Resettlement and Ethnic Minority Development Plan

Transcription

1 Resettlement and Ethnic Minority Development Plan November 2015 VIE:The Second Northern Greater Mekong Subregion Transport Network Improvement Project NH217 Improvement, Thanh Hoa Province Ba Thuoc Section (Km to Km ) Prepared by the Ministry of Transport, Project Management Unit I for the Asian Development Bank. This is an updated version of the draft originally posted in November 2010 available on

2 NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. This resettlement and ethnic minority development plan 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.

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... i I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION... 1 II. BA THUOC SECTION... 1 III. SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT IMPACTS... 2 A. Summary of Impacts... 2 B. Affected Households... 3 C. Other Affected Assets... 6 IV. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS... 6 V. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION... 8 A. Consultations with Local Authorities and Viet Nam Women s Union... 9 B. Consultations with the Affected Households and Disclosure Activities... 9 VI. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM VII. LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK A. Government Laws and Regulations B. ADB Safeguard Policy Statement C. Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures VIII. PROJECT ENTITLEMENTS A. Cut-off Date of Eligibility B. Project Entitlements IX. REHABILITATION AND RELOCATION MEASURES X. RP BUDGET A. Replacement Cost Study B. RP Budget C. Flow of Funds XI. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS XII. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE XIII. MONITORING... 22

4 Tables Table 1: Summary of Impacts based on Type of APs... 2 Table 2: Households with LURC... 4 Table 3: Households who Built on Government ROW land... 4 Table 4: Affected Trees... 4 Table 5: Affected Crops... 5 Table 6: Summary Table of Consultations and Disclosure... 8 Table 7: Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures Table 8: Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures Table 9: Project Entitlements Table 10:RP Budget Table 11: Indicative Implementation Schedule Annexes Annex 1: Annex 2: Annex 3: Annex 4: Annex 5: Annex 6: Summary DMS Table and Vulnerable Households SES Summary Tables Resettlement Information Booklet Project Entitlement Matrix PPC and DPC Decisions on Project Unit Rates Replacement Cost Study Report

5 ABBREVIATIONS ADB = Asian Development Bank APs/AHs= affected persons/affected households CPC = Commune Peoples' Committee DMS = Detailed Measurement Survey DPC = District People s Committee GOV = Government of Viet Nam GMS = Greater Mekong Sub-Region DCARB = District Compensation, Assistant Resettlement Board LURC = Land Use Rights Certificate MOT = Ministry of Transport PMU1 = Project Management Unit 1 PPC = Provincial Peoples' Committee RCS = Replacement Cost Study ROW = Right of Way RP = Resettlement Plan SES = Socio-Economic Survey VND = Viet Nam Dong i

6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Project Description. The Second Northern GMS Transport Network Improvement Project links Vietnam and Laos and aims to improve both international and local connectivity. It was accorded priority in the GMS transport sector study and is strongly supported by the governments of the Lao PDR and Viet Nam, which believe it will strengthen the economies of both countries and help reduce current high poverty rates in the project provinces on both sides of their borders. The Project involves the upgrading of National Highway 217 (NH217), 195 km in length. The Project road traverses through Ha Trung, Vinh Loc, Cam Thuy, Ba Thuoc and Quan Son districts from east to west in Thanh Hoa Province. NH217 is predominantly in flat to rolling terrain for the first 107 km after which it climbs through a series of valleys to the border with Lao PDR. The terrain is hilly to mountainous for much of this latter section. Completion of Detailed Design and Conduct of Detailed Measurement Survey. This Resettlement Plan is for construction of the Ba Thuoc District Section from Km to Km This Resettlement Plan is based on final design and detailed measurement survey. Therefore, this RP is considered final. Scope of Land Acquisition and Resettlement. The project will affect 352 households (1,602 persons due to impacts on land and structures. About 5,719 sq.m. of residential land will be acquired and an additional agricultural land will also be affected. One household will be required to move their house back on their remaining land while 58 kiosks/small shops will also be required to move back on their remaining land. In addition to impacts on private land and structure, the Project will also affect land owned by the army and commune. Cable networks will also be affected. Socio-economic Profile of Affected Households. Sources of income of households are from business and farming. Ba Thuoc District is home to Muong and Thai ethnic groups (82.4% of the population as per 2014 socio-economic data. In Thiet Ong commune, 78.4 % belong to Muong and Thai ethnic groups. While 1% belong to Ê dê ethnic group. The rest are Kinh ethnic groups. Ninety nine of the 352 households belong to the vulnerable groups. Twenty five percent (25% or 88 households) belong to the Muong (80 households), Thai, (6 households) and E de (2 households) ethnic minority groups. Two of the Muong ethnic minority households are poor households. Another 2 Muong ethnic households are considered social policy households, while one Muong ethnic household is female-headed households with dependents. For the affected vulnerable households who belong to the Kinh ethnic group, 7 of them belong to the poor households, 3 are social policy households and 1 household has a disabled household member. Consultation, Participation, and Disclosure. Series of consultation meetings were carried out from March 2015 to May 2015 through the conduct of public consultations, focus group discussions, and individual interviews. Copies of resettlement information booklets were distributed to the affected households while the results of the DMS were disclosed in public. Questions from the affected households were centered on compensation, categorization of land, and unit rates that will be applied for the affected land. The proposed unit rates for land and assets were posted in the commune offices for 20 days prior to finalization as part of the disclosure activities. Legal and Policy Framework and Project Entitlements. The legal and policy framework for compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation under the Project is defined by the relevant laws and regulations of the Government of Viet Nam and the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement. Objectives of the project s policy are to avoid, if not minimize resettlement impacts, restore livelihoods and improve living standards of poor and vulnerable households. Compensation is based on the principle of replacement cost and assistance will be provided to the severely affected and vulnerable households. i

7 Grievance Redress Mechanism. The grievance mechanism will follow the same grievance redress mechanism for Project which ensures that the affected persons concerns and grievances are addressed and resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner. Implementation Arrangements. The Project Management Unit 1 (PMU1) of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) is the Executing Agency for this Project. PMU1 will be responsible for the day-today implementation and be accountable for technical, safeguards, and financial reporting. The Project Design and Supervision Consultants will continue to assist PMU1 and local authorities in the implementation and monitoring of the RP. RP Budget. The total RP budget is 21.6 billion VND (USD 991,283 equivalent) using Government counterpart funds. It should be noted that the external monitoring organization (EMO) for the Project covers all sections, including Ba Thuoc section, has been mobilized and budget allocated, therefore, EMO budget is not included in this RP. Monitoring. PMU1 will monitor and submit semi-annual progress reports to ADB. An external monitoring agency is already onboard and will cover its own monitoring for Ba Thuoc Section. The external monitor will submit semi-annual monitoring reports to PMU and ADB. All monitoring reports will be uploaded on the ADB website. Implementation Schedule. The table below presents the various RP activities from RP preparation to implementation and monitoring. ES-1: Implementation Schedule Activities Schedule RP Preparation for Eo Lo Bridge Announcement of Cut-off Date, January 2015 Consultation, SES, DMS, Disclosure of DMS. Distribution of information booklets January June 2015 Replacement cost study and Disclosure of Unit Rates May 2015 PPC Approval of compensation plan May June 2015 Preparation of RP Jul-Sep 2015 Operation of grievance redress mechanism January onwards Agreement on the RP PMU1 submit RP to ADB for review and concurrence November 2015 ADB send concurrence on the RP. Uploads RP on the ADB website November 2015 RP implementation PMU1 commence compensation payment November December 2015 Internal and External monitoring. Submission of social monitoring reports to ADB November 2015 onwards* Hand-over of land to contractors November - December 2015 *Monitoring covers the other sections of the project ii

8 I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1. The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Northeastern Corridor stretching from Thanh Hoa in northern Viet Nam through northern Lao PDR to Bangkok links northeastern Lao PDR with northern Viet Nam and its seaports. The section of the corridor between the coast through the provinces of Thanh Hoa in northern Viet Nam and Houaphanh in northeastern Lao PDR, however, needs to be improved to a higher, all-weather, international standard if the Northeastern Corridor is to deliver its full potential increase in traffic, trade, and economic development and give the northern region of the Lao PDR valuable year-round access to rapidly developing ports on the South China Sea. 2. The Second Northern GMS Transport Network Improvement Project links Vietnam and Laos and aims to improve both international and local connectivity. It was accorded priority in the GMS transport sector study and is strongly supported by the governments of the Lao PDR and Viet Nam, which believe it will strengthen the economies of both countries and help reduce current high poverty rates in the project provinces on both sides of their borders. 3. The Project involves the upgrading of National Highway 217 (NH217), 195 km in length. The Project road traverses through Ha Trung, Vinh Loc, Cam Thuy, Ba Thuoc and Quan Son districts from east to west in Thanh Hoa Province. NH217 is predominantly flat to rolling terrain for the first 107 km after which it climbs through a series of valleys to the border with Lao PDR. The terrain is hilly to mountainous for much of this latter section. Figure 1: Route of National Highway 217 (NH217) II. BA THUOC SECTION 4. The scope of work in Ba Thuoc Section (Km Km ) is upgrading and improvement of road to Class 4 mountainous standard, including reconstructing badly damaged road sections and replacing inadequate bridges and drainage structures, lessening the effect of flooding. The road sections may involve widening of roads and bridges to improve road geometry and some resettlement and minor land acquisition may be involved in some locations. 1

9 5. During project design, the PMU1 and Project Design Consultant (PDC) collaborated extensively with the Ba Thuoc Resettlement Committee (DRC) to find ways to minimize potential adverse impacts: (a) technical designs and construction plans have been adjusted to avoid impacts on land, and (b) the working space for contractors will be minimized during construction to avoid impacts on shops/businesses. Any land affected temporarily during construction will be restored to its original condition by contractors after construction. 6. Cut-off Date of Eligibility. The cut-off date applied for the Ba Thuoc Bridge is 3 April 2015 when the Ba Thuoc DPC No. 20/TB-UBND was issued and announced publicly. 7. Physical Demarcation of Project s ROW. Prior to the cadastral mapping and the DMS, the Project Design Consultants (PDC) demarcated the Ba Thuoc section with pegs. The staking map was then provided to the DRC for use during the DMS. The DMS gathered information on: (i) affected land and structure by type, present area or length of these assets, and the area or length to be acquired by the Project, clearly showing whether the affected assets were to be acquired entirely or partially; (ii) standing annual crops by type, and area planted to the crops on the affected land; (iii) number of affected perennials, both fruit-bearing and not yet fruit-bearing, per type and by categories; (iv) number of affected timber trees per type and by categories; (v) other landholdings of the AHs outside of the Project ROW; and (vi) ethnicity, gender and physical aspects of the household head, in addition to the income level (i.e., poor or not poor) of the AHs. 8. Data Collection Tools. The tools used for the DMS were: (i) the detailed design maps with a scale of 1:1000 showing the land required by the bridge, (ii) a DMS form and measuring tapes, scales, and the cadastral maps which had been previously discussed with and approved by affected households. The technical maps prepared by the PDC assisted in defining project-affected non-land assets while the cadastral maps served as basis for measuring the dimensions of required land. 9. Cadastral mapping was carried out from November 2014 to March 2015 while the DMS was carried out from 21 April 2015 to 7 May III. SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT IMPACTS A. Summary of Impacts 10. Definition of affected persons and affected households. Affected persons refer to any person or persons, household, firm, private or public institution that, on account of changes resulting from the Project, will have its (i) standard of living adversely affected; (ii) right, title or interest in any house, land, water resources or any other moveable or fixed assets acquired, possessed, restricted or otherwise adversely affected, in full or in part, permanently or temporarily; and/or (iii) business, occupation, place of work or residence or habitat adversely affected, with or without displacement. Affected households includes all members residing under one roof and operating as a single economic unit, who are adversely affected by a project or any of its components. 11. As shown in Table 1 below, there are 352 affected households (1,602 persons). The Project will also impact land and cable networks owned by the army and commune, and cable company, respectively. Table 1: Summary of Impacts based on Type of APs Type of APs Quantity Impacts Households 352 Land and non-land assets (1,602 persons) Army 1 Land Commune 1 Land Cable company 1 Cable network 2

10 11. Impacts detailed below are permanent. During construction, temporary impacts may occur. Any impacts caused by construction will be addressed by the contractor in consultation with the affected households and local authorities. Payment or restoration of affected land or properties will be made based on the principle of replacement cost and as per Project s entitlement matrix. B. Affected Households 12. Total Number of Affected Households. A total of 352 households will be affected due to loss of land, structures, and trees. Of these, 80 households have land use rights certificates (LURCs). The remaining 271 are households who have encroached on the road ROW. They are not landless as they have land adjacent to the ROW. Types of Assets to be Affected and # of AHs Thiet Ong Commune - Ba Thuoc District Total AHs Households with LURC Residential land Agricultural land Total Households Encroaching on GOV Right of Way # of AHs Dong Tam Dong Tam Ba Loc Village Chieng Village Affected Land and Loss of Land Use. Of the 82 households who have LURCs, 11 of them will lose sq.m of agricultural land while 71 households will lose residential land (5,719.5 sq.m). 14. Of the 11 households losing agricultural land, one household in Dong Tam 1 village will lose 45.3% of their productive land (rice paddy). However, it is not the main source of income of the household. Both husband and wife are teachers and their main source of income is their salary from the state. 15. Another household in Chieng Village will lose 15.6% of agricultural land but they will not be severely affected since the land is not used as originally intended. The household is using the land for business purposes (small shop). It is not being used as farm land. There are no crops planted on said land. The other nine households will lose between 0.4% to 7.6% of their agricultural land. 16. The land use of land occupied by the 271 households who are within the ROW are not for agricultural purposes. Impacts are mostly on structures, mostly on building road access to their properties, kiosks, and extension of their houses to operate small shops. 17. The summary DMS specific to affected land is shown in Annex Affected structures. There is one partially affected house built on household s own land. The unaffected structure is no longer intact (not viable), therefore, the house is considered totally affected and will need to move back on remaining land. 19. For households who have built structures on the Government right-of-way, impacts are mostly on concrete access roads that households, gates, fences, drainage pipes. The 58 kiosks on Government right-of-way land are made of temporary materials which will only take a few hours to dismantle transfer and rebuild. All kiosks will moved back on owners land which are adjacent to the Government ROW. 3

11 Total Table 2: Households with LURC Thiet Ong Commune - Ba Thuoc District # of AHs Dong Tam Dong Tam Ba Loc Village Chieng Village Houses Partially Affected only; 2- Houses Partially but not viable to repair/ Totally Affected That need to relocate back on remaining land; 3- Secondary Structures only (No house affected); 4 - Trees and Crops Only (No house/secondary structures affected) Thiet Ong Commune - Ba Thuoc District Table 3: Households who Built on Government ROW land Total # of AHs Dong Tam Dong Tam Ba Loc Village Chieng Village Houses Partially Affected only; 2- Houses Partially but not viable to repair/ Totally Affected That need to relocate back on remaining land; 3- Secondary Structures only (No house affected); 4 - Trees and Crops Only (No house/secondary structures affected) 58 kiosks/small shops 20. Affected Trees and Crops. Bamboo trees are the most affected followed by banana trees. Other types of fruit trees and timber trees are shown in the table below. Affected vegetables, tomatoes, and other garden crops are also affected as shown in the table below. Table 4: Affected Trees No. Type Unit Quantity Fruit-Tree 1 Grapefruit Tree 28 2 Lemon tree 18 3 Banana tree Peach tree 6 5 Papaya tree 53 6 Me tree tree 52 7 Annona Muricata tree 23 8 Jackfruit tree 33 9 Custard-Apple tree Logan tree Guava tree Fig tree Apple tree 5 14 Litchi tree Star Apple tree Mango tree Lekima tree 7 18 Melon fruit tree 3 19 Tram tree tree 2 20 Sau tree tree 4 4

12 No. Type Unit Quantity 21 Sapote tree 1 22 Starfruit tree 4 23 Coconut tree 7 24 Berry tree 5 25 Orange tree 1 26 Mandarin (or Tangerine) tree 6 27 Dua tree tree 3 28 Cau tree tree momordica tree 3 30 Avocado tree 2 31 Dragon fruit tree 9 32 Bau tree tree Nhot tree tree 3 Timber Tree 1 Cypress tree Doi tree tree 6 3 Acacia tree 3 4 Chukrasia tree Bamboo tree Bang, Bang Lang tree tree 27 7 Cao tree tree 5 8 Medicinal tree tree 70 9 Cinnamon tree tree 23 Other 1 Other timber tree Dracaena fragrans tree 4 3 Milk Flower tree 70 Total 6873 Table 5: Affected Crops Type Quantity (m2) Vegetable Chilli 6 Tomato Black Soybeans 36 Medicinal plant 64.3 Flower 96 Gieng tree 9 Sweet Potato 30 Indian Taro 60 Napier grass 30 savory 199 Total

13 C. Other Affected Assets 21. Land owned by the commune (1, sq.m) and army-owned land (60.6 sq.m.) were also identified during DMS. A 100 meter drainage, and medium and high voltage cable and cable network were also recorded. IV. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS 22. The Project obtained socio-economic information of 102 households (29%) through the conduct of a socio-economic survey (March-April 2015); and below are the results. The SES summary tables are in Annex 2. Profile of Household Heads (102) Seventy three of the respondents are headed by men and 29 are headed by women. Sixty three of the respondents are between yrs. old 63%), followed by 26 respondents who are more than 60 years old (25%). The remaining 13 respondents are between years old. Forty five of the respondents (44%) reached upper secondary/vocational level. Those who reached primary and lower secondary are at 21% (21 respondents) and 33% (34 respondents), respectively. Only one respondent reached pre-school while another respondent went to university. None of the 102 respondents are engaged in farming. Sixty eight of them (67%) are engaged in business activities while 8 are employed. Of the 26 respondents who claimed that they are already retired, only 7 of them claimed that they have pensions. Household Profile (469) The average household size is 4.55 Almost half (217 members or 46%) are engaged in business while 19 are employed (4%). The rest are students (108 members), retirees (10 with pension and 19 without pension). There are 72 members who responded doing housework. Five of the members stated they are looking for work. As source of drinking water, 56 households (59%) are connected to the water supply system. Those using shallow well is at 20% (20 households) while those who are dependent on deep well is 15% (15 households). Eleven households depend on rainwater as source of drinking water. Connection to electricity is 100%. For cooking, households use electricity and gas/kerosene at 94% and 52%, respectively. Wood is also used at 29%. Coal is also used by 6 households (12%). Only 3 households (6%) use biogas. Types of toilet are semi-septic tank and pit latrine at 66% and 22%, respectively. The remaining 12% is septic-tank. Almost half of the respondents (45 or 44%) responded that they earn more than 7,000,000 VND per month followed by those who earn between 3,000,000 VND 7,000,000 VND per month at 35%. There are seven households who earn income 1,000,000 VND per month and another 15 households who earned between 1,000,000 3,000,000 VND per month. Those who earn more than 5,000,000 VND per month are engaged in business, who are employed, and have pension. Those who earn less than 5,000,000 VND per month depend on social assistance. According to respondents, on average, 800,000 VND per month is spent for food while education expenses is at 600,000 VND per month. Transportation and communication is 500,000 VND per month while those who spend on medical care is also at 500,000 VND per month. Electricity and fuel for cooking is 400,000 VND per month. Those who spent on festivals and events, they spend an average of 400,000 VND. For households who have debts, they pay 200,000 VND per month on average. Clothing/footwear and purchase of furniture are at 300,000 VND per month. 6

14 Those with savings are quite low. Only twenty five households (24%) responded that they have savings in a bank or elsewhere. For the 56 households who have loans, 33 of them used it for business while 12 of them is for farming. The rest were for education (5), animal raising (3), and hospital expenses (2). One household used it for building a house. It should be noted that the respondents replied that they are not engaged in farming but some of the household members do. Some agricultural land are affected by the Project. On asset ownership, each household have at least 2 electric fans, 1-2 motorbikes, 1 rice cooker, a TV, a bike. There is a low number of households who have telephone or mobile phones (37 households or 36%). All households own chickens and ducks. 23. The respondents were also asked about their opinion about project impacts. Ninety percent responded that better roads mean improved access to education and health and good for business. In terms of negative impacts, they mentioned increased in traffic (27%) and increased social problems at 32%. When asked if they are interested to take part in any project worsk, 66 of the respondents stated that they are interested to work for the Project. 24. Ethnicity. Ba Thuoc District is home to Muong and Thai ethnic groups (82.4% of the population as per 2014 socio-economic data. In Thiet Ong commune, 78.4 % belong to Muong and Thai ethnic groups. While 1% belong to Ê dê ethnic group. The rest are Kinh ethnic groups. 25. The Muong, Thai, and Ê dê in the area self-identify as distinct ethnic groups and are recognized as such by the Government. They are, however, generally well integrated in mainstream society. They typically maintain their own language, but are fluent in Vietnamese and have generally high rates of literacy. Their livelihood patterns are indistinguishable from mainstream society. There are no reported distinctions in lifestyle, although some of the work done in forestry may be linked to ethnic minority heritage. While they have an attachment to the local area, all land is privately occupied through the land user right regime and there is no collective land ownership. Intermarriage between the ethnic groups is common. There are no formal traditional leadership structures, yet community elders hold respected positions within their respective communities. 26. Consideration has been given to the appropriateness of the REMDP preparation processes and implementation arrangements to ensure they are appropriate in terms of cultural setting as well as vulnerability issues. While the local communities in the project areas are ethnic minorities in the national context, they constitute majorities in the local population. Local authorities at the commune and district levels are similarly of the same ethnic groups. 27. Vulnerable households 1. Of the 352 affected households, 99 households belong to the vulnerable groups. Vulnerable Groups Total Ethnic Minority Poor Household Social Policy Households Female-headed household with dependents Household with Disabled HH member Ethnic Minority Kinh Household Vulnerable groups means individuals or distinct groups of people who might suffer disproportionately or face the risk of being further marginalized by the effects of land and property recovery or resettlement and specifically includes: (i) female headed households with dependents (ii) households with disabled persons, (iii) households falling under the 2010 MOLISA benchmark poverty line, (iv) children and elderly households who are with no other means of support, (v) landless households, and (vi) non-integrated and vulnerable ethnic minorities. 7

15 28. Twenty five percent (25% or 88 households) belong to the Muong (80 households), Thai, (6 households) and E de (2 households) ethnic minority groups. Two of the Muong ethnic minority households are poor households. Another 2 Muong ethnic households are considered social policy households, while one Muong ethnic household is female-headed households with dependents. 29. For the affected households who belong to the Kinh ethnic group, 7 of them belong to the poor households, 3 are social policy households and 1 household has disabled household member. V. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION 30. Consultation and information dissemination has been an integral component in the preparation of this RP. The objectives of the consultation, disclosure and participation process are to: (i) provide complete and timely information to AH/APs about the Project and related activities, and ensure that they are able to make fully informed decisions about matters that will directly affect their livelihoods, incomes and living standards; (ii) obtain the cooperation and participation of AH/APs and other stakeholders for resettlement planning and implementation - that is, gather information about the needs and priorities of AH/APs regarding compensation, relocation and other activities to be undertaken as part of resettlement planning and implementation; (iii) obtain the opinions and suggestions of AH/APs and other stakeholders to proposed policies, schedules and activities; (iv) reduce potential for conflicts, as well as the risk of project delays; and (v) enable the Project to design mitigation measures and strategies in a manner to fit the needs and priorities of APs. 31. PMU1 supported by the PDC has worked closely with the Ba Thuoc DRC to carry out a comprehensive consultation process which included regular meetings with APs, their representatives, local authorities, and Women s Union. Date / Time/ Venue Table 6: Summary Table of Consultations and Disclosure Type of Info Dissemination/ Consultation* Participants (org, HHs, etc) No. of Participants (male) No. of Participants (female) Issues Discussed by PMU1/DPC/DRC Date: March 2015 Venue: Ba Thuoc DPC meeting room; Disclosure of Project to DPC PMU.1, Consultants Chairman of DRC and heads of departments 5 - Inform the DPCs of the project, including preparation and implementation of a Updated Resettlement Plan (RP) Women office union Chair and vice chair of Women union 02 - Collect socio-economic information of commune Date: March 2015 Venue: Culture House of Dong Tam 1, Dong Tam 2, Ba Loc, and Chieng Village Disclosure of Project to affected households Consultants APs Inform the people living on project road of the Project, the need to acquire land and provisions for compensation Date: 13 April 2015 Venue: Ba Thuoc DPC meeting room; Training Consultants 5 On-the-job training to district and commune authorities prior to the fieldwork, providing them with information on the Project 8

16 Date: 14 April 2015 Venue: Thiet Ong meeting room Commune and Village Consultants Chair of Thiet Ong CPC, land manage and Village leader, Women union, Updates on the progress of project implementation of package Proposed schedule of the consultations meetings with AHs Date: April 2015 Venue: Culture House of Dong Tam 1, Dong Tam 2, Ba Loc, and Chieng Village Providing information about the project to APs - SES, DMS consultation; - Separate meetings with women and vulnerable groups. Consultants APs Village women Provided the resettlement information booklet (RIB) Vulnerable Groups Date: April 2015 Meetings to explain to families about DMS activities DRC The steps and the sequence of DMS Date: 29 May to 17 June 2015 Placed copies at Culture House of Dong Tam 1, Dong Tam 2, Ba Loc, and Chieng Village Disclosure of compensation payments Carried out by DRC officer, CPCs and village leaders CPCs disclosed the RP compensation table so APs can review and comment within 20 days. Copies of compensation plans were also sent to affected households. A. Consultations with Local Authorities and Viet Nam Women s Union 32. The PMU1 held an initial meeting in March 2015 with the District Peoples Committees (DPCs) that would be actively involved in the RP preparation/updating. At the meeting, the DPCs were informed about the project and the preparation of the Resettlement Plan; discussed scheduling and completion of activities necessary for the RP preparation. Discussions were centered on how to establish compensation rates for affected land, structures and other assets. The DPCs and women s union have expressed support to the Project. B. Consultations with the Affected Households and Disclosure Activities 33. The cadastral mapping survey (January 2015) and the DMS (April-May 2015) afforded consultation opportunities with each household as district officials discussed the details of the Project and assets to be acquired with the household heads and family members. The cadastral site maps were explained to each household and if in agreement, the site map was signed. For final approval of assets affected, the DMS plot assessment was also signed by each household head, indicating concurrence with the results of the survey. 34. The cut-off date established by the Ba Thuoc DPC approval of Project land acquisition (3 April 2015) was also published and made available to the public through the commune offices. 35. During the consultation meetings, the following information were presented: Results of the Detailed Measurement Survey; 9

17 AHs rights and entitlements, including the process to determine AH eligibility and rights to compensation; rights and entitlements for different categories of APs, including the entitlements of those losing businesses, jobs and income; entitlement to rehabilitation assistance; and, opportunities for project-related employment. Grievance mechanisms and information about procedures for filing complaints and the appeal process. Compensation and relocation of assets schedule, including information about the proposed schedules of major resettlement activities; assurance that AHs will not be required to relocate until they have received full compensation; and assurance that construction of projects will only start after completion of all resettlement activities and clearance from the project area. 36. Questions raised by the affected households were centered on the payment schedules for compensation and assistance, how land type is defined, and when the compensation rate would be disclosed during consultation meetings. Other issues raised by the affected households are presented in the table below. Table 7: Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures Questions Raised by the Affected People Answers/Clarifications Provided Some affected properties and plants have not been included in the DMS, which agencies will be responsible to verify them for households? Our remaining unaffected land is traversed by the 35kV transmission line. We request the State to consider relocating this transmission line back to the end of the land parcel so that we can rebuild houses on the remaining land and will not relocate to another residential area (Ba Loc Village). The corn land allocated for households are small and when the land is acquired, the remaining land becomes unsuitable for cultivation or cannot be used anymore; so we suggest that the Project acquires the remaining land. Will the Project recruit local workers during the construction? If yes, how many laborers do you need? And what kind of work will suit for women? The project will build side-ditches when they carry out the road construction, it will affect the business/trading of our family as it makes difficult for customers in accessing our shop. The DRC will verify all errors/missing in the DMS reported by households. If the DRC determines that the errors/missing are true, such households' affected properties will be recorded in the minutes of DMS. PMU1 will work with the DRC to review this issue in an effort to make the best conditions for affected households to resettle on their remaining land. The DRC will check and verify if the rest of the land parcels is unusable or no longer viable for cultivation, the DRC will acquired all (under provisions of the PPC) When the Project is under the construction stage, some jobs will require local unskilled labor such as cooking for workers, drainage digging, road sweeping and water-spraying. In addition, such technical jobs (that require skilled workers) will be needed as truck drivers and mechanic operators for trenching/concreting works. We will inform you about the job opportunities and the necessary number of laborers during the construction. During construction, PMU1 will be responsible to remind the contractors to build temporary roads to minimize these impacts. 37. Based on the PPC approval of the RCS, the CPCs disclosed the RP Compensation Table for 20 days (Notice No. 34/TB-HĐGPMB date 29 May 2015) through information sheets in each of the commune offices detailing compensation and assets to be acquired by the Project. The Minutes of Public Disclosure note that all issues were addressed on an individual basis and AHs agreed with the DRC explanations. 10

18 VI. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 38. Grievances related to any aspect of the NH217 Project will be handled through negotiation aimed at achieving consensus. All AP complaints must comply with the provisions of the law of Vietnam and must address affected persons concerns and complaints promptly, using an understandable and transparent process that is gender responsive, culturally appropriate, and readily accessible to the affected persons at no costs and without retribution. The Project APs can address a court of law at any point in time to deal with their grievances. 39. APs are entitled to lodge complaints regarding any aspect of the land acquisition and resettlement requirements i.e. entitlements, rates, payments, procedures, etc. APs complaints can be made verbally or in written form. In the case of verbal complaints, the authority hearing the complaint will be responsible to make a written record during the first meeting with the AP. 40. Grievance procedures will follow a four-stage process: First Stage: Commune People s Committee. An aggrieved AP may bring his/her complaint before any member of the Commune People s Committee, either through the Village Chief or directly to the CPC, in writing or verbally. It is incumbent upon the respective member of the CPC or the village chief to notify the CPC about the complaint. The CPC will meet personally with the aggrieved AP. It will be the responsibility of the CPC to resolve the issue within days from the date the complaint is received as prescribed by law. All meetings will be recorded and copies of the minutes of meetings will be provided to APs. Second Stage: District People s Committee. If after the time limit the AP does not hear from the CPC, or if the AP is not satisfied with the decision taken on his/her complaint, the AP may bring the case, either in writing or verbally, to any member of the DPC. The AP must lodge the complaint within days of registering the original complaint and must produce documents that support his/her claim. The DPC will provide a decision within 1 month of receiving the appeal and is responsible for documenting and keeping a file of all complaints that it handles. Third Stage: Provincial People s Committee. If after the time limit prescribed by law the aggrieved AP does not hear from the DPC or if the AP is not satisfied with the decision taken on his/her complaint, the AP may bring the case, either in writing or verbally, to any member of the PPC. The PPC will review and issue a decision on the appeal within days from the day it is received and is responsible for documenting and keeping a file of all complaints with which it deals. Final Stage: Civil Court of Law. If after the time limit prescribed by law following the lodging of the complaint with the PPC, the aggrieved AP does not hear from the PPC or if he/she is not satisfied with the decision taken on his/her complaint, the case may be brought to a court of law for adjudication. Under no circumstance will the AP be evicted from his/her property or will the Government acquire his/her property without the explicit permission of the court. 41. The procedure described above is consistent with the legal process for resolution of disputes in Viet Nam.. 11

19 VII. LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK A. Government Laws and Regulations 42. The legal and policy framework for compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation under the project is defined by the relevant laws and regulations of the Government of Viet Nam (GoV) and the ADB policies. In case of discrepancies between the Borrower s laws, regulations, and procedures and ADB's policies and requirements, ADB's policies and requirements will prevail, consistent with Decree No. 38/2013/ND-CP (which provides that in case of discrepancy between any provision in an international treaty on Official Development Assistance, to which the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a signatory, and the Vietnamese Law, the provision in the international treaty on ODA shall take precedence -Article 2, Item 5). The same statement was mentioned in the Decree 47/2014/ND-CP on compensation and resettlement when the Government takes over the land for the defense, security purposes, benefits of nation and public works as well as for economic development. Decree No. 17/2003/ND-CP, promulgating the regulation on the exercise of democracy in communes, including requirements for consultation with and participation of people in communes. 43. The policies of GoV on compensation, resettlement and assistance have been significantly improved from time to time, especially, 2013, the date of Land Law was passed by the National Assembly. Many Laws, Decrees, Circulars and amendments to Laws; Decrees issued by the GoV to improve the policies on land recovery, compensation and assistance. The policies on land recovery, compensation and assistance have also significant improved on the requirements of consultation, participation, information dissemination, monitoring and evaluation. For the projects which financed by the international financing institutions, the GoV has also approved for the required waivers to meet with the international standards on involuntary resettlement. 44. The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (1992) confirms the right of citizens to own and protect the ownership of a house. In addition, the Government has enacted a number of laws, decrees and regulations that constitute the legal framework for land recovery, compensation and resettlement. The principal documents include the Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, providing Viet Nam with a comprehensive land administration law; Decree No. 47/2014/ND-CP on compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement in the event of land recovery by the State, as amended by Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP; specifying the methods for land pricing and land price frameworks in the event of land recovery by the State. Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, stipulating on issue of LURC, Decree No. 17/2003/ND-CP, promulgating the regulation on the exercise of democracy in communes, including requirements for consultation with and participation of people in communes. 45. Other laws, decrees and regulations relevant to land management, land recovery and resettlement include the Construction Law 16/2003/QH11 on compensation and relocation of people affected by ground clearance for investment projects, Decree 16/2005-ND-CP guiding on the implementation of the Construction Law, and Decree 198/2004/ND-CP on land use fees. 46. Laws, decrees and decisions relevant to public disclosure of information include Land Law, No. 45/2013/QH13, Article 67, requiring disclosure of information to affected people prior to recovery of agricultural and non-agricultural land of, respectively, 90 and 180 days minimum and Decision 3037/QD-BGTVT, 2003, making the Project Management Unit together with the Resettlement and Site Clearance Committee responsible for public disclosure through mass media of the project policies and the extent of site clearance to local people, particularly those that will be affected. 47. Ethnic Minorities. The Government recognizes the same social position, rights and obligations of all ethnic groups within the territory of the Vietnamese State, consistent with the declarations of the National Assembly in 1946, 1959, and 1980 and the 1992 Constitution of the country. Recognizing, however, that ethnic minorities are disadvantaged vis-à-vis the majority Kinh 12

20 population, the Government has enacted a number of policies and programs that provide for preferential support to the ethnic minorities, specifically Program 135 on hunger eradication and poverty reduction and Program 143 for remote communes with special difficulties, not to mention the establishment of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities (CEM) that is tasked to coordinate the implementation of the aforementioned programs. B. ADB Safeguard Policy Statement 48. On 20 July 2009, the ADB Board of Directors approved Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) that strengthens protections already in place on environment, involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples. The SPS and Operational Manual became effective on 20 January The objectives of ADB Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (Safeguard Requirement 2) are to avoid resettlement wherever possible, to minimize involuntary resettlement by exploring project and design alternatives, to enhance, or at least restore, the livelihoods of all affected persons in real terms relative to pre-project levels; and to improve the standards of living of the displaced poor and other vulnerable groups. 49. The policy on indigenous peoples is designed to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in project preparation and implementation, to ensure that they benefit from development interventions that would affect them, and to provide effective safeguards against any adverse impacts. In any ADB interventions, the approaches to be used are as follows: (i) to achieve the greatest possible reduction of poverty among the affected indigenous peoples; (ii) when negative impacts are unavoidable, they should be minimized as much as possible, and appropriate measures will be taken to mitigate the adverse impacts; (iii) in enhancing the benefits of a development intervention for indigenous peoples or reducing negative impacts of a development intervention, clear mechanisms for accurate and objective analysis of their circumstances will be prepared; and (iv) the mechanisms for any intervention must be transparent and should ensure accountability. C. Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures 50. With the issuance of Decree 47/2014 regulating on compensation, assistance and resettlement when land is recovered by the State in replacement of Decree 197/2004/ND/CP (3/12/2004), the policies the Government have been significantly improved time to time and become more consistent with ADB s social safeguards policies. Nonetheless, provisions and principles adopted in this RP will supersede the provisions of the relevant decrees currently in force in Viet Nam wherever a gap exists, as provided for under Decree 131/2006/ND-CP (November 2006), which regulates the management and use of official development assistance. 51. It should also be noted that if the compensation, assistance and resettlement required by the financiers are different from Governmental Decree, before signing the international loan agreement, the project owner must report to the Prime Minister for his consideration and decision; and basing themselves on the local realities, the provincial-level People s Committee chairpersons shall decide on other supporting measures to stabilize life and production of persons who have land recovered; special cases shall be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision, therefore, if additional gaps not mentioned below are found during RP preparation, the required assistance or support will be included in the updated RP. 52. There is basic congruence between Viet Nam s laws and ADB s resettlement policy especially with regard to the entitlement of persons with legal rights/titles. Existing legislation provide guidance in (i) determining market/replacement rates and payment of compensation for various types of affected assets; (ii) options for land-for-land and cash compensation; (iii) provision of relocation assistance and support to displaced households during the transition; (iv) provision of resettlement land and housing with secured tenure; (v) additional assistance for severely affected and vulnerable households; (vi) support to livelihood restoration and training; and (vii) notification/disclosure, consultation, and grievance mechanisms. 13

21 53. However, ADB Policy does not consider the absence of legal rights of affected persons on the acquired land as an impediment to receiving compensation for other assets and for rehabilitation assistance. Non-registration of shops/business also does not bar shop/business owners from being assisted in restoring their business. There is also a slight difference in the definition of major/severe impacts. Key differences between ADB Resettlement Policy and Viet Nam s legislation, including measures to address the differences, are outlined in Table 8 below. Table 8: Gap Analysis and Gap-Filling Measures Key Issues National Laws ADB Policy Project Policy Definition of severely affected households losing productive land Non-titled users Unregistered businesses Houses structures and Decree 47/2014 regulating on compensation, assistance and resettlement when land is recovered by the State regulates that severely affected households are those who lose 30% or more of their productive land. Article 7, Article 251, Decree 47/2014/ND-CP, the Peoples Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities shall consider providing such support on case-by-case basis. Compensate and support only registered manufacturing and business enterprise or households Article 89 of Land Law Compensation equal to the value of newly constructed houses and structures following the same technical standard. Severely affected households are those who will be physically displaced or will lose 10% or more of their productive, income generating assets. Non-titled affected persons, including displaced tenants, sharecroppers and squatters, are not entitled to compensation for land but are entitled to payment for non-land assets and assistance and provided with relevant transitional assistance and support to restore their preproject living standards. If they are poor and vulnerable, appropriate assistance must be provided to help them improve their socio-economic status. Promptly compensate all economically displaced persons for the loss of income or livelihood sources at full replacement cost, and assist through credit facilities, training and employment opportunities Structure to be compensated 100% of replacement cost, without depreciation and regardless of status of the AP on the land as long as structure was put prior to the cut-off date Affected persons who lose 30% or more of their agricultural land will be considered as severely affected households. In addition, affected persons who lose less than 30% of their agricultural land who are determined to depend heavily in agriculture for their livelihood will also be considered as severely affected households and will provided with additional assistance similar to those losing 30% or more of their land. Non-titled users will be entitled to compensated for non-land assets and provided appropriate assistance to help them improve, if not restore, their socio-economic status. Assist affected persons/households who do not fall under registered business by providing assistance in cash or inkind during transition period. Houses and other structures on land that were constructed prior to the decision on land recovery (cutoff date) will be compensated according to new construction price. Provision of rehabilitation assistance to severely affected and vulnerable households Article 19, Decree 47/2014/ND- CP: APs losing more than 30% of productive land will be entitled to living stabilization and training/job creation assistance. Rehabilitation assistance is required for those who lose 10% or more of their productive income generating assets and/or being physically displaced. Focus on strategies to avoid further impoverishment and create new opportunities to improve status of the poor Households who lose 30% or more of their agricultural land will be provided with additional assistance. Households who lose less than 30% of their agricultural land who are determined to depend heavily in agriculture for their livelihood 14