Indonesia - Third National Community Empowerment Program in Rural Areas Project : resettlement plan (Vol. 1 of 2) : Guidelines for resettlement, land, and asset acquisition

RP927 Safeguard Policy Issues INDONESIA: Third National Program for Community Empowerment in Rural Areas Guidelines for Resettlement, Land and Asset Acquisition 1. During the construction of village infrastructure it is nearly inevitable that some land, crops, trees, houses, or other assets might need to be acquired to allow the most effective, efficient, and beneficial use of resources. For example, existing village paths are often upgraded to become all- weather roads with slightly wider running surfaces, plus shoulders and drainage ditches. The so- called right-of-way therefore needs to be increased one or two meters, and this can only happen if the land bordering the road is acquired. Similarly, it is not always possible or desirable to locate water supplies, latrines, bridges, markets, or jetties on communally held land. 2. PNPM-RURAL has a simple policy framework and set of operational procedures to guide cases of land acquisition in village subprojects. The objective of these guidelines is to ensure that no family affected by land acquisition experiences a material reduction in their income, living standards, or livelihoods. Implementation of these guidelines is built into the project oversight and facilitator terms of reference, and the project provides both internal and independent monitoring of their implementation. Minimizing Acquisition 3. PNPM-Rural follows the same acquisition procedures as the Kecamatan Development Projects. Policy guidelines and procedures meet the standards of World Bank policies on resettlement. PNPM Rural's guidelines and reporting formats are incorporated into the project operating manual and are tracked through the MIS. The overarching objective of PNPM Rural's guidelines is to ensure that the acquisition of lands is minimized and does not result in persons losing their home or suffering any decline in income, livelihood, or living standards as a result of the project. All proposals must be reviewed and their location, alignment, or specifications changed as necessary. Proposals to widen road right-of-ways must also be reviewed carefully. 4. As it will not be possible in many cases to eliminate the need for acquisition, the guidelines allow for acquiring assets through the following two methods: Voluntary Donations. In accordance with local custom, community members have the right to donate their land or other assets or to move their homes temporarily or permanently without seeking or being given compensation; Donations with compensation. Persons who donate their land or other assets have the right to seek and receive compensation. 5. Voluntary contribution of land and other assets is quite common in Indonesian villages, assuming that no individual loses too significant a portion of their land. Losing a meter or two of land on the side of the road is quite attractive to farmers, who will then have an all-weather road directly abutting their fields. Voluntary contribution for other purposes besides PNPM is not unusual. Paying compensation for land is also beyond the financial capacity of the village. Principle of Compensation 6. Guidelines have been established to manage compensation for persons in the second category so that all these persons improve or at least hold steady their quality of life, income, and production capacity compared to pre-project conditions. The village must guarantee that one of the following methods was used in timely fashion to compensate the persons who were affected by the project (but project funds absolutely cannot be used for compensation): land was replaced with other land of equal productivity, or with other productive assets of equal value materials and labor were given to replace permanent structures that were removed plants destroyed or missing or damaged were compensated in accordance with their value other acceptable compensation was given Principle of Consultation 7. The village must ensure that all the people affected by the project are consulted at a public meeting in the village. During this meeting, their right to compensation must be explained, as well as such alternatives as found in the guidelines. Formal minutes of the meeting are made and must include the main points of discussion as well as any decisions reached, including: (i) for voluntary contributions, the name of the donor and details of the donation; (ii) for compensated assets, the names of the persons receiving compensation, and details of the type and amount of compensation, such as seen in the table below. (iii)In addition, the minutes will contain the signatures of the affected persons and the village chief. There will be notes about complaints made by the affected persons. And there will be a map showing the location of the affected assets. Summary of Compensation Affected Compensatio Additional Assets n Promised Agreements 1. Agricultural land (m?) 2. Other lands Area affected (m?) Houses or buildings (units/m?) 3. Plants affected by the project 8. The kecamatan facilitator will deliver a copy of the above notes to all those people who are affected by the project, to determine directly their wishes in regards to compensation, their perception of whatever agreements had been reached, and their complaints (if any). Project approval 9. As the process of determining compensation is the responsibility of the village, wherein the facilitator has no decision-making power, the kecamatan facilitator is bound to do the following: He or she must delay final approval until all persons affected by the project are satisfied with the compensation they are to receive, even if this causes a stalemate, the changing of design, and interminable negotiations. Outsiders must not intervene to impose a solution. He or she must delay implementation until compensation is realized. Whenever a project has reached the implementation stage, the senior consultants, government officials, and donor should assume that compensation has been successfully delivered. 10. In principle, if more than 200 persons are affected and require compensation, a compensation plan must be produced and then agreed to by the Secretariat of the National Coordination Team prior to project approval. In the six years of the VIP and 10 years of KDP- PNPM, this has never occurred. Right to voice complaints and take legal action 11. All complaints should be handled and solved at the village level. If the problem cannot be solved in the village, complaints and legal action against these guidelines, the implementation of agreements found in the minutes, or other grievances can be filed by the person affected or his or her representative to the kecamatan. If still not solved, it can be further submitted for a decision by the Bupati. Complaints also can be sent to the Complaints Handling Unit of PNPM-Rural at the regional or national level, where they will be analyzed and an investigation organized. Verification 12. At any time, all records regarding compensation, including minutes of the meeting and proof of receiving compensation must be available for inspection by the kecamatan and kabupaten facilitators, auditors and persons assigned to monitor aspects of the project by the project Secretariat or National Management Consultants. The Village Minutes and evidence of compensation having been made shall be provided to the kecamatan facilitator assisting the village, to supervising engineers, auditors and socio-economic monitors when they undertake reviews under the project. Conclusion 13. While no process of land acquisition will ever be fully free of problems, PNPM's small size and the need for a local-level consensus does appear to provide an effective control system that minimize the scope and impact of land acquisition. This repeater project will continue to monitor impacts closely.