The Punjab Irrigation and Power Department has submitted a plan to Asian Development Bank for approval of $75 million loan for Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project (BIWRSP).
According to Resettlement Planning Document, prepared by Punjab Irrigation and Power Department for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project (BIWRSP) aims at increasing the social and economic development of the rural population in the Potohar region of the barani (rainfed) areas of Punjab by introducing sustainable irrigated agriculture and providing water for domestic and other uses.
BIWRSP will implement a number of subprojects in four district of the province which comprise (i) small to medium dams and associated irrigation systems, (ii) domestic water supplies and sanitation, (iii) improved watershed management, and (iv) agricultural support services.
The project will be implemented by Punjab Irrigation and Power Department (PIPD). The project implementation will be managed by a provincial Project Management Unit (PMU) and civil works construction at the subproject level by the respective PIPD Small Dams Organisation (SDO) Divisions.
The land acquisition and resettlement framework (LARF) provides the policy and operational guidelines for the implementation of land acquisition and resettlement tasks arising from related impacts of the subprojects under the Project, including (i) land acquisition, (ii) acquisition of physical structures and utilities, (iii) loss of livelihoods due to temporary or permanent loss of access to land or other productive assets, and (iv) loss of common/community property resources. Special provisions for vulnerable affected people (APs) and women are made as well. The legal, institutional and implementation framework for the compensation of lost assets, livelihoods, community property and the resettlement and rehabilitation of project affected people are outlined. In particular, the eligibility criteria for APs, entitlements, modes of compensation and rehabilitation, participation and consultation procedures and grievance redress mechanisms are defined. Steps for the preparation and implementation of land acquisition and resettlement plans (LARP) for subprojects are indicated.
This LARF is designed in accordance with the ADB Policy on Involuntary Resettlement of 1995 and the applicable laws and regulations of Pakistan and respective province.
The acquisition of land and other property in the public interest and ensuing procedures for compensation are governed by the 1894 Land Acquisition Act (LAA) and its subsequent federal and provincial amendments. After public notification and on the basis of an assessment of impacts and the valuation of affected assets by the District Land Acquisition Collector (LAC), the LAA stipulates only the compensation in cash at market rates of land and crops to titled landowners and tenants registered with the Land Revenue Department or possessing formal lease agreements. Land valuation is customarily based on recent 3 to 5-year averages of registered land sales rates. A 15 percent compulsory land acquisition surcharge is added as provided under the LAA. The LAA procedures do not entail the consultation and participation of affected people, but leave the entire process in the hands of the district governments.
The framework of the LAA is generally considered to be too narrow and incapable of adequately safeguarding and rehabilitating the livelihoods of all affected people. Consequently, the local practice of the law has been more elastic and a National Resettlement Policy and Resettlement Ordinance in 2002 with a wider scope of eligibility and entitlements was drafted. However, the national policy and ordinance have yet to receive government approval and be enacted. In the meantime, the needs and rights of adversely affected non-titled people legitimately owning or using land, non-registered tenants, businesses and wage workers have been taken into consideration in ad hoc arrangements negotiated between project executing agencies and APs in various specific projects in recent years, including rehabilitation in the form of replacement plots or cash, payment of resettlement costs and assistance for livelihood restoration.
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