Post on 27-Feb-2020
Social Monitoring Report Semestral Report April 2015
IND: North Eastern State Roads Investment
Program – Tranche 1
Assam
Prepared by the Assam Public Works Department for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and the Asian Development Bank.
This social monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM
AS-37C AND AS-11
North Eastern State Roads Investment Program (NESRIP),
And MDONER
Funded by: ADB Loan No.2770-India.
Prepared and Submitted by: The Contractor: AECOM Asia Company Limited M/S BLA-SGCCL (JV) In Joint venture with Rodic Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT JULY TO DECEMBER 2014
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IIITTTEEEMMM PPPAAARRRTTTIIICCCUUULLLAAARRRSSS PPPAAAGGGEEE NNNOOO
1.0 Background of the Project Road and Scope 02
2.0 Background of the Project Road and Scope 02
3.0 General Information on the Project 03
4.0 Information on Loan 03
5.0 Implementation of the Resettlement Activities 04-05
6.0 Overview of Impact 05-06
7.0 Land Acquisition Notifications 07-08
88..00 Resettlement Impact 08-10
9.0 Capacity Building 11
10.0 Resettlement Staffing 11-12
11.0 Resettlement Staff of PWD 12
12.0 Other Information Related to Implementation of Resettlement Plan 13-17
13.0 Resettlement Issues 18-20
14.0 Compliance to National Laws and Policies (Policy and Legal Framework 20-21
15.0 Compensation and Assistance 21
16.0 Issues and Action Plan 21
17.0 Schedules for Completion of Land Acquisition, Resettlement and
Rehabilitation Activities: 22
18.0 Conclusions 22
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 1 of 22
ABBREVIATIONS:
ADB - Asian Development Bank
AFPRO - Action for Food Production
AP - Affected Person
APWD - Assam Public Works Department
ARO - Assistant Resettlement Officer
BPL - Below Poverty Line
BSR - Basic Schedule Rate
COI - Corridor of Impact
CPR - Common Property Resource
CSC - Construction Supervision Consultant
DC - District Collector
DPR - Detailed Project Report
EA - Executing Agency
GOI - Government of India
GOA - Government of Assam
GRC - Grievance Redressal Committee
IR - Income Restoration
LA - Land Acquisition
LAA - Land Acquisition Act
LVC - Land Valuation Committee
NESRIP - North East State Road Investment Program
NGO - Non- Government Organization
NRRP - National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy
NTH - Non- Titleholder
PH - Physically Handicapped
PIU - Project Implementation Unit
PWD - Public Works Department
R&R - Resettlement and Rehabilitation
RO - Resettlement Officer
ROW - Right of Way
RP - Resettlement Plan
SC - Scheduled Caste
SPS - Safeguard Policy Statement
ST - Scheduled Caste
TH - Titleholder
WHH - Women Headed Household
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 2 of 22
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT ROAD AND SCOPE:
1.01 Name of the Road – Kalitakuchi to Barpeta (AS-37C)
The objective of the projects under NESRIP is to develop the road network and establish
improved road connectivity. The project road (AS-37C) between Kalitakuchi to Barpeta
(58.50km) is proposed for improvement and upgradation. It passes through three districts i.e.
Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta and connects Guwahati, the capital city of the state. The project
road is an intermediate bituminous road with length of about 58.5km and the carriageway
varies between 5.0 and 5,5 m. The road passes through the flood plain of Brahmaputra River.
It takes off at Kalitakuchi from the State Highway between Hajo and Nalbari and ends beyond
Barpeta enroute to Jania . The entire stretch passes through the densely populated area. The
proposed road improvement involves acquisition of land. Residential and commercial
structures, other assets, common property resources within the Corridor of Impact will also
be affected.
Figure 1:Location Map of AS-37C
2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT ROAD AND SCOPE :
2.01 Name of the Road – Bilasipara to Fakiragram (AS-11)
The Project Road AS-11 is a State Highway and is a part or a place of the corridor among
Kokrajhar, Fakiragram, Bilasipara and Dhubri. The corridor provides connectivity to the
thickly populated area in Lower Assam between Fakiragram and Bilasipara. Fakiragram is
connected by road network and railway and connected to Kokrajhar and beyond to
Bongaigaon at NH-31 whereas on the lower end, Bilasipara is connected to Dhubri, both at
NH-31 B. For all practical purposes, this Road Corridor is a link between NH-31 and NH-31B
through the interior lower Assam plain of the State.
The Project Road takes off from old NH-31 at Bilasipara. The road passes through plain
terrain having flat gradient. The horizontal geometrics of the Project Road are easy without
sharp and substandard curves. The embankment is low and almost entire length of the road
gets submerged every year during monsoon period resulting in erosion of shoulders and
disintegration of road pavement. The existing single lane road is now reduced up to 2 m width
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 3 of 22
and in some stretches; the crust has been washed away altogether. The road passes through a
number of villages enroute between Bilasipara and Fakiragram. Land use along the Project
Road is predominantly agricultural but with stretches passing through road side villages and
built-up areas. Total length of the Project Road as per design is 16.20 km.
Figure 2:Location Map of AS-11
3.0 GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT:
3.01 Name of the Project: IND: North East State Roads Investment Program.
3.02 Location: (i) Kalitakuchi to Barpeta (AS-37C)
(ii) Bilasipara (NH-31) to Fakiragram (AS-11)
3.03 Total Length of the project road:
(i) Kalitakuchi to Barpeta (AS-37C) = 58.50 km
(ii) Bilasipara (NH-31) to Fakiragram (AS-11) = 16.20 km
3.04 Administrative Approval Value: 169.94 Crore
3.05 Component of the funds for the project:
- Government of India share: 150.76 crore
- State Share: 19.18 crore
4.0 INFORMATION ON LOAN:
4.01 Kalitakuchi to Barpeta (AS-37C) & Bilasipara (NH-31) to Fakiragram (AS-11)
- Loan number: ADB 2770- IND
- Signing Date: 10.12.2012
- Effective Date: 10.12.2012
- Name of the Borrower: Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
- Name of the Employer: Assam Public Works Department
- Name of the Bank: Asian Development Bank
- Loan amount in various currencies equivalent to Indian Currency (Rupee):
169.94 crore
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 4 of 22
5.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES
5.01 Handed over sections
Land free from encumbrance needs to be handed over to the contractor for fast and
speedy execution of civil works.
5.02 Process
An assessment is made of the ownership of the land based on the available revenue
records. Subsequently a survey is undertaken of the land to determine the extent of
impact. This appraisal is initiated with government land as it is less likely to have any
impact and thus easier to hand over. On appraisal if no impacts are found on any Title-
holder (TH) or Non-title holders (NTH) like encroachers or squatters, then it is deemed to
be free from encumbrances.
This is certified by the NGO engaged for implementation of the resettlement activities
followed by a further assessment by the CSC through its Land Acquisition and
Resettlement Specialist and then handed over to the contractor for initiation of
construction activities. Since there is no NGO available for the resettlement activities,
this activity is being done by the Resettlement Expert (RE) and further certified by
the Resettlement Officer (RO) of the PWD.
The land is formally handed over to the contractor by the PWD. This methodology
has been followed when handing over the stretches mentioned ahead.
5.03 Encumbrance Free Sections of AS- 37C:
The PWD has handed over a length of km 8.240 in this reporting period. Thus
handing over a total of 36.069 Km of encumbrance free land to the contractor by
13/10/2014, vide letter no. CSC/BLA/SGCCL/2014/0749. This followed a process of
proper verification/ certification by the NGO and then the CSC.
This is in addition to the 27.92 Km already handed over till June 2014.
Table: 1, Details of Land Handed Over to Contractor
Sl. No. Chainage Length
From (Km) To (Km) Meter
1. 7+120 7+125 5
2. 8+190 8+400 210
3. 9+550 9+600 50
4. 11+060 11+160 100
5. 15+500 15+930 430
6. 16+400 17+200 800
7. 18+650 19+180 530
8. 20+630 20+720 90
9. 28+660 28+700 40
10. 30+790 34+780 3990
11. 34+790 35+000 210
12. 35+570 35+900 330
13. 36+550 36+880 330
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
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Page 5 of 22
14. 37+220 37+350 130
15. 40+600 40+640 40
16. 41+480 41+580 100
17. 42+500 42+600 100
18. 43+200 43+950 750
19. 44+750 44+980 230
20. 45+450 45+950 500
21. 46+800 46+900 100
22. 51+110 51+210 100
23. 52+930 53+800 870
Say 10.035 Km 10035 Meter
1. 8+3190 8+365 175
2. 16+450 16+470 20
3. 31+028 31+118 90
4. 31+930 32+260 330
5. 33+085 33+140 55
6. 33+530 33+700 170
7. 34+560 34+780 220
8. 34+790 35+000 210
9. 35+570 35+595 25
10. 41+480 41+530 50
11. 43+910 43+950 40
12. 44+750 44+830 80
13. 45+450 45+680 230
14. 51+110 51+210 100
Say: 1.795 KM 1795 Meter
Total = (A - B) 8240 Meter, 8.240km
Further stretches are being identified by the resettlement team that can be handed
over to the contractor during the course of the verification survey.
5.04 Encumbrance free sections of AS-11
This sub project does not entail any LA and a preliminary assessment has shown that there
are no resettlement impacts on any NTH or CPRs. There is ample road width available for
construction. The entire stretch has been handed over to the contractor. The expected date
of completion is March 2015.
No RP has been prepared for this sub project.
6.0 OVERVIEW OF IMPACT
6.01 Land Acquisition Impact
As per the data in the RP prepared for AS-37C, Land Acquisition was proposed for 45.60
ha and transfer of government land of 0.17 ha. Current data shows that the quantum of
private land acquisition has been reduced to 29.74 ha and government land transfer
requirement is now 11.55 ha. These details are being updated as and when the land
acquisition proposals get finalised by the respective District Collectors. Further details of
land acquisition are given in the following table:
SE
MI A
NN
UA
L R
EP
OR
T
ON
LA
ND
AC
QU
ISIT
ION
AN
D R
ES
ET
TL
EM
EN
T
Pa
ge
6 o
f 22
Tab
le: 2, D
etails o
f La
nd
Acq
uisitio
n
District
Total road length
(KM)
Road Length handed
over to contractor
(KM)
No of LA cases
Patta L
and
Length of LA
required over existing
road (KM)
Govt. lan
d
(Req
uired
transfer to
PW
D)
No of cases of 6 (I)
Declaration made
Average rate of land
per Bigha
LA Estimate Amount
(Rs in crores)
Amount already paid
(Rs in crore)
Balance to be paid
(Rs in crore)
Length of Road for
RR Required
Ready for handed
over
Statu
s of A
ward
List
Remarks
B- K- L
Hact.
Length
(KM)
B- K- L
Hact.
Length
(KM)
Submitted
Approved
Kamrup
(R)
7.12
0.00
5
100-02-09
13.46
7.12
7.12
19-04-08
2.66
Nil
5
3.60L
15.77
Nil
15.77
For Nalbari distprocess for 6 (I)
declaration is under process.
Declaration for case no.
2.5,9,10,12/2011 made.
Nalbari
23.67
16.170
12
99-00-5.5
13.25
8.26
5.247
66-03-02
8.89
Nil
5
0.79L
10.06
6.91
3.15
0.50
Barpeta
27.71
19.989
8
22-03-1.5
3.03
3.14
0.00
00-00-00
0.00
Nil
8
1.49L
5.19
4.15
1.04
1.959
1.362
4 (case no
3,7,8,14/
2012- 13)
1 (case no
3/ 2012-
13)
58.50
36.159
25
222-00-16
29.74
18.520
12.367
86-02-10
11.55
18
31.02
11.06
19.96
2.459
1.362
4
1
Data
as p
er DP
R
45.60
0.17
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 7 of 22
7.0 LAND ACQUISITION NOTIFICATIONS
The land acquisition proposals upto Section 6 (i) has been finalized for all three districts of
Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta. The validity period of these notifications under section 6(i) is
two years from the date of publication. The processes under Sections 9 to 11 are to be
completed within the next two years (Refer clause no. 11 A of the LA Act 1894). Hence if
this process is not completed within these two years, the entire proceedings of the land
acquisition will lapse. The validity period of these LA proposals of AS37C is upto 2016.
The Section 9 of the LA Act, 1894 refers to the “Notice to persons interested”, Section 10 is the “Power to require and enforce the making of statements as to names and interests” while
Section 11 refers to the “Enquiry and Award by collector” or the Final award. The Land Acquisition Notifications finalized till December 2014 are as follows:
Table: 3, Status of Land Acquisition Notifications and validity
Sl.
No.
Name of
District
LA Case
No
Section 4 (I)
Notification
Dates
Section 6(i)
Notifications
Validity of Section
6(i) Notifications
1 Kamrup (Rural) 4/- 2012
30/12/2013
22.12.2014
21.12.2016
Kamrup (Rural) 5/- 2012
Kamrup (Rural) 6/- 2012 23.12.2014
22.12.2016 Kamrup (Rural) 7/- 2012
Kamrup (Rural) 8/- 2012
2 Nalbari 1/- 2011 28/05/2013
2/- 2011 29/04/2013 26.12.2014 24.12.2016
3/- 2011 28/05/2013
4/- 2011 28/05/2013
5/- 2011 28/05/2013
6/- 2011 28/05/2013
7/- 2011 28/05/2013
8/- 2011 28/05/2013
9/ - 2011 28/05/2013 26.12.2014 24.12.2016
10/- 2011 24/04/2013
11/- 2011 28/05/2013
12/-2011 28/05/2013
3 Barpeta 3/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014 28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
28.05.2016
4/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
6/-2012 08/12/2013 29.05.2014
7/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
8/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
9/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
10/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
14/-2012 26/06/2013 29.05.2014
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 8 of 22
The details of the validity period of the section 6(1) notifications in the three districts is
given in the following Table 2. If the Final award is not declared within the next two
years of the publication then the entire process will lapse and will have to be redone as
per Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as follows:
“11A. Period shall be which an award within made. - The Collector shall make an award
under section 11 within a period of two years from the date of the publication of the
declaration and if no award is made within that period, the entire proceeding for the
acquisition of the land shall lapse:
Provided that in a case where the said declaration has been published before the
commencement of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 (68 of 1984), the award
shall be made within a period of two years from such commencement.
Explanation - In computing the period of two years referred to in this section, the period
during which any action or proceeding to be taken in pursuance of the said declaration is
stayed by an order of a Court shall be excluded.”
8.0 RESETTLEMENT IMPACT
The resettlement and rehabilitation framework of the project have been evolved from the
ADB’s SPS, 2009, relevant national, state and departmental policies. The implementation of
the R & R Provisions of the project is governed by this framework developed.
As per the RP there are a total number of 1529 affected households in the three districts
of Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta.
Table: 4, Number of Displaced households and Project Affected Persons
District Families DPs
Nalbari 516 2274
Barpeta 662 2442
TOTAL 1178 4716
Source: Consultant Field Team, 2008-09
The NGO during this reporting period did not do any verification and was terminated
in August 2014. The PWD team started it’s verification exercise from September.
Survey work to ascertain the extent of impact has been undertaken by the Resettlement
team in the districts of Nalbari and Barpeta. This assessment was done to evaluate the
impact on the NTHs –both squatters and encroachers as well as the impact on the CPRs
on government land only. The verification exercise for patta land/private land will be
done once the award list is finalized.
Table: 5, Details of Squatters, Encroachers and CPRs (district wise)
Sl.
No District
Total no of
Squatters
Total no of
Encroachers Total CPRs TOTAL
1 Barpeta 36 29 65 09 74
2 Nalbari 02 31 33 01 34
TOTAL 38 60 98 10 108
SEMI ANNUAL REPORT
ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 9 of 22
The Survey team undertook the verification exercise for only Nalbari and Barpeta districts as
there is no government land is available in Kamrup district. The total length verified in the two
districts of Nalbari and Barpeta is 4.092 Km.
The Survey/Resettlement team of the PWD has verified 117 structures so far and on further
verification it has been ascertained that only 108 structures will be impacted. These include 38
HHs that are classed under squatters while 60 HHs are classed as being Encroachers. There are
4 HHs that are categorized as vulnerable encroachers in Barpeta. These 4 HHs are vulnerable
on account of being WHHs.
There are 10 CPRs that are likely to be impacted. The verification process is ongoing and is
expected to be completed by end of January 2015
Table: 6, Implementation Status of Key Activities
Activity Current Status Date/ Period
Development of
checklist for joint
verification
Completed 30TH
November 2014
Verification of
titleholders
Only 450 APs have been identified* -
Verification of non-
titleholders
Ongoing 31st January 2015
Verification and joint
measurement survey
Ongoing 31st January 2015
Preparation of the
updated list of
Affected Persons
Ongoing 31st March 2015 for the
NTHs
Calculation of
replacement cost of
land
Ongoing.
The calculation as per the requirements of
the Section 6(i) of the LA Act of 1894 for
all three districts is completed and
published. Revisions are being made to
update the calculations as per the new Act.
The state government has directed it’s District Collectors to do so at the earliest.
6(i) completed for all three
districts by 30th December
2014
Marking and valuation
of affected structures
Ongoing expected to be
completed by February
2015 for NTHs .
Calculation of
replacement value of
affected structure
Completed for THs by 30th
December 2014
Information
dissemination and
distribution of R&R
policy
Information Dissemination is an ongoing
process.
The EM is distributed
The Translated EM was
distributed on site vide
meetings held with the
community from 5.01.2013
to 23.01.2013
The translated EM has also
been uploaded on website
of Assam PWD.
The RP for AS-37C is also
uploaded on the APWD
Website.
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Page 10 of 22
Preparation of Micro-
Plan
In preparation by the PWD resettlement
team
The Micro-plan for NTHs
will be completed by 15th
March 2015
Distribution of
Identity Cards
Approved by PD and sent by RO for
printing.
December 2014
Disbursal of R&R
assistance
Yet to be done -
Training and needs
assessment of the APs
for income restoration
Yet to be done -
Consultation with
Affected Persons
In progress -
Public Consultation 20 formal meetings were conducted in
this period. A number of informal
meetings and one to one meetings have
also been undertaken but are not
recorded.
July- December, 2014
* As stated by the NGO in it’s reports which was negated during joint verification with PWD
8.01 Relocation of Common Property Resources (CPRs)
As per the data in the RP, it was assessed that approximately 152 Common Property Resources
(CPRs) including Government properties are likely to be impacted. Once the NGO was
terminated in August 2014, the PWD team took over the assessment of the impact on site.
Current evaluation by the resettlement team of the PWD finalized an impact on 10 CPRs. This
included 09 in the Barpeta district and one in Nalbari district.
The Impact on the Masjid at Adabari village, Nalbari district at chainage 8+318 km to 8+345
km is still a matter of concern and hence a number of consultation meetings have been
organized at this location from time to time by the IA (APWD) along with the CSC and the
resettlement team of the PWD. The masjid committee members along with the local community
was consulted on the way forward to ensure that the impact on the main structure is minimised.
The consultation meetings with the community came up with the following queries:
a) As the requirement of widening is more for improvement of the curve as explained by the
PWD team, the locals requested for minimising the requirement of land which was explained
to them that only whatever was necessary would be undertaken.
b) The locals also requested if the drains could be taken under the structure to which the PWD
personnel informed them that it was not possible, but care would be taken to reduce the width.
c) The community requested that as the structure has been constructed with the contribution of
the poor and the marginalized people and a lot of religious sentiment is attached to it, hence
care should be taken to minimise the impact on the main structure.
For this reason, it was concluded that work at this locale would not be undertaken till a
unanimous opinion based on technical and social feasibility is concluded by all the
stakeholders involved.
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ON LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT
Page 11 of 22
9.0 CAPACITY BUILDING
9.01 Training of the Resettlement Staff of the PWD
The capacity building of the Resettlement Staff of the PWD is very crucial for the successful
implementation of the resettlement activities and hence intensive training capsules on the
processes is required. This is especially very important as this group has been involved in
resettlement and rehabilitation activities for the first time. This group was trained on the
methodology of undertaking a census survey and the process of verification of impacts. These
class room trainings were followed up with on site assessments. The site assessments have
helped the field team to operationalize and create a better understanding of the information
gathered.
The land acquisition and Resettlement specialist of the CSC, Dr. Sharmila Singh has been
providing on site and class room trainings to the stakeholders involved in the implementation
of the project.
A number of class room trainings followed up by on site demonstration with the two NGOs
along with the resettlement staff of the state PWD have been organised.
9.02 Details of Training
30th
October 2014, a training programme was organized at the CSC related to NGO activities
for the survey team from the PIU at the CSC office.
1st November 2014, a training programme was organized related to NGO Activities for the
Survey team from the PIU at the CSC office.
3rd
November 2014, a training programme was conducted at the CSC related to NGO
Activities for the survey team from the PIU at the CSC office.
10.0 RESETTLEMENT STAFFING
The PIU has its own Resettlement Unit with at least one full time Resettlement Officer for the
duration of resettlement activities. The PIU has also appointed a Resettlement Expert assist the
PIU in Resettlement activities. The NGO and the CSC’s staff form part of the setup.
10.01 NGO appointment:
AFPRO was appointed on 8
th November, 2012 vide Letter No. CE/NEC/ADB/140/12-13/1 to
assist PIU in RP implementation but the resettlement activities could not be fully implemented
due to unsatisfactory performance of it and also due to non- disbursement of fund to the agency.
It withdrew it’s services on 4th
December, 2013 vide Letter No. ATFG/NESRIP/13- 14/62.
SAI International Sansthan, engaged on 17th
January 2014 vide Letter No.
CE/NEC/ADB/140/12- 13/61, who probably needs support and guidance in implementing the
resettlement activities.
10.02 Termination of NGO
Since the NGO unable to undertake the RP Implementation activities as per the work plan, SAI
International Sansthan was terminated on 28th
August 2014, vide Letter No.
CE/NEC/ADB/140/12- 13/ pt- 1/21.
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Page 12 of 22
10.03 Survey Activities by the Designated Resettlement Team of the PWD
The Resettlement team which was appointed by the PWD began the verification exercise from
26.09.2014 at the Barpeta district at villages Khongra, Kukarpar, Garemari, Mazdia, Bhella,
Nagaon, Barbila, Garemari. This team went through an intensive training on the methodology
of undertaking a Detailed Measurement survey, the tool for collecting the data, the assessment
of impact and the classification of impact based on the ownership and usage. The team was
further trained on the need for community consultation and the methodology of undertaking
community consultation individually as well as in a group. The need for sensitivity to the needs
of the people losing their assets irrespective of the ownership. The team was also sensitised on
some terminologies like Replacement Cost, Title Holders and Non Titleholders, Entitlement
Matrix etc. These trainings were a mix of classroom as well onsite capacity building sessions.
20 Consultation meetings were organized by the PIU survey team and a proper documentation
has been done for the same. The consultation meetings that were organised raised queries on
assessment of impact , compensation calculation and the scheduling of the compensation
payment. Queries were also raised on the methodology of raising a grievance and the
functioning of the GRC.
11.0 RESETTLEMENT STAFF OF PWD
11.01 Appointment of Resettlement Officers (ROs)
The state PWD has identified relavent staff for successful implementation of the resettlement
plan and its related activities. For this a designated Resettlement Officer has been identified and
is notified. He will be the link between the NGO, PWD and the CSC.
Mr. Mazibur Rahman, Asstt. Executive Engineer, PWD Guwahati NEC Sub- Division who
has been appointed as the new Resettlement Officer for NESRIP Project (Tranche- I Road) on
25.03.2014, with vide Letter No: CE/NEC/ADB/31/11- 12/ Pt- I/14. Due to his workload a
new RO, Mr Diganta Gogoi has been appointed to succeed him.
Mr. Diganta Gogoi, Asstt. Engineer, PWD Guwahati NEC Division has been appointed as the
new Resettlement Officer for NESRIP Project (Tranche- I Road) on 19.12.2014, with vide
Letter No. CE/NEC/ADB/31/11- 12/Pt- I/20
11.02 Appointment of Assistant Resettlement Officers (AROs)
Mr. Ataur Rahman was appointed as (Social Safeguard) Land Acquisition Specialist for PIU
on 26/11/2012 vide Letter No. CE/NEC/1/92/pt-1/ 138. This was so done to facilitate the
activities related to Land acquisition. The Assistant Resettlement Officers were appointed
on 20.10.2014, vide Letter No. SE/NEC/Tech/261/Pt- II/1607-18. These officers along with
the the assistant field staff were designated to undertake the resettlement activities along
with the assistance of the Resettlement expert of the CSC. The assistant field staff were
appointed on 09.09.2014, vide Letter No. EE/NEC/TB- 301/2729- 36.
The department has also been trying to identify resources from the revenue department
who could be hired for facilitating the land acquisition process for the project.
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11.03 Appointment of Resettlement Expert (RE)
Ms. Pallavi Mudoi was hired for an initial 6 months from March, Vide Letter No.
CE/NESRIP/ADB/190/13- 14/9, dated: 01/03/2014. An extension of 6 months has been
requested upto March, 2015 The approval is awaited
11.04 Social Experts of the CSC
The CSC has two social experts namely the a) Land Acquisition and Resettlement
Specialist and b) the Socio Economic Impact Monitoring specialist.
The LA and R&R expert works in close coordination with the PWD team of resettlement and
Land acquisition as well as of the NGO and assists them on all such matters thereof. The role of
the specialist is to assist and provide guidance to the NGO and state PWD on matters related to
resettlement and land acquisition.
The socio economic monitoring specialist looks after all social impact planning and monitoring.
She works as the internal monitor for the project assessing the extent of socio economic impacts
of the project on the lives of people.
12.0. OTHER INFORMATION RELATED TO IMPLEMENTATION OF
RESETTLEMENT PLAN
12.01 Functioning of GRC
The RP will have a mechanism to ensure that the benefits are effectively transferred to the
beneficiaries and will ensure proper disclosure and public consultation with the displaced
population. However, need also exists for an efficient grievance redressal mechanism that will
assist the APs in resolving queries and complaints. Therefore, formation of Grievance
Redressal Committee (GRC) will be most important for grievance redressal and it is
anticipated that most, if not all grievances, would be settled by the GRC. The GRCs are
expected to resolve the grievances of the eligible persons within a stipulated time. The
decision of the GRCs is binding, unless vacated by court of law.
The Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) has been notified constituted at PIU level in
order to assist the Displaced Persons (DPs) in resolving queries and complaints. The
GRC has been notified with vide GO dated GO No. NEC. 12/2013/10 on 25th
July, 2013.
The committee comprises PD, RO, representative from local NGOs, elected representative
from Zila Parishad, representatives of Displaced Persons (DPs) including vulnerable groups
and women in the committee. The GRC will meet at least once in three weeks to resolve the
pending grievances, if any.
Apart from setting up of the GRC , Grievance registers have been placed at the circle offices
of the PWD for recording any complaint from the public.
The first GRC meeting was held at the Mukalmua PWD Inspection Bungalow on 16th
September 2014. This meeting was presided over by the Project Director, Mr. B.K. Das
and attended by other senior officers from PWD. This meeting was attended by local
people from all three districts of Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta. The main concerns
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raised during the meeting was on the road safety issues,land acquisition and
compensation. The specific queries raised were as follows:
Representatives from Kamrup district expressed their concern about land acquisition
processes and the compensation due to them.
Specific concerns were raised about road safety issues on sections where construction
was ongoing. Apprehension was also expressed regarding the enhanced air pollution due
to the minimal use of water sprinklers.
Questions related to the methodology of minimisation of Impact on CPRs especially
those that were of religious importance were raised.
The process of determination the compensation amount of different types of impact was
inquired about.
The PD , Mr. BK Das; Executive Engineer, Mr. Ratul Bora replied to queries and told
the assembled public that their concerns would be addressed as far as possible and in
case their apprehensions were not addressed, they could give written applications to
them directly. They also informed that grievance registers are kept at each circle office
and people could register their complaints there too.
Photographs attached as Annexure –I.
12.02 Functioning of LVC
A Land Valuation Committee (LVC) will be established headed by a senior officer from the
land revenue department at state/ district level and include representatives from department
of agriculture, forest, horticulture, representatives from the Zilla Parishad, local panchayats of
Displaced Persons, independent valuer engaged by EA, local NGO representatives and RO/
representative from the PIU. This committee will not operate for full time and will be
functional at the time of finalization of RP budgets and during land acquisition. Land
valuation committee for all three districts have been established as follows:
LVC Notification for Kamrup was notified on vide Letter no: NEC/12/2013/7 dated 17th
July 2013, The LVC Notification for Nalbari was notified on vide Letter no:
NEC/12/2013/9 dated 17th
July 2013 and the LVC Notification for Barpeta was notified
on vide Letter no: NEC/12/2013/8 dated 17th July 2013.
12.03 LVC Functioning
These LVCs have been meeting every month and are instrumental in finalisation of the
RP budgets in each of these three districts. Representation from different line
departments like horticulture, fisheries, agriculture etc along with the revenue and the
PWD.
12.04 Stakeholder Consultations
Stakeholders may be defined as groups or categories of people who directly and demonstrably
gain or lose rights and/or resources through development operations, and this includes
government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and donor organizations. Stakeholders
have a substantial and normally a material interest in the outcome of a decision or operation
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(see Drake 1989). Groups or individual stakeholders can be determined by a number of
criteria (e.g. by class, gender, ethnicity, race, age, occupation, etc.).
A necessary condition for successful community consultation is sound stakeholder analysis,
in order to identify and understand the subgroups within the population to be consulted,
relations of power among these subgroups, and the extent to which community organizations
represent all interest groups.
Consultations were organized at different locations along the project stretch to gauge the local
sentiment of those likely to be impacted. Information collected during consultation has been
shared with environmental and technical team. Suggestion obtained from people and their
representatives have been analyzed based on technical and economic merits.
Final decisions of engineering design team on alternative alignments, location of pedestrian
crossing, location of enhancement of community properties will be conveyed to the people.
Wherever possible PAPs suggestion would be incorporated final design.
The resettlement team of the PWD is undertaking intensive consultation meetings with
the affected families as well as with the affected population in general. These
consultation seesions were done on both individual level as well as in groups.
Major findings related to key issues such as: land acquisition, compensation for land and
structures, alternative alignments, general perception about the project, suggestions to
mitigate hardships resulting from dislocation and loss of livelihood, resettlement options,
perception about HIV/AIDS awareness, CPR requirement etc. are presented with highlights of
important consultations are mentioned in table below.
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Table :7, Details of Consultation
Sl.
No.
Location (Location
and Date)
Participants Chainages Discussions
1. Bhella Village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 27/11/2014
Shopkeepers and
common Villagers-
A total of 11
participants.
Km 48+403 to Km
48+440 Issues:
1. When will they get the compensation.
2. When will the construction of the road start.
Suggestions/ Feedback: 1. The compensation will be given to the affected families after the
preparation of Micro plan.
2. The construction is going on the handed over stretches. On acquired
land the construction will start once the award list is finalized.
2. Kukarpar village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 28/11/2014
Common Villagers-
A total of 12
participants.
Km 33+520 to Km
33+643
Issues: 1. The public raised the question whether their house will be
demolished first or will they get the compensation first.
2. The public wanted to understand what is the difference between
the words “Squatter” and “Encroacher”. 3. Some people wanted to know about what they can do if they have
some problem during the construction of the road.
Suggestions/ Feedback: 1. The affected families will get the compensation first.
2. The people were provided a copy of the translated EM which also
gives the definition of the Squatters and encroachers.
3. The mechanism of the GRC was explained to the public and were
told of the registers that are kept at the circle officers of the PWD.
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3. Barbila village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 01/12/2014
Common villagers-
A total of 7
participants.
Km 45+485 to Km
45+556 Issues:
1. The public raised the question whether they are going to get any
extra benefit other then the compensation.
2. Another question which was raised by the public was whether they
will get the Zirat or not.
Suggestions/ Feedback:
1. The affected families were told about the skill development training
given in the Entitlement Matrix for the eligible persons. These
trainings shall be imparted as per the government sponsored
programmes.
2. The people were provided a copy of the translated EM so that they
are aware of the entitlements due to them as per impact.
3. The public was made aware that they will not get the Zirat if they
are on/ residing/ occupying government land.
4. Mazdia village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 03/12/2014
Common villagers
residing in the
vicinity of the
Masjid- A total of 8
participants.
Km 31+973 to Km
31+993
Issues:
1. When will they get the compensation.
Suggestions/ Feedback:
1. The compensation will be given to the affected families after the
preparation of Micro plan.
5. Khongra village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 04/12/2014
Shopkeepers and
common villagers-
A total of 8
participants.
Km 34+762 to Km
34+798
No questions/ Problems were raised by the villagers from this chainage.
6. Khongra village in
Barpeta District.
Date: 04/12/2014
Common villagers-
A total of 6
participants.
Km 35+565 to Km
35+592 Issues:
1. The public was whether they will get the Zirat or not.
Suggestions and Feedback:
1. The public was made aware that they will not get the Zirat if they
are on/ residing/ occupying government land.
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13.00 RESETTLEMENT ISSUES
13.01 NGO
AFPRO and SAI International Sansthan
(i) Lack of Capacity of the NGO’s appointed
The NGO (AFPRO) was engaged by Executing Agency on 8th
November, 2012 vide Letter
No. CE/NEC/ADB/140/12-13/1 to assist PIU in RP implementation but the resettlement
activities could not be fully implemented due to unsatisfactory performance of it and also due
to non- disbursement of fund to the agency. So it has already withdrawn its activity. The CSC
is working closely with the newly appointed NGO, SAI International Sansthan, engaged on
17th
January 2014 vide Letter No. CE/NEC/ADB/140/12- 13/61, who probably needs
support and guidance in implementing the resettlement activities.
On site visit and meeting with the team of investigators from the NGO, it was found that they
understand their work and are eager to render the best service at their level. These local young
men (some are students) need proper guidance for the work. They conveyed that they are not
paid for the last three months; for carrying out the work they have paid from their own pocket,
they do not have a camera for using at the site. Now it has become difficult for them to
continue the job properly. Hence, it is advised that the KPs of the NGO be deployed at the
site immediately so that work can be executed under their expert guidance.
Coordination meetings have also being organized(30th
April, 2014 and 20th
May2014) so
that all three partners work with the same understanding and are able to resolve issues
faced at site.
Due to the failure of the NGO to undertake work effectively it was terminated
13.02 Termination of NGO and establishment of a new Institutional set up for
implementation of RP
Due to the incapacity and inability to effectively undertake the RP Implementation activities
as per the work plan, SAI International Sansthan was terminated on 28th
August 2014, vide
Letter No. CE/NEC/ADB/140/12- 13/ pt- 1/21. This was preceeded by written
communication by the PWD to the NGO asking them to ensure the mobilisation of it’s KPs on site as the site team was too junior and inexperienced to handle the site activities of such
sensitive nature. The PWD also asked the NGO to submit the reports regularly which was not
happening. Also the EE and the SE during their site visits did not find the site team of the
NGO and hence pointed out this to the TL of the NGO. Coordination meetings were also held
with the CSC and contractor staff to help iron out problems, but inspite of these efforts the
NGO failed to complete the tasks assigned and was terminated as the last resort.
An approval to terminate the NGO and undertake the implementation of resettlement through
designated officers from within the PWD was sought from the ADB, which was received
from ADB on 22.08.2012. Sub-sequentially a team from PWD was nominated to undertake
the resettlement activities with the assistance of the Land acquisition and Resettlement
specialist of the CSC, Dr. Sharmila Singh. This team has been functional from September
2014.
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13.03 New Land Acquisition Act: Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
The new act has been enacted with the aim to ensure in consultation with the institutions of
local governance a humane, participative and informed process of land acquisition and help
make the affected persons become partners in development. Subsequently leading to an
enhancement of their social and economic status.
In the new act there has been a paradigm shift in the way the process of land acquisition and
the means of calculating the compensation amounts is to be addressed. A majority of the
people are not aware of the processes and methodologies required to be undertaken for
implementing the new act. There is a lack of understanding on the applicability of the new act
on the proposals that were initiated before December 31st 2013 under the old LA Act of 1894.
The section 24 needs further clarification and hence it is advised that capacity building on the
process of the new Land acquisition Act should be undertaken at the earliest.
Also the estimates for compensation will have to be revised as per the provisions of the
new act which has come into being from 1st January 2014.
Meetings were organised to understand the reasons for delay in the section 6(i)
notifications with the district collectors of Nalbari and Kamrup. These one to one
meetings with the DCs and their teams helped expedite the publication of the Land
acquisition proposals.
13.04 Claim Resolving
(i) No claims have been raised as Land acquisition is progress. The final award list is yet to be
prepared. The survey for the NTH is underway and the report to be prepared is in process.
(ii) The compensation amount for land acquisition has been deposited to the concerned DC’s for both Nalbari and Barpeta Districts. The estimates of Kamrup disrtict is still being finalized.
As per the RP, the estimated budget was Rs.37.24 crores for all LA and R&R activities but
the amount required for covering the land acquisition costs for just the two districts of Nalbari
and Barpeta is Rs. 15.06 crores. This amount is far more than what was estimated in the RP.
Also there will be an additional requirement as per the calculations as per the New Land
Acquisition Act i.e. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Table: 8, District wise breakup of the compensation amount with dates
District Amount Date
Kamrup (Rural) 157703765.00 31/03/2014
Nalbari 100543354.00 31/03/2014
Barpeta 51878549.00 31/03/2014
TOTAL 11,05,78,547.00
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A total amount of Rs. 15.06 crores is required currently to cover the land acquisition costs for
the two districts of Nalbari and Barpeta. There is a shortfall of Rs. 4 crores (Rupees Four
crores) that will be required to cover the land acquisition costs of the two districts. The
compensation amount for land acquisition for Kamrup is still to be deposited as the
assessment for the district is not yet been finalized. An additional amount will also be
required to cover the R&R Assistance. This amount can be finalized once the survey of the
affected persons is complete. The final sum can be ascertained once the processes are
complete.
13.05 Resettlement Monitoring
The Project implementation will closely be monitored to provide the PIU with an effective
basis for assessing resettlement issues, if any. The extent of monitoring activities, including
their scope and productivity, will be commensurate with risks and impacts of the subprojects.
Monitoring will involve: (i) administrative monitoring to ensure timely implementation and
problem solving; (ii) socioeconomic monitoring during and after any resettlement impact
utilizing baseline information established through the socioeconomic survey of Displaced
Persons (DPs) undertaken during subproject preparation; and (iii) overall monitoring to asses
Displaced Persons (DPs) status. The EA is required to implement safeguard measures and
relevant safeguard plans, as provided in the legal agreements, and to submit periodic
monitoring reports on their implementation performance.
ADB will require the EA to:
Establish and maintain procedures to monitor the progress of implementation of safeguard
plans
Verify compliance with safeguard measures and their progress toward intended outcomes
Document and disclose monitoring results and identify necessary corrective and preventive
actions in the periodic monitoring reports
Follow up on these actions to ensure progress toward the desired outcomes
Retain qualified and experienced external expert to verify monitoring information for projects
with significant impacts and risks
Submit periodic monitoring reports on safeguard measures as agreed with ADB.
The PIU monitoring will include daily planning, implementation, feedback and
troubleshooting, maintenance of individual file for each AP, community relationships, dates
for consultations, number of appeals placed and progress reports. The PIU will provide
monitoring report to ADB on a semi annual basis. Additionally, ADB will monitor projects
on an ongoing basis until a project completion report is issued.
14.0 COMPLIANCE TO NATIONAL LAWS AND POLICIES (POLICY AND LEGAL
FRAMEWORK)
The policy framework and entitlements for the program are based on following laws:
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Act, 2013
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The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (amended in 1984)
The National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy (NRRP), 2007
The State Land Acquisition (LA) Act
The entitlement benefits as listed in the National R&R Policy, (Government of India) 2007
and the Assam State Roads Resettlement & Rehabilitation Policy, 2004.
Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Safeguards Policy Statement (SPS, 2009).
15.0 COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE
In accordance with the involuntary resettlement principles set forth above, the identified
affected persons will be entitled to a combination of compensation packages and resettlement
assistance depending on the of ownership rights on lost assets, and scope of the impacts
including socioeconomic vulnerability of the affected persons and measures to support
livelihood restoration if livelihood impacts are envisaged. The original amount as envisaged
in the RP for land acquisition and resettlement was 37.24 crores but will now have to be
revised as per the fresh estimates.
16.0 ISSUES AND ACTION PLAN
Design modification of the Road alignment is in progress as per the site conditions to
minimized impacts in heavily built up areas and the RP will be updated accordingly. This
process and its implementations are being attended by the Land Acquisition and Resettlement
Specialists of both the PWD and the CSC. Solutions are being arrived at keeping in mind
the technical feasibility as well as the need to minimize the resettlement impact.
16.01 Other issues that need to be addressed at the earliest are as follows:
a) The survey for the assessment of impact needs to be completed at the earliest for ascertaining
the final compensation amount.
b) The land acquisition process needs to be expedited by the state machinery to enable faster
assessment of impact and calculation of the compensation amount.
c) The confirmation and publication of the final award list and subsequent payment of
compensation to the affected families will expedite the process of handing over of land to the
contractor
d) Capacity building sessions need to be organised on the requirements of the New Land
Acquisition Act: Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
e) The LA and R&R Expert of the CSC should provide support to the resettlement team of the
PWD as much as possible as they are very new to the processes involved in implementing a
Resettlement Plan.
f) The frequent changes of the officers who are part of the resettlement team should be avoided.
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17.0 SCHEDULES FOR COMPLETION OF LAND ACQUISITION, RESETTLEMENT
AND REHABILITATION ACTIVITIES:
Table: 9, Details of Future Activities
Contract Reset.
Activity Note
Completion
date
AS-37C
Land
Acquisition
1) Final Award to be completed for all three Districts at the
earliest
2) The balance compensation amounts need to be made
available for the three districts at the earliest
3) The payments made to the district collectors of Nalbari
and Barpeta need to be utilized. This will expedite the
process of handing over of balance land to the contractor
4) Capacity building sessions on the new Land acquisition
Act, 2013 for the IA and revenue officials.
5) Follow up with Revenue officials at both the state and
district levels to expedite the process of payment to the
affected families- immediate
On Going
Resettlement
Rehabilitatio
n activities
1) R&R survey for NTHs to be completed by end January
2015 by the Resettlement team of the PWD
2) Micro plan to be finalized by second week of February
2015
3) ID cards to be distributed by 31ST
March 2015
4) Calculation of replacement cost of structures being
impacted of the NTH to be completed by second week
of February.
5) Disbursement of assistance for NTHs by second week of
April 2015
6) Consultation with affected population will be done on a
continuous basis.
On Going
18.0 CONCLUSIONS
The report confirms that the Project under the Tranche-I will have adverse social impacts
associated with land acquisition and resettlement and it is expected that it will benefit the
local residents and the users of the highway after the completion of the Project.
Annexure- I: Photographs