPACTS AND RESETTLEMENT: SUMMARY ENTITLEMENT MATRIX

Support given to the families and house holds

Support given to adult individuals

Loss of assets

The project may cause people to lose productive land or house plots, structures, wells, trees or other assets.  The project will therefore compensate and replace lost assets at their replacement cost defined as the amount required for the affected person to replace the lost assets through purchase in the open market.  The entitlement unit for such assistance is the household or family.

To the extent possible the Project will aim at obtaining land through negotiating purchase prices with the sellers, acting as a buyer  in the open market.  Only if mutual agreement can not be reached about a purchase price, will the Land Acquisition Act and the Government's right of Eminent Domain be invoked.

Existing records of land transaction and other official documents pertaining to the value of carious assets are generally not reliable as indicators or real value.  The Indian Land Acquisition Act stipulates that additional compensation known as solatium is to be paid on the top of the registered value of land and other assets, in recognition of the involuntary nature of the acquisition.  However, it may still be insufficient to reach real replacement cost, or it may overvalue assets unnecessarily.  The project will therefore objectively establish the real replacement cost of assets to be required.  This will be done through conducting a Land Market Value Survey and through compiling other available sources of information.

Experience shows that cash compensation carries a high risk and is normally inadequate in helping  poor and vulnerable groups re-establish their lost assets, particularly in the case of productive land.  Wealthier or more resourceful people, on the other hand, may prefer cash compensation which in their case does not entail a risk.  The project will therefore provide the option of compensation in kind as well as other support mechanisms  to those deemed as vulnerable or at risk.  Replacement land of equal or better productive value will be offered as an option to those losing substantial amounts of land (i.e. 25 % of their holdings or more), or where loss of land threatens the economic viability of the household.

The costs of compensation for land and other assets acquired for civil works or other purposes are to borne by the State Government, in accordance with procedures set out in the Indian Land Acquisition Act. The World Bank has not financed such costs in any of its projects, and is unable to do so in this project. 

However, any additional costs related to resettlement. capacity building, and other activities required to implement the Resettlement Action Plan, may be covered under the loan. This may in certain cases include additional support mechanisms other than legal compensation for land, to ensure that affected people benefit from the project and do not suffer any net losses.  

Loss of House and Shelter

People losing their home represent a particular challenge in the resettlement program. Every effort will be made by the project to ensure that new housing is available before people are required to relocate.

The project involves linear resettlement, where narrow strips of land are affected along the road corridor. Large population clusters are therefore not likely to be affected by the project. The preferred approach is to assist the people to move back and away from the corridor of Impact, without having to move far away from and disrupting local networks and support mechanisms.

If it is found that clusters of people have to be relocated, the project will provide new housing in a resettlement site approval by the affected people, with adequate infrastructure and utilities. This will be provided as an option, although people may still chose self-relocation if they wish. In that case, compensation and other support should be provided to them, and the project should assist and facilitate their resettlement process.

If resettlement sites are developed as part of the project, the local "host population" will also be consulted about their  views and needs, and be given appropriate support to reduce any negative impact caused by an influx of new people. 

Loss of livelihood or income opportunities

In some cases, the displacement caused by the project may lead to loss of livelihood or income opportunities, either temporarily or permanently.  In such cases, assistance will be given to the affected population to reestablish their livelihood and income, and to compensate for temporary losses.  The unit entitlement eligible for support in such cases will be the adult individual, both men and women.  All adult members of households affected in this way will be eligible for support.

In the case of road projects, am common loss is the displacement of a business structure such as a small roadside shop.  The project will assist such business in relocating, and in continuing their preferred occupation without loss of customer base.

If the project impact leads to people being unable to continue with the previous occupation, the project will provide support and assistance through alternative employment strategies.  Where possible, project affected people will be given employment in opportunities created by the project, such as work with construction or maintenance.  Longer term earning opportunities will be provided through strategies such as vocational training, employment counseling, inclusion in income generating screens, and assets to credit.

Group -based development opportunities

In addition to the direct losses of assets or livelihoods, the project is likely to have more indirect impacts on the population living in the vicinity of the road corridor.  While many of these impacts are positive, some are negative and should be mitigated.  These may include impacts on traffic safety, access to water and sanitation, access to common property resources, and impact on non-motorized transport such as pedestrians, bullock carts, etc.  Increased long-distance traffic has been shown to lead to increase in AIDS and other sexually Transmitted Diseases.  Community-owned assets such as schools and temples may also be affected by the project.

Through designs, provision of infrastructure, and other support mechanisms, the project will replace lost assets and minimize any negative impact on groups, particularly groups which are considered vulnerable.  Even where there is no discernible negative impact, the project will seek to benefit the local population, for example by providing bus stops where none existed previously.

If the project affects tribal groups living in the vicinity of the road corridor, special attention will be paid to develop support mechanisms which are culturally appropriate to the affected tribal groups.  In such cases, Government of India and World Bank policies related to tribal groups and indigenous people will be followed.

For the purposes of this project, different criteria and categories of vulnerability have been defined.  As a margin of safety, people earning up to a certain percentage level above the officially recognized poverty line within the state will be considered at risk in this context and included among the vulnerable groups eligible for targeted support.  Increasing the margin and eligibility criteria in this manner is done  in recognition of the difference between  existing development programs for the poor, where impacts from the project itself may lead people to suffer a reduction in living standards.    Thus, a safety margin is provided, to ensure that adequate support is given to all people deemed as potentially vulnerable or at risk.

Through census surveys and other studies, the project will determine who among the affected population may be considered as vulnerable or at risk, or who are likely to be excluded from the normal  benefits of growth and development.  Vulnerable groups may include but not be limited to:

•      Poor or landless people     
•      Scheduled tribes or castes
•      Women-headed households
•      Children and elderly  
•      Disabled people 

Different impacts will affect these groups differently, depending on the reason for their vulnerability under the project. Children may be particularly at risk in terms of traffic safety, for example, while poor people may be at risk of losing economic viability if they lose agricultural land.

For the purpose of this project, those considered as poor will be members of any household earning up to twenty-five percent more than the official state poverty level in Tamil Nadu Road. Since the project may cause temporary or permanent loss of income, even those earning slightly more than the poverty level are at risk: thus the vulnerability criterion is set to poverty level plus 25 percent.

Vulnerable groups will receive targeted support and special attention from the project, and be provided with more options and support mechanisms than  those not considered vulnerable. The issue of options is discussed in the next section.

2.5 OPTIONS AND CHOICES

The project will provide options and choices among different entitlements to the affected population. As part of the project consultation and participation mechanisms, people will be informed and consulted about the project and its impact, and their entitlements and options.

Affected population will be counseled so they are able to make informed choices among the options provided. The project will therefore undertake a risk and benefit analysis of each of the options and support mechanisms and explain benefits and potential risks to the affected population. This will be done particularly in the case of vulnerable individuals and groups, who will be encouraged to chose the options which entail the lowest risk.

 By allowing people to choose among different options the project will seek to make people active participants in the development process and to achieve greater acceptance of the resettlement and rehabilitation efforts.

Displacement under the project will be limited to the corridor required for the road and its safety zone.  This corridor is referred to as the Corridor of Impact.  Within this corridor, there should be no structures or other hindrances.

The advantage to this approach is that such a corridor is easier to maintain free of encumbrances than the full Right of Ways. Since the density of structures and other encroachments is not very high close to the road, the need for resettlement is reduced to less than a quarter of what would be required if the entire ROW were to be cleared- with corresponding savings in cost and efforts2.

The project will ensure that those outside the corridor of impact but inside the Right of Way are not displaced during the lifetime of the project.  It they are made to move during the lifetime of the project or within three years after the completion of the project, they will be considered eligible for the support mechanisms available to people affected by the project.

It is recognized that this  approach offers only a temporary solution, and does not adequately address the longer term needs of maintaining the Right of Way clear, or of providing the squatters and encroaches with the security of tenure needed to improve their lives.  The project will therefore investigate and attempt to achieve more permanent solutions, such as facilitating access to credit or other ways for squatters and encroachers to obtain security of tenure.

By limiting displacement and the need for resettlement to the corridor of impact, exact identification of affected population is not possible until engineering designs have been completed. A shift in alignment of a meter may mean the difference between whether a person is considered affected by the project or not.

The World Bank and the Government of Tamil Nadu have agreed that during the appraisal process, final designs will be prepared for approximately forty percent of the roads to be improved. This means that for those roads, exact numbers, identities and socio economic characteristics of the project affected population will be made available and included in the Resettlement Action Plan. Estimates based on preliminary designs and initial studies will be made for the reminder of the project. During the project implementation phase, additional studies will be undertaken to update the Action Plans in coordination with designs, principles for socio - economic studies are described in the next section

Social Assessment

A social assessment will be undertaken for the project, in order to support participation and make explicit the social factors affecting the development impacts and results. this social assessments will identify stakeholders and key social issues, and formulate a participation and consultation strategy. It will specifically address the issue of how vulnerable and excluded groups may benefit from the project.

CENSUS AND BASELINE SOCIO ECONOMIC SURVEYS

A full census will be under taken to register and document the status of the potentially affected population within the project impact area, their assets and sources of livelihood. This census will cover 100 % of the potentially affected population within the likely corridor of impact and a reasonable distance beyond, to ensure that people and assts have been registered in case of a later shift in road alignment. Legal boundaries including the Right of way will be verified and certified.

Following final designs, those within the Corridor of Impact will be considered eligible for support under the project. This is likely to be a substantially lower number than those initially covered in the census.

The date of the census will be cut off date for entitlements under the project, to determine who may b e entitled to support. People moving into the project area after this cutoff date will not be entitled to support. It is therefore important to undertake this census at the earliest possible date to avoid an influx of new people seeking benefits under the project. In the cases where land acquisition will be required, the date of the first notification under the law will be considered the cut off date.

A limited sample of the potentially affected population will be studied in more detailed to provide the baseline information against which project impacts will measured and evaluated. This sample will be representative of the different impact categories identified.

SCREENING AND PLANNING

.Every effort will be made to reduce potential negative impacts of the project, both in terms of environment and social issues. The project will therefore carefully coordinate the design process with the finds from screening and studies related to socio economic impacts and the environment, in order to minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits.

When choosing among different design options, such as whether to construct a bypass or improve the road through a built up area, environmental social indicators will be factored into decision along with technical and economical considerations.

IMPLEMENTATION

During project implementation, the resettlement program will be coordinated with the completion of designs and the likely timing of civil works. The project will provide adequate notification, counseling and assistance to affect people so that they are able to move or give up their assets without undue hardship before civil works are to start.

In the case of Land Acquisition, the Indian Land Acquisition Act constraints rules for the time required from when people are first notified about the State's intent to acquire the land, to the time people are required to vacate their holdings. The normal procedures for Land acquisition will be followed in this project. Although the land acquisition act has a provision for emergency acquisition requiring shorter time, this clause will not be invoked unless it is documented that an emergency exists and that it is not possible to follow the normal procedures for Land Acquisition.

The project will ensure that civil works are not started on any road segment before compensation and assistance to the affected population have been provided in accordance with this policy frame work.

Experience indicates that involuntary resettlement generally gives rise to serve problems for the affected population. These problems may be reduced if, as part of a resettlement program, people are properly informed and consulted about the project, their situation and preferences, and allowed to make meaningful choices. This services to reduce the insecurity and opposition to the project which otherwise are likely to occur.

The project will therefore ensure that the affected population and other stakeholders are informed consulted in a meaningful way, and allowed to participants actively in the development process. This will be done throughout the project, both during preparing, implementation, and monitoring of project results and impact.

The consultation will be conducted in a way which is appropriate for cultural, gender - based and other differences among the stakeholders. Where  different groups or individuals have different views or opinions, particular emphasis will be put on the views and needs of the more vulnerable groups.

The Resettlement Action Plans will contain detailed information about institutional and organizational mechanisms required to implement the plan. A project Implementation Unit (PIU) will have responsibility for coordinating resettlement along with other project components, and will be staffed with people with experience in resettlement and social development.

The project implementation will require coordination among different agencies, working in different districts and jurisdictions. This represents particular challenges, and may pose a risk a delays in implementation of the resettlement program. An assessment will therefore be made of institutional capacity and risks. This assessment will be described in the Resettlement Action Plan, accompanied by a strategy for developing the required capacity and minimize implementation risks. This will include analysis of training needs and a plan for training of personnel at different levels. Such capacity building will be coordinated with the overall project implementation schedule, to ensure that skilled staff are available to implement the Resettlement Action Plan without causing delays to civil works.

Since much of the work related to resettlement involves social development and community participation, the project will work with agencies experienced in this type of work, such as NGOs.

Consideration will also be given to coordinating with other development programs, such as vulnerable groups housing schemes or rural development NGOs in order to provide the project affected population with access to services and programs already in place.

While consultancy services will be used in preparing and implementing this project, an important objective is to develop local capacity to plan and implement resettlement programs. The project will  therefore document how capacity building at different levels is achieved, and how this project contributes to improved sector level or state wide policies and practices related to resettlement in the state.