Resettlement Planning Document - Asian Development Bank · The DHP is located in Dagana Dzongkhag along the Dagachhu between river kilometer (Rkm) 10.5 and 20.2 upstream of the Dagachhu-Sunkosh

Resettlement Planning Document

The resettlement 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.

Resettlement Plan Document Stage: Final Project Number: 37399 June 2008

BHU: Green Power Development Project

Prepared by Dagachhu Hydro Power Corporation

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SHORT RESETTLEMENT PLAN for

DAGACHHU HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

June 2008

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ABBREVIATIONS

ADB - Asian Development Bank ADM - Administration AE - Assistant Engineer AH - Affected Households AP - Affected Person BHU - Basic Health Unit BPC - Bhutan Power Corporation CDM - Clean Development Mechanism CO2 - Carbon dioxide CRO - Chief Resettlement Officer DAO - Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer DC - Domestic Consultant DE - Dzongkhag Engineer DFO - Dzongkhag Forest Officer DG - Director General DGM - Deputy General Manager DGRC - Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee DHP - Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project DHPA - Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority DLRO - Dzongkhag Land Records Officer DMS - Detailed Measurement Survey DOA - Department of Agriculture DOE - Department of Energy DRC - Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee GDP - Gross Domestic Product GM - General Manager GNH - Gross National Happiness GRC - Grievance Redressal Committee GGRC - Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee GHG - Greenhouse Gases HH - Households IMC - Internal Monitoring Committee KV - Kilo Volts LPG - Liquid Petroleum Gas MW - Megawatt NEC - National Environment Commission NLC - National Land Commission NLCS - National Land Commission Secretariat Nu - Ngultrum (Bhutan’s currency) ORC - Outreach Clinic PAVA - Property Assessment and Valuation Agency PPP - Public Private Partnership PPTA - Project Preparatory Technical Assistance RGOB - Royal Government of Bhutan

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Rkm - River Kilometer RP - Resettlement Plan SM - Senior Manager TOR - Terms of Reference TV - Television UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

GLOSSARY Chhu - River Chhuzhing - Wet land (irrigated paddy fields) Chimi - Elected people’s representative in the National Assembly Dzongdag - District Administrator (CEO) Dzongkhag - District Gerab Dratshang Religious body Gewog - Administrative Block: a group of villages within a district Gup - Headman/woman of an administrative Block Kamzhing - Dry Land (un-irrigated land) Kha - Dialect/language Lhotshampa - Southern Bhutanese Lhotshampakha Language spoken by the southern Bhutanese Mangap - Deputy Headman/woman Ngalong - Western Bhutanese Satshab - Replacement/substitute Land Sharshop - Eastern Bhutanese Thram - Title (ownership) deed Thromde - Township Tsamdro - Grazing land Tshogpa - Member of GYT (Block development committee)

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Consultation with APs and local stakeholders Consultation with APs and local stakeholders

Consultation with APs and local stakeholders Access road to project site

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 2. BACKGROUND 18 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 21 3.1 The project 21 3.2 The project area 21 4. CLASSIFICATION OF THE PROJECT 23 4.1 Approach and methodology 23 5. PROJECT IMPACTS, SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION AND 24 RESETTLEMENT 5.1 Background 24 5.2 Scope of resettlement 24 5.3 Eligibility 24 5.4 Criteria for eligibility 24 5.5 Measures adopted to minimize impacts 24 5.6 Project impacts 25 5.7 Scope of land acquisition, crop-loss, and loss of fruit trees 28 5.8 Impacts on Income arising from land acquisitions 30 6. SOCIOECONOMIC INFORMATION 31 6.1 General 31 6.2 Characteristics of affected households 33 6.3 Economic activity, income, and poverty 35 6.4 Poverty aspects 37 6.5 Impact on women 38 6.6 Education, health, and other services 38 7. OBJECTIVES, POLICY FRAMEWORK REVIEW, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 39 7.1 Objectives 39 7.2 Policy framework review of Bhutan’s laws and regulations 39 7.2.1 The Constitution 39 7.2.2 The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 39 7.2.2.a Acquisition of registered land 40 7.2.2.b Mode of compensation for land acquired 40 7.2.2.c Valuation of land and property 40 7.2.2.d Approving and revising compensation rates 41 7.2.2.e Location of substitute land 41 7.2.2.f Appropriate substitute land 41

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7.2.2.g Taking over acquired land 41 7.2.3 Guidelines for Land Acquisition and Satshab 2005 42 7.2.3.a Acquisition procedures 42 7.2.3.b Satshab (replacement land) allotment procedures 43 7.2.3.c Satshab Allotment Committee 44 7.2.3.d Cash compensation procedures 45 7.2.4 ADB policy on involuntary resettlement 45 7.2.5 Gaps in RGOB’s policies and principles 47 7.2.6 Measures and recommendations to make RGOB’s policies 48 compliant with ADB’s policy on resettlement 8. PROJECT COMPENSATION PRINCIPLES, POLICIES, AND ENTITLEMENTS 8.1 Basic principles 50 8.2 Project policies 50 8.3 Entitlements 53 8.3.1 General 53 8.3.2 Eligibility 53 8.3.3 Entitlements 54 8.3.3.a Temporary loss of land 54 8.3.3.b Permanent loss of land 54 8.3.3.c Crops and trees 55 8.3.3.d Common property resources 55 9. CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION 58 9.1 Consultation and participation 58 9.2 Disclosure and stakeholder participation 61 10. COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 63 10.1 Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee 63 10.2 Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee 63 10.3 Functions of the Grievance Redressal Committees 63 10.4 Grievance redress procedures 64 11. COMPENSATION AND LAND REPLACEMENT 66 11.1 Land compensation/replacement 66 11.2 Compensation for fruit trees 67 11.3 Compensation for standing crops 67 11.4 Compensation for damage during construction 67 11.5 Relocation 67 11.6 Income restoration 68 11.7 Employment in project civil works to supplement incomes 68 12. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RP 69 12.1 Role of DHPA/Project Manager 69 12.2 Commissioner for resettlement 71 12.3 Dzongkhag resettlement officer 71

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12.4 Dzongkhag resettlement committee 72 12.5 Internal monitoring committee 72 12.6 External monitoring 73 13. RESETTLEMENT BUDGET AND FINANCING 76 13.1 Compensation rates and cost 76 13.2 Resettlement cost and budget 76 13.3 Compensation rate for fruit trees 77 13.3.1 Criteria used for calculating compensation for fruit trees 78 13.4 Financing 79 14. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE 80 14.1 Activities during Resettlement Plan implementation 83 14.2 DMS and updated data and costs 83 14.3 Compensation payments and clearance of project site 83 15. MONITORING AND EVALUATION 85 15.1 Supervision, monitoring and evaluation 85 15.2 Internal monitoring 85 15.3 External monitoring 86 15.4 Monitoring indicators 86 15.5 Monitoring methodology 88 15.6 Timeframe for reporting requirements 89 15.7 Evaluation 90 16. ASSURANCES 92 APPENDIX 1 – LIST OF AFFECTED PERSONS AND THE AMOUNT OF 93 LAND THEY WILL LOSE TO THE PROJECT APPENDIX 2 – MINUTES OF CONSULTATIONS 94 APPENDIX 3 – MINUTES OF CONSULTATIONS 104

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY One of Bhutan’s most abundant natural resources is its swift flowing rivers and streams that its mountainous terrain bequeaths. If harnessed well, this natural resource can be employed to generate clean and renewable energy with very few negative impacts on the natural environment. The Kingdom’s enormous hydropower potential is its primary development asset that makes Bhutan a net power exporter and the only country in South Asia with power surplus. Hydropower has, and will, play a crucial role in guiding the country towards economic self-reliance, an avowed goal of the RGOB. Until 1987, Bhutan relied primarily on foreign aid to fund its development programmes1. Domestic resource mobilization prospects drastically improved with the commissioning of the Chukha Hydropower Project in 1987. By 2007, the hydropower sector’s contribution to national revenues stood at over 45 percent. Real GDP in Bhutan has grown at an annual average of over 9% during the 9th Five Year Plan (2002-2007). The power sector accounts for over 45% of the national revenue and 25% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Thus it is apparent that the main thrust to Bhutan’s economic growth has come from the hydropower sector on which the nascent but burgeoning industrial sector has piggybacked making optimum use of the distinct comparative advantage provided by the cheap and reliable power made available. The establishment and development of industries will broaden the country’s economic base and structure, leading to economic diversification and industrial development. The future of the Kingdom’s economic growth will continue to hinge on the development of the hydropower sector as an economic imperative that will fuel Bhutan’s engines of economic growth and sustainable development. Hydropower development also has a social role to play as it generates the resources required to maintain investments in social services and the development of the much-needed physical infrastructure necessary to raise the standard of living and the quality of life as well to expand the level and pace of economic activity. Against this background the Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project is being earnestly pursued by the RGOB. However, the Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project (DHP) will be fundamentally different from past hydropower projects in that; (i) the DHP will be structured as the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) hydropower project in the country and operated through Independent Power Procedures, and; (ii) the DHP will be a pilot project as the first cross-border Clean Development Mechanism Project (CDM) under which the power generated from the Dagachhu plant will displace fossil fuel based thermal power generation in the northern Indian power grid. The resulting reduction of greenhouse gases equivalent in CO2 emissions can be quantified to 500,000 ton every year. 1 Bhutan National Human Development Report 2,000 – Planning Commission Secretariat

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The DHP is located in Dagana Dzongkhag along the Dagachhu between river kilometer (Rkm) 10.5 and 20.2 upstream of the Dagachhu-Sunkosh confluence. It will have an installed capacity of 144 MW and will be a run-of-the-river project that is expected to generate 500,000 MWh annually. The power generated by DHP will be exported to India through the existing grid connected to India. The main components of the DHP are the weir/intake, desilter, headrace channel and tunnel, surge shaft, pressure shaft, powerhouse (cavern) with two Pelton turbines and transformers for 220 kV power transmission. The DHP will require land for the construction of the above-mentioned project components. Although most of the land required for the DHP falls under government-owned land, there is some land required by the project that belongs to private individuals. Since ADB policy applies to all resettlement effects, irrespective of the scale of land to be acquired and regardless of the numbers of people affected, a Resettlement Plan (RP) is a mandatory requisite for all ADB financed projects. Therefore, this RP has been prepared in keeping with ADB policy and in accordance with ADB’s “Handbook on Resettlement – a guide to good practice”. This RP defines Affected Persons (APs) as; those who stand to lose, as a consequence of the project, permanently or temporarily, all or part of their physical and non-physical assets, including homes, communities, productive and non-productive lands, resources such as forests, community lands, or important cultural sites, commercial properties, tenancy, income-earning opportunities, and social and cultural networks and activities. The DHP is classified as having “non-significant” resettlement effects since it does not involve relocation and resettlement of any households and since the number of households affected is only 25, and the total number of affected persons in the 25 households number 145, which is less than 200 (the stipulated figure for a project to be classified as having “significant” resettlement effects). Moreover, the project does not affect any structures (house or living quarters, other physical structure, commercial or industrial structure, and rented or occupied commercial premises) or religious, community or cultural sites. Therefore, following ADB’s guidelines, a “full” resettlement plan is not required for the DHP since the resettlement effects are not severe enough to warrant it, and a “short” resettlement plan will sufficiently protect the interests of the APs. The objective of the Resettlement Plan is to assist the project affected persons to enable them to improve or restore their living standards to pre-project levels In order to minimize the effects of resettlement, as far as possible vacant government land has been identified for the location of project infrastructure and the acquisition of private land has been kept to the essential bare minimum. Other measures to minimize resettlement effects have been; (i) access road contractors have been instructed to avoid affecting homesteads even if it causes some realignment of the access roads design; (ii) efforts were made to avoid affecting larger settlements. As a result no families will be

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displaced; (iii) during design stage extra care will be taken to ensure that religious structures/ public property are avoided, and; (iv) locating stone crushing units and other noise-generating activities away from residential areas as far as possible will mitigate the effects of noise pollution. Similarly, air pollution caused by dust, will be alleviated by locating the machinery and equipment that cause air pollution away from residential areas. The Detailed Measurement Survey was conducted from March 27 to April 13 2008, which accurately identified the amount of private land to be acquired by the project including the amount of crops and fruit trees affected by the project. The DMS was carried out by the Dzongkhag authorities in conjunction with the DHPA staff and with the participation of the AP’s who verified the amount of land to be acquired from each of them. The DMS results revealed a total of 25 Affected Households (AH). None of the 25 AH will lose their homesteads or be displaced, but all 25 AH will lose some portion of their land to the project, however no community structures and facilities will be affected. The total amount of land to be acquired for the project from APs is 27.42 acres. Out of this, about 19.99 acres is Kamzhing (dry land including orange orchards) and 7.43 acres is Chhuzhing (wet land or paddy fields). Of the 27.42 acres, 2.61 acres falls under Kana gewog, 16.27 acres falls under Khebisa gewog, and 8.54 acres is under Goshi gewog. Overall, about 2.7 percent of the total population of the 3 affected gewogs (a combined population of 5,363 persons) is affected by the project. The total amount of standing crops affected is 3.1 acres of paddy and 8.16 acres of maize. The total number of fruit trees affected is 388 orange trees. This RP provides a review of Bhutan’s policy framework and laws and regulations pertinent to this project and its effects, including the identification of policy gaps in land acquisition, land replacement, and cash compensations. It also provides an overview of ADB’s policy on resettlement and recommends measures to make Bhutan’s policies compliant to ADB’s policy on resettlement. The basic principles adopted in this RP are; (i) involuntary resettlement and loss of land, structures and other assets and incomes shall be avoided and minimized by exploring all viable options; (ii) APs shall be provided with compensation for their lost assets, incomes and businesses, and provided with rehabilitation measures sufficient to assist them to improve or at least maintain their pre-project living standards, income levels and productive capacity; (iii) lack of legal rights to the assets lost will not bar the affected persons from entitlement to such compensation and rehabilitation measures; (iv) replacement of affected assets (land, crops, fruits, structures etc.) shall be provided at the 2008 rates fixed by the Property Assessment and Valuation Agency (which is expected to be released in June/July 2008). However, if the difference between the rates adopted by PAVA is found to be significantly lower than current local market rates an independent assessment of current local market rates will be undertaken and this will be used as a basis for making compensations; (v) preparation of resettlement plans and their implementation shall be carried out with participation and consultation of affected

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people; (vi) schedule of budget for resettlement planning and implementation must be incorporated into the overall project, and; (vii) payment of compensation or replacement of affected assets must be completed prior to the award of civil works contract, apart from the access roads the construction of which has already begun. In order to implement the project principles mentioned above, 16 policies have been developed in this RP, which shall be applied when implementing this RP and is detailed in the main report. A detailed section on entitlements is provided in the RP and covers; (i) eligibility, and; (ii) entitlements for various categories of losses. The entitlement matrix is provided in the table below. Table 1. Entitlement Matrix Type of loss Application Definition of

entitled persons Compensation policy

Implementation issues

Permanent Loss of arable land

a) Arable land located in the project area

a) farmers who cultivate the land b) Owner of the plot

a) Provide equivalent land nearby b) Provide cash compensation for preparation of replacement farmland

a) Available vacant government land is required. b) Assistance to farmers to develop new crops and increase production.

Temporary loss of arable land

a) Arable land in the project area.

a) farmers who cultivate the land. b) Owner of the plot.

a) Cash compensation for loss of net income, damaged assets, crops and trees at rates approved by PAVA in 2008. (b) Restoration of land to former state.

a) AP’s have been compensated for their crop-loss. However, the compensation for crop-loss has been paid following the 1996 compensation rate guidelines for the time being. AP’s will be paid the 2008 rates retroactively when the new rates are finalized and released. b) Price of

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agricultural products in the local market will be checked for comparison with the new compensation rates when it is released by PAVA to ensure there is coherence between the two. c) APs will be provided with cash compensation for restoration of land to former state.

Loss of standing crops

a) Crops located in the project area

a) farmers who cultivate the crop

a) Compensation in cash for crops based on productivity of the land in the past

a) Price of agricultural products in the local market have to be checked for comparison with the new compensation rates that PAVA is expected to finalize and release in June/July 2008.

Loss of fruit trees

a) Fruit trees located in the project area

a) Farmers who cultivate the trees.

a) Compensation in cash based on type and age of trees

a) Only private owners will be compensated for trees.

Additional compensation for vulnerable

AHHs living under the poverty line

Additional cash compensation. Nu. 3,000

2 In Bhutan, the official poverty line is not too indicative of the level of vulnerability of the households. In particular, in remote areas of rural Bhutan, a great portion of the economy is not formally monetarized. In fact, most people have assets which are difficult to catch in the formal national statistics. Vulnerability is mainly due to lack of access to essential services (such as schools and health care) rather than lack of income. Therefore, although some 50% of the APs officially live below the poverty line, they are not

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HHs2 Compensation for land acquired by the project will be on a land-for-land basis as far as possible. Cash compensation for land acquisition will only be made if the AP concerned insists on it even after being advised otherwise. The replacement land must be of equivalent size as the land acquired and of similar productivity standards and potential. The replacement land must, as far as possible, be within the immediate vicinity of the affected land or close to it to avoid causing inconveniences to the already affected person. If paddy fields are acquired and undeveloped land is provided as replacement land then the AP is entitled to “land development costs” for converting the undeveloped land into paddy fields. The market rate for such “land development costs” is estimated to be Nu. 60,000.00 per acre. This rate was arrived at after consulting with Dzongkhag officials, the APs in the project area, and farmers in other Dzongkhags. Cash compensation will be paid for loss of standing crops and fruit trees. The compensation rates will be determined by PAVA (PAVA expects to finalize the 2008 compensation rates by June/July 2008), which is an agency instituted by the RGOB to fix compensation rates. It is expected that the 2008 compensation rates will be made in line with current local market valuation, hence it is expected to be a “fair” rate. Site selection for replacement land will be carried out by the AP’s themselves in consultation with the Dzongkhag Land Records Officer and the gup of the gewog. This has been agreed to by the Dzongkhag Authorities The AP’s will be given the choice to choose replacement land of their preference from within the same gewog (if vacant government land is available) in order to avoid causing encumbrances to APs and to minimize complaints and grievances about the replacement land. In fact many APs have already selected and identified their replacement land. Therefore, at the moment, details of the land identified for compensation cannot be provided, however, the Chief Resettlement will report on the lands identified for compensation through an update on this RP when the land identification process by the APs are completed. A two-tier grievance redress committee had been set up for the APs who will have the right to file complaints and/or grievance on any aspect of land acquisition and resettlement such as inventories, valuation, and entitlements. Any AP who has had his/her land, crops, fruit trees, or structure expropriated or altered and believes that they have not been compensated or assisted in compliance with their entitlements will be able to express their grievances through the two-tier grievance redressal mechanism that has been instituted under this RP. The grassroots redressal committees are called the Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee (GGRC) and three such committees have been set up (one in each of the three affected gewogs). The GGRC’s comprise of members elected by the APs themselves and selected on the basis of who could best represent and voice their grievances. Over 90 percent of the GGRC members are AP’s themselves. The Gup of the respective gewog will chair the GGRCs. necessarily considered vulnerable. However, to make sure that some additional compensation is given to those living below the poverty line, an extra cash compensation has been budgeted.

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A second, and more high-level, Grievance Redressal Committee has been set up at the Dzongkhag-level. This committee is called the Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC) and is chaired by the Dzongdag of Dagana. The DGRC comprises of the Dzongkhag Agricultural Officer (DAO), Dzongkhag Forest Officer (DFO), Dzongkhag Land Record Officer (DLRO), Dzongkhag Finance Officer, and the Dzongkhag Engineer (DE) as its members. If the grassroots grievance redress committee is unable to resolve the grievance at its level it must, within one week, put up the unresolved grievance to the Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC). It is expected that the DGRC will be able to address all such grievances at its level. However, if an extraordinary circumstance emerges where the DGRC is unable to resolve the grievance at the Dzongkhag level then the DGRC must, within 2 weeks, refer the complaint/grievance to the National Land Commission (NLC) which is the highest body to approve land replacement and compensation allotments in the country. If, even the NLC is unable to resolve the grievances referred to it, then the AP’s have the right of appeal to the courts or to His Majesty, the King of Bhutan who is the ultimate arbitrator in the country. The grievance redress procedures are provided in the table below.

Table 2. Grievance redress procedure Step 1: GGRC deals with grievance within seven days of receipt of complaint from AP. If

unresolved, Step 2: DGRC deals with grievance within two weeks. If unresolved the grievance is forwarded

to the NLC, Step 3: NLC deals with grievance. If unresolved, Step 4: AP’s have the right of appeal to courts or to His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. The RP has been disclosed to the APs and the public (all stakeholders) for review and comments on the various mechanism and entitlements suggested for the implementation of the RP on 22.6.2008. The intention of this procedure was to receive comments from the project affected families in particular so that appropriate suggestions could be incorporated in the RP and also at later stages of implementation. Relevant components of the draft RP was translated into Dzongkhag in a booklet format and was distributed to APs and stakeholders one week prior to the RP disclosure consultation (so that APs have sufficient time to review the RP and discuss it among themselves before the actual RP disclosure consultation) and copies of the Dzongkha booklet have also been placed at the Dzongkhag office, gewog office, and office of the DHPA. It will be uploaded on the website of DHPA when it develops one. The APs and local stakeholders discussed the RP

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during the disclosure consultation and the APs did not have any issues and problems with the RP and they endorsed the RP. An institutional framework has been prepared as a separate section and it assigns specific roles and responsibilities to relevant agencies and individuals to implement the RP. Various committees such as the Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee, Internal Monitoring Committee, and Resettlement Cell with the DHPA have been established. Moreover, the Resettlement Commissioner, Chief Resettlement Officer, and Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer have been identified and their roles and responsibilities have been designated to them. The main report provides further details on the functions, role, and responsibilities of individual officials and committees. The budget required to meet the implementation of the RP is provided in the table below. However, it should be noted that the resettlement cost estimate and budget presented below is subject to revision when PAVA finalizes the compensation rates for 2008, particularly for standing crop loss and loss of fruit trees. The budget does not reflect any cost for land acquisition and replacement because all land to be acquired by the project will be on a land-for-land basis and therefore there is no need for any cash compensation. Table 3. Resettlement cost estimates and budget

Category Cost items Cost in Nu. Land acquisition Compensation for land acquired will be on

a land-for-land basis, therefore no costs are reflected under this category.

00.00

Resettlement preparation and compensation

a) Compensation for standing crops. b) Compensation for 388 orange trees. c)Compensation for converting undeveloped replacement land into paddy fields (7.43 acres). d) Special entitlements to 15 vulnerable households @ Nu. 3,000 each e) Cost of information translation, printing, dissemination, and consultation f) Cost for community education campaign

88,120.00 270,352..00 445,800.00

45,000

125,000.00

50,000.00Administrative costs a) Training / workshop

b) Monitoring and evaluation c) Independent Monitoring Consultant d) Travel and miscellaneous expenses for Resettlement Commissioner, CRO, Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer, GRC’s Internal Monitoring Committee, Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee, etc.

50,000.00 200,000.00 600,000.00 300,000.00

TOTAL 2,174,272.00Contingency 10 percent of total 217,427.20 GRAND TOTAL 2,391,699.20

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An implementation plan has been prepared to guide the schedule of implementation of the RP and is presented below. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the RP will be done by the Internal Monitoring Committee that has been established within the DHPA, and by an Independent Monitoring Consultant. The monitoring parameters and indicators are provided in the RP, including the monitoring methodology to be followed. The monitoring timeframe and reporting requirements have also been detailed in the RP The DHPA will evaluate the performance of the progress of the APs two years after all resettlement activities have been completed and evaluate them against the indicators listed in the RP. This will provide a picture of whether the socioeconomic situation of the APs was better off before the project, or after the project. Certain assurance have been made to the APs and are mentioned in the RP, they are: (i) The cash compensation made to APs for loss of crops and fruit trees on 1.5.2008 is an interim measure aimed at alleviating APs need for cash until the final 2008 compensation rates are finalized and released by PAVA. All cash compensations for crops and fruit loss will be made latest by 30.9.2008, and; (ii) All land replacement procedures will be completed and ownership titles (thrams) will be delivered to the APs latest by December 2008. 2. BACKGROUND Bhutan’s topography, river systems, glacial melt, and monsoon rains combine to provide comparative advantages to hydropower development in the country. Bhutan’s technically feasible hydropower generation potential is estimated to be 23,760 MW3. Till date about 6% (1,488 MW) of this potential has been harnessed. It is obvious that a tremendous potential still remains to be tapped. Export of hydropower is the largest revenue source for the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) accounting for over 45% of national revenues in 2006-2007. The development of Hydropower has been recognized as the primary driving force for the economic development of the country and the Vision 2020 document, acknowledging the benefits of this potential, has set targets of adding 2000 MW by 2012, and 2000 MW by 2017. Bhutan’s overall national development philosophy is based on the achievement of Gross National happiness (GNH), which is said to be a more balanced and holistic approach to development than the conventional approach that focuses primarily on economic development as gauged exclusively by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The four pillars of GNH are: (i) promotion and preservation of culture; (ii) balanced and equitable economic development; (iii) environment preservation, and; (iv) good governance. Bhutan attaches great importance to the preservation of the environment and the degree of this imperative is reflected in the Draft Constitution of the Kingdom, Article 2, Section 3 Bhutan Power System Master Plan-April 2004

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3, which states that “ The Government shall ensure that, in order to conserve the country’s natural resources and to prevent degradation of the fragile mountain ecosystem, a minimum of sixty percent of Bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all time”4 This national policy is aligned with the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which focuses on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Under the UNFCCC, the developed and industrialized countries, as well as countries with economies in transition (Annex I countries), have defined a binding target to limit emission of six greenhouse gases in order to stabilize GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.5 Under the Kyoto Protocol, a mechanism called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been created to allow Annex I countries to purchase emission reduction certificates through projects in non-Annex I countries. This flexible mechanism not only allows the Annex I countries to achieve their emission reduction targets, it also represents an important instrument for technology transfer and sustainable development of the non-Annex I countries. The Dagachhu Hydropower Project (DHP) has been identified by the RGOB as a potential CDM project in Bhutan since it is a run-of-the-river project that will have minimal impact on the environment and is thus acknowledged as a “clean technology”.

4 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan. 5 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – United Nations

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3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 3.1 The project The DHP will use the water of the Dagachhu to power the turbines. The project is a run-of-the-river power plant located on the left side of the Dagachhu between river kilometer (Rkm) 10.5 and 20.2 upstream of the Dagachhu-Sunkosh confluence. The river stretch between the intake and tailrace outlet is about 9.7 km. The difference in riverbed elevation between the intake and outlet is about 296 m, and the natural river gradient averages about 3%. The total horizontal length of the artificial waterway from intake to powerhouse is about 9,129 m. The elevation of difference between the maximum water level at the intake and the turbine runner amounts to a gross head of 306 m, which gives a gradient of 3.3%. The main components of the DHP are the weir/intake, desilter, headrace channel and tunnel, surge shaft, pressure shaft, powerhouse (cavern) with two Pelton turbines and transformers for 220 kV power transmission. The system is designed to convey a maximum flow of 50m3/sec. The plant will have an installed capacity of 114 MW. 3.2 The project area The Dagachhu Hydropower Project (DHP) is located in Dagana Dzongkhag (District). The project site is approximately 11 km upstream of the Dagachhu and Sunkosh (Punatsangchhu) confluence. The DHP is situated on the left bank of the Dagachhu. Dagana Dzongkhag comprises of 14 gewogs (Blocks) of which 3 are affected by the project. The affected gewogs are Kana, Khebisa, and Goshi. Dagana Dzongkhag lies between Chhukha and Thimphu Dzongkhags to the west, Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag to the north, Tsirang Dzongkhag to the east and Sarpang Dzongkhag to the south. The Dzongkhag has a total population of approximately 18,222 persons and covers an area of approximately 1,389 square km or 3.5 percent of the total area of the country. Elevations range from 600 m to 3,800 m above sea level. The Dzongkhag falls within the temperate zone in the north while the southern and lower parts of the Dzongkhag are subtropical. The annual rainfall ranges from 750mm to 2,000 mm. 79 % of Dagana’s total area is under true forest cover mainly consisting of broadleaf species. 12.7 % of the total area is under agriculture. 1.2 % of the Dzongkhag’s total area is Tsamdro (pasture) which carries over 27,000 heads of livestock. Orange is the major source of cash income in Dagana Dzongkhag with over 413 hectares of land under orange cultivation with a total of 7,347 orange trees producing about 40.77 tons of the fruit.6 Until a few years ago cardamom used to be the major cash crop of the Dzongkhag with 1,118 hectares under cardamom cultivation. However, a debilitating

6 Agriculture Statistics, Department of Agriculture

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disease affected most of the cardamom plantations about five years ago that has prompted the conversion of cardamom plantations into orange orchards. The Dzongkhag is accessible by motor road from the Sunkoshchhu junction in Tsirang Dzongkhag. Dagana has 87 km of district road, 32.1 km of feeder road, 1.5 km of urban road, and 24.5 km of farm road. The total length of all the roads is 145.1 km. This indicates low motor road connectivity in Dagana. Footpaths and mule tracks are, therefore, still the primary means of physical connectivity within the Dzongkhag. Dagana town the Dzongkhag’s headquarters and its peripheral areas are supplied with electricity from a mini-hydropower station at Darachhu. Besides the Dagana town, Gozhing, Dagapela and Drujegang are the other important economic centers in the Dzongkhag.

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4. CLASSIFICATION OF THE PROJECT Although the Dagachhu Hydropower Project (DHP) does not necessitate any relocation of housing and resettlement of people, as long as assets are lost and livelihoods affected ADB policy considers it as a resettlement effect for which a resettlement plan is required. The DHP is classified as having “non-significant” resettlement effects since it does not involve relocation and resettlement of any households and since the number of households affected is only 25, and the total number of affected persons in the 25 households number 145, which is less than 200 (the stipulated figure for a project to be classified as having “significant” resettlement effects). Moreover, the project does not affect any structures (house or living quarters, other physical structure, commercial or industrial structure, and rented or occupied commercial premises) or religious, community or cultural sites. Since the impacts of the project are classified as “non-significant”, as per ADB guidelines a “full” resettlement is not required. This “short” resettlement plan comprise of these salient features; (i) Scope of land acquisition and resettlements; (ii) Objectives, policy framework, and entitlements; (iii) Consultation, participation and grievance redress; (iv) Compensation, relocation, and income restoration; (v) Institutional framework; (vi) Resettlement budget and financing; (vii) Implementation schedule, and; (viii) Monitoring and evaluation. 4.1 Approach and Methodology The key methods used while preparing this RP include:

1. Affected Household census and socioeconomic survey; 2. Consultations with Affected Persons (APs), Project officials, Dzongkhag officials,

and other stakeholders; 3. Field visit observations and interaction, and; 4. Collection of secondary information related to land acquisition and other project

related information.

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5. PROJECT IMPACTS, SCOPE OF LAND ACQUISITION AND RESETTLEMENT

5.1 Background The Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) identified 25 households that will lose some land in 5 villages, representing some 2.7 percent of the total number of households in the 3 affected gewogs as being affected by the project. 5.2 Scope of Resettlement As a result of the project, an estimated 27.42 acres of land acquisition (no homesteads will be affected by the project) will be required. In general the scope of impact is limited to loss of agricultural land due to acquisition for construction of project infrastructure such as access roads, desilter site, surge shaft, project offices etc. Therefore, all the affected households will remain “on-site” and will not require to be resettled or relocated. 5.3 Eligibility Project Affected Family /Person include villagers who will lose land, house, and other assets, either partially or fully, temporarily or permanently because of the project. 5.4 Criteria for eligibility Each project affected family that stands to lose, as a consequence of the project, all or part of their physical and non-physical assets, including homes, communities, productive lands, resources such as forests, range lands, or important cultural sites, commercial properties, tenancy, income-earning opportunities, social and cultural networks, and activities are eligible for receiving the benefits under the RP. 5.5 Measures Adopted to Minimize Impacts Resettlement effects have been minimized by avoiding the acquisition of private land and property as far as possible. The access roads have been realigned and will be altered, if found necessary, during construction to avoid the relocation of households. As far as possible, vacant government land has been identified for the location of project infrastructure. Efforts were made to minimize the adverse impact of the project. Measures adopted for minimizing the adverse impact are:

1. Site selection for constructing infrastructure and other facilities were done in such a manner which involved minimal acquisition of private land.

25

2. Access road contractors have been instructed to avoid affecting homesteads even if it causes some realignment of the access roads design.

3. During design stage extra care will be taken to ensure that religious structures/

public property are avoided.

4. Efforts were made to avoid affecting larger settlements. As a result no families will be displaced.

5. Locating stone crushing units and other noise-generating activities away from

residential areas as far as possible will mitigate the effects of noise pollution. Similarly, air pollution caused by dust will be alleviated by locating the machinery and equipment that cause air pollution away from residential areas.

5.6 Project impacts The RP addresses direct and indirect impacts of project construction and operation on affected persons, families, households and communities. The direct and immediate impacts are those associated with project construction, mainly land acquisition. Mitigation is provided through compensation and assistance to project-affected persons, families and households. The APs are entitled to compensation and assistance on the basis of the policy framework adopted by the project through this RP. The policy provides mitigation for loss of land, house, assets, and livelihood. Loss of assets and livelihood are impact categories that represent direct project impacts on an identified population. The people likely to be affected were surveyed for baseline information. Under the project, evaluation will be carried out to assess the changes caused because of the project against the baseline socioeconomic data. The census and asset inventory of APs was concluded on 25th October 2007 and this date had been marked as a ‘cut-off’ date in order to minimize fraudulent practices and claims. The Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) was carried out between March 27 to April 13 2008, which accurately identified the amount of private land to be acquired by the project including the amount of crops and fruit trees affected by the project. The DMS was carried out by the Dzongkhag authorities in conjunction with the DHPA staff and with the participation of the AP’s who verified the amount of land to be acquired from each of them. The DMS results have revealed a total of 25 Affected Households (AH). None of the 25 AH will lose their homesteads or be displaced, but all 25 AH will lose some portion of their land to the project, however no community structures and facilities will be affected. Table 5 details the impacts of the project.

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Table 5 Land area affected by land category, land holding size before and after acquisition, and amount and percentage of land area that will be lost to the project

No. Land Name of AP Amount of

land Land holding Land holding % of land Comments

category lost to project before

acquisition after

acquisition lost to (in Acres) (in Acres) (in Acres) Project

1 Dry Land/ Birman Bomjan 0.96 3.30 2.34 29.09

Orchards Mon Prasad Subbha 0.07 0.34 0.27 20.58

Langa 0.08 0.50 0.42 16.00 Laxuman Darjee 0.90 2.80 1.90 32.14 Rinchen Chungwa 0.96 1.78 0.82 53.93 Sonam Phentsho 0.57 3.57 3.00 15.96 Lobzang 1.77 3.36 1.59 52.67 Tashi Wangdi 1.28 1.84 0.67 69.56 OkChumo 1.23 1.20 0.00 100.00 Thram under process Bathmo 0.60 1.00 0.40 60.00 Lhamo 0.27 1.05 0.78 25.71 Lhamo 1.76 0.60 0.00 100.00 Tharm under process Yudungmo 0.70 1.20 0.50 58.33

Khan Dorji Tamang 0.04 0.67 0.63 5.97

Lhadon 0.48 0.00 0.00 100.00 Thram under process Tashi Dem 0.33 0.33 0.00 100.00 RinchenMo 0.33 0.33 0.00 100.00 Lhamo 1.00 1.00 0.00 100.00 Kencho Wangmo 2.05 2.05 0.00 100.00 Mikmar 1.00 1.00 0.00 100.00 Animo 1.00 1.00 0.00 100.00

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Community Land 2.61 7.00 4.39 37.28 TOTAL 19.99 35.92 17.71 49.30

2 Wet Land

Mon Prasad Subbha 0.66 1.20 0.54 55.00

Laxuman Darjee 0.38 0.86 0.48 44.18 Rinchen Chungwa 0.19 2.62 2.43 7.25 Lobzang 0.20 1.64 1.44 12.19 Tashi Wangdi 0.45 3.16 2.71 14.24

Tshewang Dhendup 0.07 2.90 2.83 2.41

OkChumo 2.51 4.17 1.66 60.19 Bathmo 0.10 0.75 0.65 13.33 Lhamo 1.34 0.75 0.00 100.00 Thram under process Lhamo 0.05 1.00 0.95 5.00 Lhadon 0.25 1.00 0.75 25.00 Duba 0.73 0.50 0.00 100.00 Thram under process Lt. KarchaMo 0.50 0.00 0.00 100.00 Thram under process TOTAL 7.43 20.55 14.44 70.26

Thram under process means that the AP currently has less land registered in his/her name than the amount that has been identified for acquisition from his/her plot because his/her existing thram (title deed) is still under process.

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Although the percentage of land to be acquired by the project under the two categories of land (wet and dry land) seems relatively high (as reflected in Table 5 above), these high percentages affected could be misleading because it is the percentage of land affected from the affected plots only and does not take into consideration other plots that APs own. In other words, these percentages reflect the percentage of land to be acquired from the specific affected plot only. Table 6. Impacts of the project by Gewog, households, and number of APs in the households

Type of Impact Location No. of HH No. of APs Remarks Kana Gewog

1 18 No displacements only land and crops are affected

Khebisa Gewog

15 81 No displacements only land and crops are affected

Loss of agricultural land

Goshi Gewog 9 46 No displacements only land and crops are affected

Kana Gewog

1 18 24 orange trees

Khebisa Gewog


Loss of orange trees

Goshi Gewog


Loss of structures -

-

- No structures will be affected

by the project

Loss to squatters -

-

- No squatters in the project

area

Loss of community and cultural sites -

-

- No loss of any such sites

5.7 Scope of land acquisition, crop-loss, and loss of fruit trees The total private land required for project activities is estimated at 27.42 acres. Out of this, about 19.99 acres is Kamzhing (dry land including orange orchards) and 7.43 acres is Chhuzhing (wet land or paddy fields). Of the 27.42 acres, 2.61 acres falls under Kana gewog, 16.27 acres falls under Khebisa gewog, and 8.54 acres is under Goshi gewog. Overall, the combined 25 households will lose about 22.85 percent of their combined total land holdings. A summary of the types and amount of private land affected and to be acquired is provided in table 7 below:

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Table 7. Type and amount of private land to be acquired Sl. No.

Type of land to be acquired

Amount of private land to be acquired (in acres)

1 Wet Land 7.43 2 Dry Land 19.99

Total 27.42 In order to ensure that APs are adequately compensated for all losses induced by the project, the DMS included the survey of the affected crops as well. The DMS revealed that 3.1 acres out of the 7.43 acres of wetland to be acquired was under paddy cultivation while the remaining 4.33 acres of wetland has been left fallow over the last few years. 8.16 acres out of the 19.99 acres of dry land to be acquired was under maize cultivation and the remaining 11.83 acres of dry land was used to cultivate dual crops (a mixture of orange and maize) at the same time. The findings of the DMS was confirmed and verified by the APs themselves who participated in the DMS of their affected land, crops, and fruit trees. Thus, the amount of crops and fruit trees affected by the project was determined by the DMS and verified by the APs. Table 8 below provides the type and amount of affected crops by acres. Table 8. Type and amount of affected crop by acres Sl. No.

Type of affected crop

Amount of crops affected (in acres)

1 Paddy 3.1 2 Maize 8.16

Total 11.26 Table 9 below reveals the affected gewogs, villages, households and property. The amount and type of land lost by individual APs is provided in table 5 above. Table 9 . Affected Gewogs, Villages, Households and Property GEWOG VILLAGE AFFECTED

HOUSEHOLDSPROPERTY AFFECTED

AMOUNT AFFECTED(IN ACRES)

Kana Chineythang 1 Land/orange trees 2.61Sub total 1 1 2.61

Gewthang 4 Land/orange trees 5.05Thumgang 8 Land/orange trees 7.30

Khebisa

Gepsa 3 Land/orange trees 3.92Sub total 3 15 16.27 Goshi Baleygang 9 Land/orange trees 8.54Sub total 1 9 TOTAL 5 25 27.42

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The DMS also identified the number of fruit trees (in the project area the primary fruit cultivated is orange) affected by the project. In order to make fair compensation payments for the affected fruit trees, the age of individual fruit trees were determined with the assistance of the AP who had planted and nurtured the tree. Compensations for fruit trees was paid according to the age of the fruit tree, which is a determining factor in calculating the yield of individual fruit trees. The compensation rates for orange trees increases with the age of the tree until the yield of the orange tree plateaus after it matures on attaining eight years of age. Table 10 shows the number and age of the affected orange trees. Table 10. Type and number of affected fruit trees, by year of trees Sl. No.

Type of fruit tree affected

Age of affected trees(in years)

Number of trees affected

3 49 4 40 5 64 6 34 7 9

1

Orange trees 8+ 192

Total 388 5.8 Impacts on income arising from land acquisition There will be no impact on incomes arising from land acquisition because the APs will lose only one cropping season due to land acquisition for which they have been compensated in cash for the expected crop-loss. All APs will receive their replacement land latest by December 2008 (which is about 3-4 months before the next planting season) along with the title deeds for the replacement land. APs will only lose income for the year 2008 for which they have been compensated and no income loss is expected for 2009 because they can plant and harvest the crops on the replacement land by the next cropping season.

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6. SOCIOECONOMIC INFORMATION This section presents the analysis of baseline socioeconomic characteristics of the APs. Apart from providing the socioeconomic background for the project, the baseline characteristics provides an insight on developing indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the RP measures and actions to be taken up. The census of APs and socioeconomic survey was carried out during the months of June/July 2007. The objective of the socioeconomic/baseline study was:

1. To understand how the existing socioeconomic profiles may be affected by the project;

2. To identify and assess the impacts of the project in order to formulate plans to

restore and improve the quality of life of the APs;

3. To create a baseline to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the RP. The surveys also provided an opportunity to discuss the project and its impending impacts with the APs, on an informal and one-to-one basis. This helped in establishing the monitoring parameters and indicators, which will be used to study the project impact on the socioeconomic condition of the people. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect information on (i) demographic details of affected family (ii) ownership of land and structure affected (iii) their income and expenditure (iv) health conditions (v) livestock profile (vi) source of earning (vii) ownership of other assets, etc. The list of the Affected Households with the landowners' names is provided in Annexure 1. 6.1 General The three gewogs affected by the project has a total population of 5,363 persons, of which Kana gewog’s population is 1,964 persons, Khebisa gewog’s is 1,212 persons, and Goshi gewog has a population of 2,187 persons. Dagana Dzongkhag has 14 Community Primary schools, 2 Primary schools, 0 Lower Secondary schools, and 2 Middle Secondary schools, with a combined enrollment of 4,408 students. In terms of health facilities Dagana Dzongkhag has 8 Basic Health Units (BHU) and 18 Outreach Clinics (ORC). 84.9 percent of the households in Dagana have access to sanitary facilities, 55.3 percent have access to safe water supply, 80.3 percent maintain vegetable gardens, and 79.8 percent have garbage disposal pits.7

7 Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2007, National statistics Bureau.

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According to the survey, 25 households in 5 villages will lose some portion of their land to the project. No homesteads, government/private structures, businesses establishments, natural resources used by communities, community and social services, or cultural and religious sites will be affected by the project. Settlements within and along the project area are dispersed. The data provided on the project area is based on the fieldwork undertaken in June/July 2007 and updated in October 2007 with additional census and socioeconomic survey work to include APs that are affected by the new design of the access roads, and finalized in March/April 2008 after the Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) was under taken between March 27 and April 13, 2008. 25 households comprising of 145 persons in 5 villages in the 3 gewogs of Kana, Khebisa, and Goshi are affected by the project. Overall, 2.7 percent of the total population of the 3 affected gewogs (a combined population of 5,363 persons) is affected by the project. Table 9. Affected Gewogs, Villages, Households and Property GEWOG VILLAGE AFFECTED

HOUSEHOLDSPROPERTY AFFECTED

AMOUNT AFFECTED(IN ACRES)

Kana Chineythang 1 Land/orange trees 2.61Sub total 1 1 2.61

Gewthang 4 Land/orange trees 5.05Thumgang 8 Land/orange trees 7.30

Khebisa

Gepsa 3 Land/orange trees 3.92Sub total 3 15 16.27 Goshi Baleygang 9 Land/orange trees 8.54Sub total 1 9 TOTAL 5 25 27.42 The affected villages are of mixed ethnicity but predominantly Ngalong (western Bhutanese) accounting for about 60.0 % (15 households) of the Affected Households (AHs); Lhotsampas (southern Bhutanese) make up about 16.0 % (4 households); while Sharshops (eastern Bhutanese) make up about 24.0 % (6 households) of the Affected Households. While the Ngalongs and Lhotshampas can be considered as the earlier settlers in the project area with generations having lived here, the 6 Sharshop households are beneficiaries of the RGOB’s resettlement scheme for the landless and the “poorest of the poor” who have moved into the project area from eastern Bhutan about 10 years ago after the RGOB granted them 5 acres of land for each of the 6 households. The impact of land acquisition on the 6 households resettled from eastern Bhutan will be minimal because these 6 households are only affected by the access roads for which very small parcels of

33

land have to be acquired from these households. Table 11 below shows the amount of land these 6 households will lose to the project. Table 11. Impact of land acquisition on the 6 households resettled from eastern Bhutan No. Name of AP Size of Land holding

(Acres) Amount of land to be

acquired (Acres) 1. Langa 5.00 0.08 2 Rinchen Chungwa 5.00 1.18 3 Sonam Phentsho 5.00 0.57 4 Lobzang 5.00 1.97 5 Tashi Wangdi 5.00 1.62 6 Tshewang Dhendup 5.00 0.07 TOTAL 30.00 5.49 Table 11 above shows that in total the 6 households resettled from eastern Bhutan will lose about 18.3 percent of their land to the project. These 6 APs have been provided cash compensation for their expected crop loss for 2008 due to land acquisition. They will receive their replacement land within 2008 and will therefore not miss the next planting season on their replacement land. Therefore, the RP has ensured that these APs will not be negatively impacted by land acquisition. Of the 3 affected gewogs Kana and Goshi (about 40.0 % of affected households) have access to electricity supplied through a mini hydel while Khebisa (which has about 60.0 % of affected households) does not have access to electricity and people use kerosene for lighting purposes. Of the 25 Affected Households in the project area 100 % (25 households) use firewood as their primary fuel for cooking (of the 25 affected households, 1 household, which is actually a village committee, does not have a homestead in the project area). About 16.0 % (4 households) have LPG stoves and use LPG as backup fuel for cooking. 6.2 Characteristics of Affected Households The 25 Affected Households consists of 145 APs making an average household size of 5.8 persons. Of the 145 APs, 73 (50.34%) are female and 72 (49.66%) are male. 13 (52%) households are headed by women. From the 145 AP’s, 59 (about 40.68 %) are below the age of 20 years, 29 (about 20.0 %) are above the age of 60 years. 24 out of the 25 AH’s own the house they live in. The remaining 1 AH does not have homesteads/dwellings on the affected plot since the affected plot belongs to a local community. 24 of the 25 homesteads can be classified as permanent dwellings, and 1 as a semi-permanent dwelling. The average number of rooms in a house is 3, excluding the kitchen and toilet. All households have a water tap outside their house. Typically, all the households have

34

latrines and kitchens outside the house. The houses are made of mud-bonded bricks and stone. All the households own the land they farm on and none of them are landless. The average land holding of AHs is about 4.8 acres. The main crops grown are paddy, maize, millet, lintel, mustard, and vegetables. The primary cash crop among the AHs is orange with 56.0 % (14 households) of AHs cultivating the citrus fruit. 10 households (about 40.0 %) have rice fields. 44.0 % (11 households) of the AHs cultivate maize as a major crop. Vegetable gardens mainly for self-consumption, since markets are not easily accessible, are maintained by 96.0 % (24 households) of the AHs. None of the APs are involved in the commercial production of handicrafts. One of the AHs runs a small shop but the shop is not affected by the project. 25 (100 %) out of the 25 AH’s depend on farming as their primary economic activity. About 7 households (28.0 %) have lived in their respective villages for at least 10 years, while 15 households (60.0 %) have lived there for up to 30 years. This indicates a relatively high level of stability with some resettlement occurring in recent years. More migration into the area can be expected as the project sites develop and project infrastructure and access roads are built, thereby creating a demand for goods and services, which will draw more migrants. None of the AHs own two or four wheelers. 1 AH’s (4.0 %) owns a TV sets. 23 AH’s (92.0 %) own a radio. None of the AH’s own refrigerators. Table 12. Household Access to Services and Asset Ownership of Affected Households

Households Services Number Distance (km)

Water source 24 0.01 Electricity 10 - Community school 25 1.50 Primary school 25 1.50 Lower Secondary School 25 120.00 Middle Secondary School 25 33.00 Higher Secondary School 25 120.00 Hospital 25 210.00 Basic Health Unit 25 33.00 Out Reach Clinic 25 2.00 Post office 25 33.00 Telecommunication 25 17.00 Agriculture extension services 25 17.00 Credit (BDFC) 25 17.00 Banking 25 33.00 Market 25 17.00 Assets Number of households Tractor 0

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Power tiller 0 Car 0 Motorbike 0 TV 1 Refrigirator 0 LPG 4 Radio 24 6.3 Economic Activity, Income, Expenditure, and Poverty Since the project area suffers from poor access to markets, subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity of the AHs. About 56.0 % (14 households) of households have orange as their cash crop, and 96.0 % (24 households) of households grow vegetables. None of the households are involved in fishing. 23 AHs (92.0 % of households) keep poultry. 13 AHs (52.0 %) rear cattle. 7 AHs (28.0 % of households) raise pigs. 6 AHs (24.0 % of households) raise goats. 4 AHs (16.0 % of households) keep horses. Table 13. Income, source, annual value, and number of households involved Income, source, annual value, and number of households involved Agriculture Yield per acre Value of yield (Nu) No. of households involved Rice Minimum 750 kg 7,500.00 Maximum 1,250 kg 12,500.00 Average 1,000 kg 10,000.00

10

Maize Minimum 600 kg 6,000.00 Maximum 800 kg 8,000.00 Average 700 kg 7,000.00

11

Orange Yield per tree Value of yield per tree (Nu)Minimum 30 kg 439.00 Maximum 42 kg 839.00 Average 35 kg 631.00

14

Livestock Annual value of produce (Nu.) No. of households involved Cattle Minimum 2,000.00 Maximum 7,000.00 Average 5,000.00

13

Goats Minimum 1,000.00 Maximum 2,500.00

6

36

Average 1,500.00 Pigs Minimum 3,000.00 Maximum 10,000.00 Average 6,500.00

7

Poultry Minimum 200.00 Maximum 500.00 Average 300.00

23

Horses Minimum 4,000.00 Maximum 8,000.00 Average 6,000.00

4

Wages Total annual value (Nu.) No. of households involved Minimum 5,100 (only seasonal) Maximum 18,000 (only seasonal) Average 9,600 (only seasonal)

5

Cash income from agricultural activities are very low since almost all of what is produced is consumed by the household; only 8.0 % (2 households) of households sell rice with cash incomes ranging from Nu. 700 to Nu. 2,500 per year. Livestock and livestock products are sold by 8.0 % (2 households) of AHs with cash income from this source ranging from Nu. 1,200 to Nu. 6,500 per year. The main sources of non-agricultural income are derived from hired labor (non-skilled) used during the planting, transplanting, and harvesting seasons. Hired labor is also used during construction of houses and other infrastructure such as roads. At least one person each from 5 AH’s (20.0 % of households) work as hired seasonal laborer for the above mentioned purposes, which provides them with about Nu. 9,600 each per year. None of the AHs are involved in commercial trading. 3 AHs (12.0 % of households) receive remittances from relatives living and working in other parts of the country, such remittances range between Nu. 200 to Nu. 600 per month. The average monthly household income of the AHs, including the aggregation of the value of agricultural and livestock produce is Nu. 4,132.00. The average monthly household expenditure including the value of self-consumed agricultural and livestock produce is Nu.3,354.00. The number of households under debt is 8 (32.0 % of households). The average debt of the 8 households is Nu. 11,670.00. Table 14. Income distribution of Affected Households Particulars Monthly household income Income <1000 1001-3000 3001-5000 5001-7000 7001-9000 >10000

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No. of hh 0 5 10 5 2 2 Income and expenditure details is provided only for 24 households since 1 of the affected land does not belong to a single household but to a community/committee that consists of 18 members from different households. 6.4 Poverty aspects In 2007 the poverty line for Bhutan was set at Nu. 1,097.00 per person per month. Out of the 145 APs, 86 (59.31 %) live below the poverty line. Table 13 below reflects the incidence of poverty among the AP households8. The DHP is expected to have significant poverty reduction impacts in the project area and the on APs. The DHP, during its construction stage will employ thousands of laborers that will create demand for essential goods and commodities thereby increasing economic activity in the project area and developing the local economy. The local people may not have to go to the markets to sell their agricultural produce, as a market will be created within the project area by the laborers. Upon completion of the construction stage, DHP staff and technicians who manage and operate the plant will be located in the project area; they too will create demand for agricultural produce that can be supplied by the APs and farmers living in the vicinity of the project area. An additional stimulus will be provided to the local economy with the construction of the access roads to the project site, which will improve accessibility of the local communities to the main road and other markets. The value of land within the project area is expected to increase because of the project and its various physical infrastructure, which will directly benefit the APs and local communities since it is them who own private land in the vicinity of the project area. Furthermore, it is expected that 12-15 percent of royalty revenue generated from the export of power from the Dagachhu plant will be used to subsidize electricity for rural domestic consumers, particularly for those under the lifeline tariff. Table 15. Poverty incidence among the AP households

Number of AHs Number of poor hh's (below poverty line)

Percent of poor hh’s (below poverty line)

25 15 60.0 As indicated in table 15 above, 15 of the 25 households fall below the national poverty line. The project will not have any negative impacts on them due to land acquisition

8 In Bhutan, the official poverty line is not too indicative of the level of vulnerability of the households. In particular, in remote areas of rural Bhutan, a great portion of the economy is not formally monetarized. In fact, most people have assets which are difficult to catch in the formal national statistics. Vulnerability is mainly due to lack of access to essential services (such as schools and health care) rather than lack of income. Therefore, although some 50% of the APs officially live below the poverty line, they are not necessarily considered vulnerable. However, to make sure that some additional compensation is given to those living below the poverty line, an extra cash compensation has been budgeted.

38

because they have been compensated in cash for their expected crop-loss for the year 2008 and they will receive their replacement land within 2008 which will ensure that they do not lose out on the next cropping season. However, as a special entitlement to these APs a sum of Nu. 3,000.00, which is equalivant to one-month’s national minimum wages is proposed to be paid to them as special entitlement since they are identified as vulnerable households. 6.5 Impact on women The impact of the project on women due to land acquisition will be minimal since all APs including women have been paid cash compensation for their crop-loss for the 2008 season and they will receive appropriate replacement land by 2008 and therefore will not suffer any further loss of crops from the next season due to land acquisition. Women who lose land to the project will receive replacement land which will be registered in their names. Men and women enjoy equal status in the project area and considering that women will not be more worse off than men due to the project, no special provisions have been proposed as special entitlements for women. In fact the infrastructure (access roads etc) and market created by the project will ensure easier access to markets which will benefit women more than men since it is women who normally go to the market to sell the household’s agricultural produce. 6.6 Education, Health, and Other Services Literacy among the APs is about 42%. In general literacy rates are low among the APs. All 3 affected gewogs have primary and community schools. The closest Lower secondary school is located 120 km away, the closest Middle secondary school is located 33 km away, and closest Higher secondary school is located 120 km away. The 3 affected gewogs have Out Reach Clinics. The closest Basic Health Unit (BHU) is located in Dagapela (about 17 km away). If patients cannot be treated at the BHU they are referred to the National Referral Hospital in Thimphu, which is about 210 km away. The nearest market is about 17 km away in Dagapela where there is postal, telecommunication, and rural credit services available.

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7. OBJECTIVES, POLICY FRAMEWORK REVIEW, AND RECOMMENDATIIONS 7.1 Objectives The objective of the Resettlement Plan is to assist the project affected persons to enable them to improve or restore their living standards to pre-project levels. In order to achieve this objective, the following key tasks will be performed:

1. Ensure timely payment of compensation for loss of land, structure and assets prior to taking over possession;

2. Provide assistance and support during the transition period for which they are

entitled, and;

3. Conduct meaningful consultations with affected families in particular and local communities in general and provide opportunities for participation in planning and implementation of the RP.

This Resettlement Plan as a social safeguard measure is designed to address all the limited impacts of the project. It provides an analysis of the impacts, identifies the nature and types of losses, and establishes an entitlement matrix as a guide to payments of compensation and resettlement benefits. It also contains a budget, institutional arrangement for implementing the RP, implementation framework and monitoring arrangements. This has been detailed in the following sections of the report. 7.2 Policy framework review of Bhutan’s laws and regulations 7.2.1 The Constitution Article 7 of the Constitution declares “ A Bhutanese citizen shall not be deprived of property by acquisition or requisition, except for public purposes and on payment of fair compensation in accordance with the provisions of the law”. It must be mentioned that “provisions of the law” means the provisions prescribed in the Land Compensation Rate-1996, which needs to be updated since, as the title suggests, the rates have not been revised since 1996 (12 years ago). The land compensation rates is being revised and is expected to be finalized by June/July 2008. The new rates will be much higher than the prevailing compensation rates. However, until the land compensation rates are finalized and disclosed the existing Land Compensation Rate 1996 is to be used for the time being. 7.2.2 The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 was approved by the National Assembly on 27.6.2007 and supersedes the Land Act, 1979. The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 came into force on 1.1.2008.

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Under the Land Act a National Land Commission (NLC) has been established. The NLC is the highest decision-making body on matters concerning land in Bhutan. The NLC consists of 11 members. Relevant to this project are the following functions of the NLC as mentioned in the Act:

1. Acquisition of registered land and its allotment to Government institutions and Gerab Dratshang (religious body);

2. Allotment of substitute land to the Thram (title) holder whose land was acquired,

and;

3. Approve cash compensation for the land acquired. The NLC is supported by the recently established National Land Commission Secretariat (NLCS). The NLCS is the parent organization for all the agencies responsible for land registration and cadastral survey in Bhutan. Chapter 7 of the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 deals with acquisition of registered land and states that (only relevant sections have been submitted below): 7.2.2.a Acquisition of registered land

1. The Government may acquire a registered land for public interest; 2. The Government may provide substitute land or cash payment, or both, as

compensation; 3. Acquisition of land shall entail a fair compensation; 4. Acquisition shall be in accordance to the procedure on acquisition of registered

land, and; and; 5. Acquisition of land occupied by religious monuments shall be avoided.

7.2.2.b Mode of compensation for land acquired

1. The landowner shall have the discretion to opt for substitute land or cash compensation offered by the government in case the land is acquired from rural areas;

2. Compensation shall be provided for the immovable property on the acquired land, and;

3. Upon acquisition, if the remaining land parcel is less than 10 decimals, such land both in Thromde and rural areas shall also be acquired.

7.2.2.c Valuation of land and property

1. There shall be a Property Assessment and Valuation Agency established under the Ministry of Finance to valuate and fix the value of land and any other collateral property that may be acquired. The valuation of the land and property shall consider the total registered area, registered land category, its current use, location

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in relation to accessibility to vehicular road, immovable property, local market value, and other elements such as scenic beauty, cultural and historical factors, where applicable.

7.2.2.d Approving and revising compensation rates

1. The Property Assessment and Valuation Agency shall revise the compensation

rate after every three years. 7.2.2.e Location of substitute land

1. The location of substitute land to be allotted in rural areas shall be in the order of preference of same village, Gewog, and Dzongkhag.

7.2.2.f Appropriate substitute land

1. The Government shall ensure to provide the landowner with a substitute land commensurate to the value of land acquired.

7.2.2.g Taking over acquired land

1. The land under acquisition shall be taken over only after registering the substitute land in the name of the affected landowner or the cash compensation has been made to the landowner.

The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 sufficiently protects APs whose lands are affected by development projects by ensuring that fair compensation is provided through land-for-land compensation. However, even though the Land Act has come into effect since 1.1.2008, cash compensation rates for acquired land, fruit trees, and standing crops are yet to be updated and revised. Until the compensation rates are revised the Land Compensation Rate 1996 is still applicable and followed by the RGOB. The Ministry of Finance instituted the Property Assessment and Valuation Agency (PAVA) in 2008. The PAVA will study and revise the compensation rates on a value-based compensation scheme which is expected to be finalized in June/July 2008. Until the compensation rates are revised and finalized the Land Compensation Rate 1996 will be used for all such government acquisitions. The compensation rates prescribed in the Land Compensation Rate 1996 is much lower than market rates and this fact is acknowledged by the Government. The land Act treats men and women equally. If it is a woman who loses land due to land acquisition then the same woman will receive replacement land which will be registered in her name in the land title deed, as is the case with men. No special provisions are provided for women in the Land Act because the Act is gender neutral and treats men and women equally.

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7.2.3 Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab (Replacement Land) 2005 In Bhutan the Land Act governs all general land issues. The Land Act empowers the Government to acquire and allot Satshab (replacement land). Compensation principles and policy framework for land acquisition is governed by the “Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab Alltoment-2005” (which has the most significance for this project) and “Land Compensation Rate-1996”. As of January 2008, the newly established National Land Commission is responsible for looking after all issues pertaining to land, including land acquisition and land replacement. Prior to 2008 it was the Ministry of Agriculture that undertook these responsibilities. Under the “Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab Alltoment-2005” each Dzongkhag must constitute a Land Acquisition Committee (DLAC) referred to as the Acquisition Committee. The Acquisition Committee comprises of: (i) The Dzongdag as Chairperson of the Committee; (ii) Dzongkhag Finance Officer; (iii) Dzongkhag Agricultural Officer (DAO); (iv) Divisional Forest Officer (DFO); (v) Dzongkhag Land Record Officer (LRO); (vi) Dzongkhag Engineer, and; (vii) Representative of the concerned Municipality. The role of the Acquisition Committee is to process land acquisition and allotment of Satshab or cash compensation in accordance with the Land Compensation Rate-1996. The responsibilities of the Acquisition Committee are: :

1. Dzongdag shall serve as the Chairperson and assume sole responsibility of the Committee.

2. The DFO shall identify the Satshab and process the forest clearance. 3. DAO shall undertake the feasibility study of the area to be acquired and

accordingly process for the approval of Agriculture Ministry. 4. DLRO shall coordinate and study if acquisition is as per the provisions of the

Land Act. 5. DE shall assess the cost estimation if structures are involved in the identified

areas. 7.2.3.a Acquisition procedures A. The requisition of land for development purposes has to be made by the concerned agency through the Dzongkhag to:

1. The Council of Ministers: if the requisition is from vacant government land. The Dzongkhag Administration must obtain local community clearance and forward it to the Department of Forestry Services after verifying the land in coordination with the National Environment Commission (NEC) and must issue a Forest Clearance where permissible and then forward it to the Council of Ministers for Government approval. The Department of Forestry Services upon approval must convey it to the concerned Dzongkhag Administration.

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2. Department of Agriculture (DOA): if private persons owns the requisitioned land. DOA must issue the acquisition clearance after thorough verification of the proposed land identified by the Acquisition Committee. The Department must frame a set of procedures for the verification.

3. The concerned Dzongkhag must forward such requests to the Departments for

Departmental clearances. The clearance must be issued on the basis of the feasibility study.

B. The Acquisition Committee must forward their findings and recommendations to the Department of Survey & Land Records only with necessary clearances from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry Services. C. The Acquisition Committee must serve notice of requisition to the concerned landowner. 7.2.3.b Satshab allotment procedures The Satshab allotment procedures is as follows:

1. The Dzongkhag Administration must request the Department of Agriculture and Department of Forestry Services to identify the Satshab and issue clearances. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Forestry Services then jointly identify the Satshab and issue necessary clearances.

2. The Dzongkhag Administration must obtain clearance for the identified Satshab

from the concerned public.

3. The Dzongkhag Administration must then convene the Acquisition Committee meeting in keeping with the Land Acquisition Rules and Regulations.

4. The recommendations of the Acquisition Committee along with the complete

documents must be forwarded to the Department of Survey and Land Records.

5. The Department of Survey and Land Records will then verify the cases, compile the documents and submit it to the Satshab Allotment Committee in Thimphu.

6. The Satshab Allotment Committee will convene its meeting to either approve or

disapprove the case.

7. The Department of Survey and Land Records will then convey the decision of the Satshab Allotment Committee to the Dzongkhag and also inform the concerned agencies.

8. The acquisition will be final upon completion of the above formalities and it must

be completed within a minimum period of 4 months.

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7.2.3.c Satshab Allotment Committee Under the “Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab Alltoment-2005” the Satshab Allotment Committee was constituted. This Committee is the highest body in the country that approves Satshab allotments and comprise of 5 members: (i) The Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Chairman of the Committee; (ii) The Secretary, Ministry of Home & Cultural Affairs; (iii) The Secretary, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement; (iv) The Director, Office of Legal Affairs, and; (v) The Surveyor General, Department of Survey and Land records. The mandate of the Satshab Allotment Committee is to:

1. Ensure that the Rules and Regulations of Land Acquisition and Satshab allotments are carried out in compliance with the Land Act and the Land Compensation Rate-1996.

2. Further scrutinize the recommendations of the Acquisition Committee and

approve the Satshab allotment in accordance with the Land Act.

3. Acquisition of land without fulfilling the procedure shall be deemed not acquired. 4. Approve or disapprove Satshab allotment/cash compensation payments

recommended by the Acquisition Committee. Criteria for Satshab approval are:

1. Approval of Satshab shall be accorded only for the acquisitions made for development purposes in the national interest.

2. Private registered lands shall be acquired only under unavoidable circumstances

and accordingly Satshab shall be approved.

3. Satshab for acquisition not fulfilling the procedure as prescribed shall not be approved.

4. Satshab for acquisitions raising any doubt or suspicion of conflict of interest

either by an individual or a group of individuals shall not be approved.

5. Satshab for acquisition of large areas of land beyond the actual requirement or without proper justification shall not be approved and shall be restored to the owner.

6. Satshab shall be allotted to the extent of registered land acquired.

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7.2.3.d Cash Compensation Procedures The cash compensation procedures are as follows:

1. The Ministry of Agriculture will approve the acquisitions for only cash compensations. However, in the case of Satshab and payment of half-cash compensations the Satshab Allotment Committee will approve such compensations.

2. Cash compensation will be admissible in accordance with the Land Compensation

Rate-1996.

3. The Department of Agriculture shall fix the rates for compensation of crop loss and cost of the land development.

In this resettlement plan, all APs have land title or certification and are entitled to compensation for losses caused by the project. While both the Land Act and Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab Alltoment-2005 ensure compensation for legal owners of properties under acquisition, they do not guarantee either replacement value of the acquired properties or restoration of income, or indeed provide for compensation to non-legal (but not illegal) users. 7.2.4 ADB’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement To ensure that some people are not disadvantaged in the development process, ADB endeavors to avoid or minimize resettlement effects. If resettlement is unavoidable, ADB helps restore the quality of life and livelihoods of those affected. ADB’s policy and guidelines must also be followed in all of the Bank’s operations. The guiding principle of ADB’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (approved in November 1995) and also set out in the Handbook on Resettlement: A Guide to Good Practice (1998) is that APs should be “...compensated and assisted so that their economic and social future will generally be at least as favorable with the project as without it”. ADB’s Policy also stipulates that the absence of formal legal title to land by some affected groups should not be a bar to compensation and that “particular attention should be paid to the needs of the poorest affected persons including those without legal title to assets, female-headed households and other vulnerable groups, such as indigenous people, and appropriate assistance provided to help them improve their status.”

1. The three important elements of ADB’s involuntary resettlement policy are (i) compensation to replace lost assets, livelihood, and income; (ii) assistance for relocation, including provision of relocation sites with appropriate facilities and services; and (iii) assistance for rehabilitation to achieve at least the same level of well-being with the project as without it. For any ADB operation requiring involuntary resettlement, resettlement planning is an integral part of project

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design, to be dealt with from the earliest stages of the project cycle, taking into account the following basic principles:

1. Involuntary resettlement should be avoided where feasible. 2. Where population displacement is unavoidable, it should be minimized by

exploring all viable options. 3. If individuals or a community must lose their land, means of livelihood, social

support systems, or a way of life in order that a project might proceed, they should be compensated and assisted so that their economic and social future will generally be at least as favorable with the project as without it. Appropriate land, housing, infrastructure, and other compensation, comparable to the without project situation, should be provided to the adversely affected population, including indigenous groups, ethnic minorities, and pastoralists who may have usufruct or customary rights to the land or other resources taken for the project.

4. Any involuntary resettlement should, as far as possible, be conceived and executed as a part of a development project or program and resettlement plans should be prepared with appropriate time bound actions and budgets. Resettlers should be provided sufficient resources and opportunities to reestablish their homes and livelihoods as soon as possible.

5. The affected people should be fully informed and closely consulted on resettlement and compensation options. Where adversely affected people are particularly vulnerable, resettlement and compensation decisions should be preceded by a social preparation phase to build up the capacity of the vulnerable people to deal with the issues.

6. Appropriate patterns of social organization should be promoted, and existing social and cultural institutions of resettlers and their hosts should be supported and used to the greatest extent possible. Resettlers should be integrated economically and socially into host communities so that adverse impacts on host communities are minimized. One of the effective ways of achieving this integration may be by extending development benefits to host communities.

7. The absence of formal legal title to land by some affected groups should not be a bar to compensation. Affected persons entitled to compensation and rehabilitation should be identified and recorded as early as possible, preferably at the project identification stage, in order to prevent an influx of illegal encroachers, squatters and other nonresidents who wish to take advantage of such benefits. Particular attention should be paid to the needs of the poorest affected persons including those without legal title to assets, female-headed households and other vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples, and appropriate assistance provided to help improve their status.

8. The full costs of resettlement and compensation, including costs of social preparation and livelihood programs as well as the incremental benefits over the “without project” situation, should be included in the presentation of project costs and benefits.

9. To better assure timely availability of required resources and to ensure compliance with involuntary resettlement procedures during implementation,

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eligible costs of resettlement and compensation may be considered for inclusion in Bank loan financing for the project, if required.

7.2.5 Gaps in policy principles in RGOB’s policy on land acquisition, land replacement, and cash compensations Several gaps and shortcomings have been identified in the RGOB’s policies on land acquisition, land replacement, and cash compensations and are provided below: Land Act of Bhutan 2007:

1. While Chapter 7, section 144 of the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 (which governs all

land issues in the kingdom) states that “Acquisition of land shall entail a fair compensation”, one can question what “fair compensation” means since the term “fair compensation” can be ambiguous depending on who is interpreting it. (instead current local market rates should be included to ensure that APs truly receive “fair compensation”).

2. Section 154 under chapter 7 states “The Property Assessment and Valuation

Agency shall revise the compensation rate after every three years”. This may not reflect “fair compensation” if a project has to acquire private land in the second or third year after PAVA has revised the compensation rates. The cost of land and the price of crops and fruits do not remain static over a period of three years. Land prices have been known to double in five years in many parts of the country. Prices of crops and fruits are increasing with every season. Therefore, paying compensation rates that are two/three years old without taking into account the current prices will ensure that the APs will be worse off since they will have to pay current prices for crops and fruit that they will have purchase (since they will have lost their annual crop to the project) while having received compensation that may have been “fair” two/three years ago.

3. Section 158 under chapter 7 says “ The land under acquisition shall be taken over

only after registering the substitute land in the name of the affected landowner or the cash compensation has been made to the landowner”. There is much difference between what is stated and what is actually practiced. There have been cases where AP’s lands have been acquired, intended projects have been completed on the acquired land, and yet the AP’s have not been provided with the title deed (thram) for the substitute land, which legalizes their ownership.

4. The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 does not have any provision for non-title holders.

According to the Act, only titleholders (legal owners) will receive compensation or substitute land. This means that persons who were surviving on tenant farming or sharecropping would lose their livelihood if the land they were sharecropping on were acquired, although the titled owner may receive compensation. This policy is non-inclusive as it does not recognize all persons affected by a project as being eligible for compensation or rehabilitation.

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Guidelines for Land Acquisition and Satshab Allotment 2005

1. Chapter 2 of the Guidelines for Land Acquisition and Satshab Allotment 2005 states “The Acquisition Committee shall process land acquisition and allotment of Satshab or cash compensation in accordance with the Land Compensation Rate, 1996…”. In an age when we have been witnessing the rapid increase in prices of land, crops, fruits, and other essential commodities even within a single year, it will surely be more than “unfair” to pay AP’s compensation rates that were established 12 years ago (1996).

2. In chapter 2, section 2.1 (1) d) under “Acquisition Procedures” it is stated that

“The processing of clearance shall be completed within a maximum period of one month”, but in reality it takes more than a month to process the clearance since there are several tiers of procedures and bureaucratic processes to be fulfilled, including protracted correspondences between the Dzongkhag and the Central authorities.

3. Chapter 2, section 2.2 h) states “ The acquisition shall be final upon completion

of the above formalities and it shall be completed within a maximum period of 4 months”. Nowhere in the “above formalities” is the delivery of title deed (thram) mentioned. The acquisition should, in following the principles of fair compensation, become final only upon the delivery of the title deed to the AP.

Land Compensation Rate 1996:

1. The compensation rates for land and loss of fruit trees is very low compared to current local market rates. However, this shortcoming is expected to be rectified in the 2008 compensation rates, which is likely to be released in June/July 2008.

7.2.6 What needs to be done to make Bhutan’s policies on land acquisition, land replacement and compensation compliant with ADB’s policy on resettlement. In order to ensure that Bhutan’s policies on land acquisition, land replacement and compensation rates are fair and compliant with ADB policies the following measures are recommended:

1. In order to ensure that AP’s receive “fair” compensation it is important to define what “fair” compensation is. To distill it to its essence in the simplest manner possible “fair” compensation means that the amount of compensation paid to an Affected Person should ensure that he/she does not become worse off as a consequence of a project being implemented within his/her locality. The amount of compensation paid to the AP should be sufficient to restore his/her standard of living and quality of life as it was before the project, if not better. AP’s who become worse off after a project than they were before, due to the amount of compensation received for the losses they incurred because of the project, cannot

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be said to have received “fair” compensation. Alternately, “fair” compensation can be defined as compensation rates in line with current local market rates, be it land, crops, or fruits that APs would have otherwise earned if their lands, crops, and fruit trees were not acquired by the project. The Land Act of Bhutan 2007 should define what “fair compensation” is, instead of leaving it open and exposed to myriad interpretations.

2. PAVA should revise the compensation rates annually instead of once every three

years to ensure that APs receive compensation rates commensurate to the prevailing local market rates rather than rates that are 2-3 years old.

3. The National Land Commission Secretariat (NLCS) should ensure that the

provisions in the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 and the Guidelines for Land Acquisition & Satshab Allotment 2005 are strictly adhered to. If this is done then the land under acquisition will be taken over only after registering the substitute land in the name of the affected landowner or after the cash compensation has been made to the landowner as is stipulated in the Land Act and in line with ADB policy. This will also ensure that the processing time for substitute land and its title deed delivery to the APs is made on time and as per the above stated Act and Guidelines.

4. Non-title holders, as long as they were drawing their sustenance from the land that

has been acquired by the project whether through sharecropping or tenant farming, should be eligible for compensation. Firstly, because they are poor and own insufficient land themselves thus they are compelled to sharecrop on other peoples land, therefore they may be among those hardest hit by land acquisition. And secondly, technically, they are Affected Persons as well since they stand to lose their livelihoods as a consequence of the project and would face impoverishment if some compensation is not made to them. Fortunately, this project does not affect any sharecroppers, but it may not be so for other future development projects. The NLCS may need to include such affected persons as being eligible for compensation.

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8. PROJECT COMPENSATION PRINCIPLES, POLICIES, AND ENTITLEMENTS 8.1 Basic Principles The basic principles of the Project are:

1. Involuntary resettlement and loss of land, structures and other assets and incomes shall be avoided and minimized by exploring all viable options.

2. APs shall be provided with compensation for their lost assets, incomes and

businesses, and provided with rehabilitation measures sufficient to assist them to improve or at least maintain their pre-project living standards, income levels and productive capacity.

3. Lack of legal rights to the assets lost will not bar the affected persons from

entitlement to such compensation and rehabilitation measures.

4. Replacement of affected assets (land, crops, fruits, structures etc.) shall be provided at the 2008 rates fixed by PAVA (which is expected to be released in June/July 2008). However, if the difference between the rates adopted by PAVA is found to be significantly lower than current local market rates an independent assessment of current local market rates will be undertaken and this will be used as a basis for making compensations.

5. Preparation of resettlement plans and their implementation shall be carried out

with participation and consultation of affected people.

6. Schedule of budget for resettlement planning and implementation must be incorporated into the overall project.

7. Payment of compensation or replacement of affected assets and any resettlement

to new locations must be completed prior to the award of civil works contract. Rehabilitation measures must also be in place, but not necessarily completed, as these may be ongoing activities.

8.2 Project Policies For the implementation of the above principles, the following policies shall apply:

1. Land acquisition and involuntary resettlement will be avoided where feasible or minimized by identifying among possible alternative project designs and solutions that have the least adverse impacts on populations in the Project Area.

2. Where population displacement is unavoidable, individuals, households and

communities losing assets, livelihood and other resources will be fully

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compensated and assisted so that they can improve or at least restore their former economic and social conditions.

3. Compensation support will be provided to any AP, including: any person or

persons, household (sometimes referred to as project affected family), who, in the context of acquisition of assets or change in land use, as of the cut-off date, on account of the execution of the Project, or any of its sub-components or part, would have his, her, or their; standard of living adversely affected; Right, title or interest in all or any part of a house, land (including residential, commercial, agricultural, plantations, forest and grazing land, trees, standing crops) or any other moveable or fixed assets acquired or possessed, in full or in part, permanently or temporarily adversely affected; Income earning opportunities, business, occupation, place of work, residence, habitat or access to forest or community resources adversely affected temporarily or permanently, with or without displacement; Social and cultural activities and relationships and other losses that may be identified during the process of resettlement planning.

4. Where significantly large or entire land holdings are affected by the project, the

general mechanism for compensation for affected agriculture, residential or commercial land shall be through provision of "land for land" arrangements of equivalent size and productivity and at a location acceptable to the AP.

5. If a house or other structure is only partially affected by the Project and the

remaining structure is rendered unviable for continued use, the AP shall be entitled to surrender the entire structure and to compensation for the entire structure at full replacement cost without depreciation or deductions for salvaged material. In case the remaining house or other structure is viable for continued use, APs shall be entitled to assistance in cash or material for restoration of the remaining structure in addition to the compensation at replacement cost for affected portion.

6. APs whose land or assets are temporarily taken by the works under the project

they shall be fully compensated for their net loss of income, damaged assets, crops and trees, as the case may be. The project authorities shall also ensure that the land and structures are returned in its pre-project state.

7. Affected populations that stand to lose only part of their physical assets will not

be left with a proportion that will be inadequate to sustain their current standard and convenience of living; affected populations that stand to lose more than 20 percent of their land holding to the project, and if it causes them to be “worse off” after the project than before it, can have the option of surrendering their entire land to the project and opt for replacement land of the same size and quality.

8. Affected populations will be systematically informed and consulted about the

Project, the rights and options available to them and proposed mitigating measures, and to the extent possible be involved in the decisions that are made

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concerning their land acquisition, land replacement, and cash compensation for losses incurred due to the project.

. 9. The consultative process will include not only those affected, but also

representatives of the local governments of the areas in which the Project is located, and civil society organizations such as non-government organizations, if any.

10. Adequate budget support by the RGOB/ADB will be fully committed and made

available to cover the compensation and resettlement within the agreed implementation period.

11. Replacement lands shall preferably be within the immediate vicinity of the

affected lands and of comparable productive standards and potential, failing which, sites should be identified that minimizes the social disruption of those affected; such lands should have access to services and facilities similar to those available in the lands affected.

12. Organization and administrative arrangements essential for the effective

implementation of the RP will be identified and in place prior to the commencement of the process; this will include provision of adequate human resources for supervision, liaison and monitoring of land acquisition, land replacement, land rehabilitation, and compensation activities.

13. Appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, will be identified

and set in place as part of the resettlement pan.

14. The award of civil works contracts will be given “no objection” after the evaluation of the resettlement plan implementation by the Independent Monitoring Consultant has been cleared by ADB noting that the Government has satisfactorily completed the disbursement of replacement land and associated compensations in accordance with the principles set out above. Community facilities and infrastructure damaged due to the project shall be restored or repaired as the case may be, at no cost to the community.

15. Any acquisition of, or restriction on access to resources owned or managed by the

affected community as a common property shall be mitigated by arrangements ensuring access to improved or at least equivalent resources on a continuing basis. Attention shall also be paid to ensure that directly affected APs get due share of such benefits, corresponding to their personal losses, if any, that accrue to the community on a collective basis.

16. All APs severely affected by the Project due to the loss of productive assets

(agricultural or commercial land), means of livelihood, incomes, employment or businesses, and access to community resources will be entitled to rehabilitation measures including income restoration programs, agricultural extension

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assistance, over and above their entitlements for compensation and other allowances, enabling them to attain, at a minimum, pre-project livelihood levels on a sustainable basis.

8.3 Entitlements 8.3.1 General The primary objective of the resettlement plan is to provide the framework for compensation for lost assets and resettlement of APs. The resettlement plan identifies (i) the extent of losses; (ii) the policy and legal framework for compensation and resettlement; (iii) institutional framework for participation and implementation; (iv) provision for employment and poverty reduction; and (v) responsibilities for monitoring the implementation measures. A census and socioeconomic survey of AP’s was conducted during June/July 2007 and then reviewed between October-December 2007. The Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) was conducted from March 27 to April 13 2008. Affected villages were informed in advance about the DMS and were requested to participate in the DMS when it reached their affected land and assessed the crops and fruits cultivated on the affected land. On completion of the DMS, APs were given 15 days to review the DMS form and confirm (or otherwise) the amount and type of losses they will incur because of land acquisition. The results of the DMS did not provoke any complaints from the AP’s and they accepted it. 8.3.2 Eligibility General eligibility is defined as: “All people residing, cultivating or making a living within the area to be acquired for the project as of the formally recognized cut-off date (October 25 was set as the cut-off date. The cut-off date was fixed in order to avoid land speculation and to minimize fraudulent practices and claims) and should be considered as project affected persons (APs) for the purposes of entitlements to compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation assistance in accordance with the provisions of this RP. In line with this definition, APs for the purpose of this resettlement plan include the following persons who have been identified during the census and were confirmed during the DMS:

1. Persons or households whose agricultural, residential, or commercial land is in part or in total affected (temporarily or permanently) by the project;

2. Persons or households whose houses and other structures are in part or in total

affected (temporarily or permanently) by the project;

3. Persons or households whose businesses or source of income (i.e. employment) are affected (temporarily or permanently) by the project;

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4. Persons or households whose crops and fruit trees are affected by the project, and;

5. Persons or households who’s other assets are in part or fully affected (temporarily or permanently) by the project.

8.3.3 Entitlements Entitlements for each type of AP are based on the types and levels of losses. The Entitlement Matrix for the project is shown in Table 14. 8.3.3.a.Temporary Loss of Agricultural and Compensation for Damages During the Construction Period

1. Extreme care shall be taken by contractors to avoid damaging property. Where damages do occur, the contractor will be required to pay compensation immediately to affected families, groups, communities or government agencies. Damaged property will be restored immediately to its former condition.

2. For loss of use of land for a period less than one year (e.g. during construction):

• No compensation for land if returned to original user and in original or better condition. Restoration of agricultural land to its previous or better quality by providing measures to improve land quality.

• Cash compensation for loss of crops and trees at 2008 rates fixed by

PAVA and compensation for loss of net income from subsequent crops that cannot be planted for the duration of the temporary use arrangements, and;

• If the disruption is more than one year, APs have an option to (a) continue

the temporary use arrangements or (b) sell affected land to the project at full replacement cost.

8.3.3.b Permanent Loss of Agricultural, Residential and Commercial Land

Agricultural land

1. Compensation will be through the provision of “land-for-land“ as close as possible to the land affected and of equal productive capacity of the land acquired, and to the satisfaction of the APs;

2. Cash compensation for loss of crops and fruit trees as per the new provisions and

rates that will be set out by PAVA, which are expected to be in line with local market rates, and;

3. Farmers who lose 20 percent or more of their total agricultural landholding, and

are therefore severely affected, will be entitled to transition subsistence allowance

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and rehabilitation assistance such as agricultural extension assistance to increase productivity on remaining land.

8.3.3.c Crops and Trees The compensation for crops and trees will be as follows:

1. Cash compensation for loss of crops and trees at the 2008 compensation rates fixed by PAVA. If the 2008 compensation rates fixed by PAVA is found to be significantly lower than current local market rates, then the current local market rates will be used as the basis for making such cash compensations;

2. Compensation for crops will be based on the anticipated harvest while

compensation for fruit trees will be based on the type, age and productivity of the fruit tree. A lump sum amount will be paid for young non-bearing fruit trees to cover the cost of maintenance and inputs, while compensation for standing crops will be paid the 2008 compensation rates fixed by PAVA regardless of the maturity of the crop.

8.3.3.d Common Property Resources The only common property affected by the project is a 7 acre community land that is under the care of 18 households. 2.61 acres of the total 7 acres is affected by the access road and will be acquired by the project. The access road to the project site goes through this 7 acre community land which will make it difficult for the community to maintain the land. During a consultation held with AP’s in May 2008, members of the community voiced their preference to surrender the entire 7 acres of the community land (instead of just 2.61 acres from it) to the project and in place they requested for an un-fragmented 7 acres of land. This was discussed and agreed upon and the community was asked to identify 7 acres of un-fragmented land close by, in place of the community land they want to surrender to the project. In the third week of May 2008, the consultant was informed that the community had identified 7 acres of un-fragmented land close to their original community land and the community had stated that they would be more than happy if the land they have identified could be provided as replacement land. The Dzongkhag officials, through the Gup, have been informed of this land replacement and the concerned authorities are working towards processing the identified 7 acres as replacement land for the community. The title deed is being process and will be ready by December 2008. Table 14 comprises of the entitlement matrix which will serve as a guide to entitlements. Table 14. Entitlement Matrix Type of loss Application Definition of

entitled persons Compensation policy

Implementation issues

Permanent Loss of arable land

a) Arable land located in the project area

a) farmers who cultivate the land b) Owner of the

a) Provide equivalent land nearby

a) Available vacant government land

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plot b) Provide cash compensation for preparation of replacement farmland

is required. b) Assistance to farmers to develop new crops and increase production.

Temporary loss of arable land

a) Arable land in the project area.

a) farmers who cultivate the land. b) Owner of the plot.

a) Cash compensation for loss of net income, damaged assets, crops and trees at rates approved by PAVA in 2008. (b) Restoration of land to former state.

a) AP’s have been compensated for their crop-loss. However, the compensation for crop-loss has been paid following the 1996 compensation rate guidelines for the time being. AP’s will be paid the 2008 rates retroactively when the new rates are finalized and released. b) Price of agricultural products in the local market will be checked for comparison with the new compensation rates when it is released by PAVA to ensure there is coherence between the two. c) APs will be provided with cash compensation for restoration of land to former state.

Loss of a) Crops located in a) farmers who a) a) Price of

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standing crops

the project area cultivate the crop Compensation in cash for crops based on productivity of the land in the past

agricultural products in the local market have to be checked for comparison with the new compensation rates that PAVA is expected to finalize and release in June/July 2008.

Loss of fruit trees

a) Fruit trees located in the project area

a) Farmers who cultivate the trees.

a) Compensation in cash based on type and age of trees

a) Only private owners will be compensated for trees.

Additional compensation for vulnerable HHs9

AHHs living under the poverty line

Additional cash compensation. Nu. 3,000

The details of the land identified for compensation cannot be provided at the moment because the APs are still finalizing the identification of the replacement land themselves with the help of relevant Dzongkhag officials and their respective Gups. The identification of replacement land will be complete by August/September 2008 and will be reported through an update in the RP by the Chief Resettlement Officer of DHPC.

9 In Bhutan, the official poverty line is not too indicative of the level of vulnerability of the households. In particular, in remote areas of rural Bhutan, a great portion of the economy is not formally monetarized. In fact, most people have assets which are difficult to catch in the formal national statistics. Vulnerability is mainly due to lack of access to essential services (such as schools and health care) rather than lack of income. Therefore, although some 50% of the APs officially live below the poverty line, they are not necessarily considered vulnerable. However, to make sure that some additional compensation is given to those living below the poverty line, an extra cash compensation has been budgeted.

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9. CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION, 9.1 Consultation and participation Consultation with stakeholders and the wider community in the project area has been ongoing for over a year, and has been undertaken by both the executing agency and the PPTA Social Safeguard consultant. Participation of beneficiaries and APs has been promoted during the technical assistance through meetings with stakeholder agencies (i.e. Dzongkhag Administration agencies, DHPA, DOE, National Land Commission Secretariat, Department of National Properties, and Department of Survey). Interviews and focus group sessions with gewog administrations, and surveys of APs and beneficiaries in the project area has been conducted. Group consultations were held with affected persons, community leaders and village elders to solicit their views about the project, their opinion with regard to relocation, compensation and other issues. Some of the views expressed by project affected families include compensation for land close to replacement cost, land re-development costs, replacement land selection, employment in project activities, etc. Appendix 2 and 3 provide the minutes of two consultations conducted with APs and relevant stakeholders in the project area. Due to lack of support field-staff, the consultant couldn’t take the minutes of the other consultations conducted since he was the only project personnel present during several of the consultations and therefore couldn’t divert his attention from the briefing and presentations he made and the consultations and discussions that ensued. Consultations with affected households were also conducted to determine their preferences for compensation, payment scheme and compensation rates and to keep them up to date on progress and other related matters. Notices based on the resettlement plan will be printed and distributed to affected villages and households. There will be a community education campaign for the overall project. The community education campaign will cover a number of aspects related to public information dissemination and awareness raising regarding the various components and benefits of the project. In summary, social preparation for the project will include the following component:

1. Compensation and rehabilitation process and activities will be announced and disclosed to the AP’s through public consultations, meetings and community awareness campaigns.

Information provided in consultations with APs was well received. The consultations provided an opportunity to inform stakeholders of the nature of the project, and to clarify any issue of concern at this early stage. Details of public consultation are provided in Table 15 below. Table 15. Consultations with APs and Dzongkhag stakeholders in the field Date Venue No. of

participantsTarget group Issues discussed

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26.6.2007 Dagana Dzong 4 Concerned Dzongkhag officials

Briefing on DHPA and its impacts.

27.6.2007 Kana Gewog Office

43 AP’s a) Briefing on DHPA and impacts on the APs. b) Identification of APs

28.6.2007 Khebisa Gewog office

31 AP’s a) Briefing on DHPA and impacts on the APs. b) Identification of APs

28.6.2007 Goshi village 19 AP’s a) Briefing on DHPA and impacts on the APs. b) Identification of APs

22.10.2007 Dagana Dzong 3 Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee

a) Availability of replacement land within same gewog of APs b) Selection of replacement land by the APs themselves. c) Land replacement and compensation procedures. d) Establishing the Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee

17.10.2007 Kana Gewog office

43 APs and concerned Dzongkhag officials.

a) Project information. b) Discussion of agreement between DHPA and APs to start construction of access roads before compensation is made. c) Acceptance and signing of agreement by APs

17.10.2007 Goshi village 21 APs and concerned Dzongkhag officials.


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18.10.2007 Khebisa village 26 APs and concerned Dzongkhag officials.


13.11.2007 Dagana Dzong 2 Chairman of Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee

a) Finalization of Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee & its roles and responsibilities. b) APs, Land replacement and compensation issues and procedures.

14.11.2007 Kana Gewog office

31 APs and community leaders/elders

a) Finalization /verification of list of APs. b) Land replacement issues / crop loss issues / fruit tree issues / land conversion cost issues. c) Finalization of Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee, its roles and responsibilities, and procedures to be followed.

15.11.2007 Goshi village 22 APs and community leaders/elders

a) Finalization /verification of list of APs. b) Land replacement issues / crop loss issues / fruit tree issues / land conversion cost issues. c) Finalization of Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee, its roles and responsibilities, and procedures to be followed.

16.11.2007 Khebisa Gewog 24 APs and community a) Finalization

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leaders/elders /verification of list of APs. b) Land replacement issues / crop loss issues / fruit tree issues / land conversion cost issues. c) Finalization of Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee, its roles and responsibilities, and procedures to be followed.

1.5.2008 DHPA office premises

26 AP’s that stood to lose their crops and fruit trees, village leaders/representatives, Dzongkhag officials and DHPA staff

a) Finalize and confirm the amount of affected land, crops, and fruit for each individual AP. b) Brief the APs on compensation rates for specific crops and fruits. c) Ensure the APs that although they were being paid the 1996 compensation rates for the time being, they would receive the difference between the paid rates the revised rates retroactively when it has been finalized by PAVA b) Receive feedback, comments, concerns and views of APs. c) Make compensation payments for loss of crops and fruit trees to the APs.

9.2 Disclosures and Stakeholder Participation The draft RP was disclosed to the public (all stakeholders) for review and comments on the various mechanism and entitlements suggested for the implementation of the RP. The intention of this procedure is to receive comments from the project affected families in particular so that appropriate suggestions can be incorporated in the RP and also at later stages of implementation. Relevant components of the draft RP will be translated into

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Dzongkhag and will be placed at the gewog office, office of the DHPA, website of DHPA when it develops one, and at the Dzongkhag office. The people in the project area are aware, and generally supportive, of the project. DHPA officials and the Social Safeguard Development consultant have conducted a series of meetings and consultations with APs and Dzongkhag Administration officials. Local residents and APs are fully aware of the potential project impacts and benefits, particularly related to land acquisition, compensation and resettlement. An additional community education campaign will be undertaken so that all project information, consultation, and participation activities can be coordinated. During the implementation stage, the various committees that have been formed will seek inputs from stakeholders in the decision-making and implementation of the resettlement plan. APs and minority groups (although not directly affected) are also represented in these committees and will be involved in any grievance resolutions concerning compensation and other resettlement benefits. Finally, there will be continuous on-site consultation through the DHPA and other construction supervision and project management staff during the implementation stage to ensure that APs receive their due entitlements and benefits. Consultations will be organized with APs and Dzongkhag stakeholders (including the Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee) to disclose the RP, compensation policies and payments schedule, implementing institutions and timetable for vacating the affected land, and grievance procedures. APs and participants will be encouraged and even urged to actively participate in these important discussions that will affect their future well being.

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10. COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM APs will have the right to file complaints and/or grievance on any aspect of land acquisition and resettlement such as inventories, valuation, and entitlements. Any AP who has had his/her land or structure expropriated or altered and believes that they have not been compensated or assisted in compliance with their entitlements will be able to express their grievances through a grievance redressal mechanism that has been instituted under this RP. All complaints and resolutions will be properly documented by the concerned Grievance Redressal Committees (GRC) and be available for review for monitoring purposes. As part of the post-evaluation and monitoring, the grievances will be reviewed by the Independent Monitoring Consultant, and decisions regarding grievances shall be consistent with approved policies and entitlements. GRCs have been formed under the RP in order to resolve disputes amicably through consultations. The GRCs are very important as it is expected that most cases, if not all would be resolved by the GRCs. The committee will hear complaints and facilitate solutions and the process, as a whole will promote dispute settlement through mediation to reduce litigation. Three informal GRCs have been formed at the grassroots level for each of the three gewogs affected by the project. A more official and formal GRC has been established at the Dzongkhag level that will address grievances that the Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee (GGRC) is unable to resolve at its level. 10.1 Geog Grievance Redressal Committee (GGRC) At the grassroots (Gewog) level an informal grievance redress committee chaired by the Gup and comprising of experienced AP’s (both men and women) was established in each of the three affected Gewogs. The members of this grassroots redress committee were elected by the AP’s themselves and selected on the basis of who could best represent and voice their grievances. Over 90 percent of the committee members are AP’s themselves. The GGRCs comprises of between 6 to 13 members. 10.2 Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC) At the Dzongkhag level a more formal grievance redress committee was set up. This committee is chaired by the Dasho Dzongdag and comprises of the Dzongkhag Agricultural Officer (DAO), Dzongkhag Forest Officer (DFO), Dzongkhag Land Record Officer (DLRO), Dzongkhag Finance Officer, and the Dzongkhag Engineer (DE) as its members. 10.3 Functions of the GRCs

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The GRC’s will meet whenever grievances have been forwarded to them. The decision of the GRC will not be binding and APs can take recourse to the civil court if he/she so desires. The functions of GRCs are as under:

1. Record the grievances of APs, categorize and prioritize them and provide solution to their grievances arising out of land and property acquisition and eligibility for compensation;

2. The GRCs may undertake site visit and ask for relevant information from DHPA

in order to perform its functions;

3. Fix a time frame for resolving the grievance subject to a maximum of 14 days;

4. Inform aggrieved parties directly or through Dzongkhag Authorities about the status/development of their case;

5. If the GRC is unable to settle the grievance, it must, within the timeframe

specified, forward the grievance to the next level of GRC.

6. Inform in writing of their decision to the DHPA and the aggrieved party. 10.4 Grievance redress procedures The informal grassroots Gewog Grievance Redressal Committee (GGRC), as seen from the experiences in other countries, is expected be more effective for implementation purposes because they are locally constituted with majority representation from the AP’s themselves and are task-specific. This grievance redress procedure along with specific time frame and mechanism for resolutions of complaints will be adopted. This procedure states that any AP who has a complaint or is not satisfied with the compensation provided can complain in writing to the GGRC. The GGRC will deal with the grievance within seven working days of receipt of any complaint. This will be done through informal and formal channels at the Gewog and Dzongkhag levels. If the grassroots grievance redress committee is unable to resolve the grievance at its level it must, within one week, put up the complaint to the Dzongkhag Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC). It is expected that the DGRC will be able to address all such grievances at its level. However, if an extraordinary circumstance emerges where the DGRC is unable to resolve the grievance at the Dzongkhag level then the DGRC must, within 2 weeks, refer the complaint/grievance to the National Land Commission (NLC) which is the highest body to approve land replacement and compensation allotments in the country. If, even the NLC is unable to resolve the grievances referred to it, then the AP’s have the right of appeal to the courts or to His Majesty, the King of Bhutan who is the ultimate arbitrator in the country.

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Table 16. Grievance redress procedure

Step 1: GGRC deals with grievance within seven days of receipt of complaint from AP. If

unresolved, Step 2: DGRC deals with grievance within two weeks. If unresolved the grievance is forwarded

to the NLC, Step 3: NLC deals with grievance. If unresolved, Step 4: AP’s have the right of appeal to courts or to His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. The AP’s and local stakeholders were briefed on the function and responsibilities of the grievance redress committees and the grievance redress procedures. The AP’s appreciated and welcomed the establishment of the committees and voiced their support towards this initiative. They felt that such a mechanism would ensure that land replacement and compensation packages would be fair and just.

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11. COMPENSATION AND LAND REPLACEMENT 11.1 Land Compensation/Replacement The total amount of private land to be acquired by the project is about 27.42 acres. Of the 27.42 acres 19.99 acres comprises of dry land, 7.43 acres of wetland. Table 17 illustrates the type and amount of land to be acquired by the project. Table 17. Land to be acquired and compensated Sl. No.

Type of land to be acquired

Amount of land to be acquired and replaced (in acres)

1 Wet Land 7.43 2 Dry Land 19.99

Total 27.42 Compensation for land acquired by the project will be on a land-for-land basis, as per the choice of the APs. The replacement land must be of equivalent size as the land acquired and of similar productivity standards and potential. The replacement land must, as far as possible, be within the immediate vicinity of the affected land or close to it to avoid causing inconveniences to the already affected person. In fact, the new plots of land have already been chosen by the APs and the title deeds are being processed and will be ready by the end of the year. At the time of this report writing the APs are in the process of identifying land of their choice in and around the project area. This was done in consultation with the APs and the Dzongkhag officials who agreed that it was a good idea to let the APs choose their replacement land themselves. This way the APs would be satisfied with their own choice of replacement land and will also greatly decrease APs grievances later. At this moment specific information on the land identified as replacement land cannot be provided because the APs are still involved in the identification of their replacement land with the help of relevant Dzongkhag officials and their respective Gups. The identification of replacement land will be complete by August/September 2008 after which the Chief Resettlement Officer of DHPA will report on the identified replacement land through an update in this RP. The transfer of the replacement land titles to the APs will commence immediately after the replacement land has been identified. The respective Gups and the Dzongkhag Land Records Officer will assist the APs in transferring the title to the respective APs names. The latest date for transferring the title deed of the replacement land has been set for December 2008, by which time all replacement land along with the title deeds will be provided to the APs, as guaranteed to the APs during the consultations held with them. Site selection for replacement land have been carried out by the AP’s themselves in consultation with the Dzongkhag Land Records Officer and the gup of the gewog. This has been agreed to by the Dzongkhag Authorities The AP’s will be given the choice to

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choose replacement land of their preference from within the same gewog (if vacant government land is available) in order to avoid causing encumbrances to APs and to minimize complaints and grievances about the replacement land. In fact many APs have already selected and identified their replacement land. 11.2 Compensation for fruit trees The compensation rates for fruit trees are also prescribed in the Land Compensation Rate 1996, and like the compensation rates for land acquisition, the compensation rates for fruit trees are also found to be much lower than the actual market rates. The compensation rates according to the Land Compensation Rates 1996 for fruit trees grown in Dagana are provided in the table below.

Table 20. Compensation rates for fruit trees in Nu. as per the Land Compensation Rates 1996

Fruit trees 0 yrs 1 yrs 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 yrs 6 yrs 7 yrs 8 yrs Apple 121 196 346 421 496 821 1021 1221 1221 Orange 130 233 336 439 542 589 639 739 839 Mango 212 256 391 526 661 796 931 946 1596 Banana 57 87 117 187 187 187 187 187 187 Table 20 above reflects the Compensation rates 1996 because these are the rates that have been paid as compensation to APs for the time being, to alleviate the APs need for cash since they have lost their crops to the project. When PAVA releases the final compensation rates of 2008, which is expected to be significantly higher than the 1996 rates, the APs will be paid the difference between the 1996 rates and the 2008 rates retroactively. The table above is just for reference of rates paid for the interim period until the 2008 compensation rates are released. The table above will be updated when the 2008 compensation rates are released by PAVA. 11.3 Compensation for standing crops The Land Compensation Rate 1996 does not have any provisions for compensation for standing crops lost to projects. Therefore, compensation for standing crops will be paid at market value expected at harvest, regardless of the maturity of the crop. The rates will be set at the end of the current season, which is September 2008, to ensure the highest value possible (considering the price increases in the agricultural/food market). 11.4 Compensation for Damages During Construction Extreme care shall be taken by contractors to avoid damaging property. Where damages do occur, the contractor will be required to pay compensation immediately to affected families, groups, communities or government agencies. Damaged property will be restored immediately to its former condition. 11.5 Relocation

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This project will not entail any relocation of affected families since no homesteads/dwellings are affected by the project. Subsequently, there will not be the need for any resettlement and rehabilitation of families in a new location. 11.6 Income Restoration The income restoration strategy is to ensure that the income earning potential of APs is not adversely affected by the Project. The main livelihoods at risk are those of agricultural households. An exhaustive income restoration program will not be necessary since there are no commercial enterprises, business establishments, or shops in the affected area that will be adversely affected by the project. There is one affected household that runs a small shop near the main highway; however, this shop will not be adversely affected since its structure will remain untouched. In fact, this small shop is expecting to increase its sales as a result of labor inflow into the project area. Villagers sometimes opt to work on road construction and maintenance projects along the Sunkosh-Dagana highway for a few months when they are free. Such income-earning opportunities will not be affected by the project. All lost agricultural land will be compensated in kind with replacement land. The Dzongkhag Administration will assist in clearing and preparing land (or pay a lump sum amount for land clearance) in cases where there is insufficient existing land in the villages. In addition there will be a provision for agricultural extension to increase productivity on the remaining or new land for affected farmers, which will help to not only restore but increase their income levels. 11.7 Employment in Project Civil Work to supplement incomes Project construction activities will require many unskilled laborers for land clearance, earthworks, and infrastructure construction. The contractors will be encouraged to employ APs, including affected women, during the recruitment of local laborers. The contractors will be encouraged not to discriminate against the employment of women in the construction labor force. Employment in the project construction will be an added source of income in the income restoration process of the affected households. However, not many requests of employment are expected from the APs as all the man force is normally used for cultivation.

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12. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF RP The DOE in Thimphu is responsible for overall policy guidance, planning and monitoring of R&R activities within its departmental projects. Implementation of the RP for this project is the responsibility of the DHPA. The responsibility includes implementation, monitoring, contingency planning, related programming and reporting. However, neither the DHPA nor the DOE have any experience in management of land acquisition, resettlement and environmental issues in projects. The DHPA is governed by a Board of Directors and headed by a General Manager (GM) who was recruited on 7.8.2007 and will be based in the project area in the latter half of 2008. He will be assisted by a three Deputy General Managers (DGM), one DGM for contracts and two DGMs for technical components. 13 engineers will also be employed under the DHPA. The DOE is headed by the Director General (DG). Although the DOE is a relatively large agency, it lacks professional Environmentalists and Resettlement Specialists. Since the DOE is involved in the planning and implementation of hydropower projects, many of which are in the pipeline, it would be desirable to have an official from DOE trained in preparing and implementing Resettlement Plans. The training could focus on issues concerning: (i) principles and procedure of land acquisition; (ii) assessment of property value; (iii) consultation and participation; (iv) payment of compensation; (v) income restoration and social development activities for poverty reduction; (vi) resettlement infrastructure development; (vii) resettlement organization and institutional framework; (viii) grievances redress; and (ix) monitoring and evaluation. 12.1 Role of DHPA/Project Manager The GM, DHPA will be responsible for the overall coordination of all relevant departments and agencies involved in resettlement activities and supervision/monitoring of the resettlement plan implementation. A resettlement cell has been established under DHPA to oversee land acquisition, land replacement, and cash compensation activities. A Senior Manager (SM) of DHPA has already been deputed as the Chief Resettlement Officer (CRO) to assist in the day-to-day activities related to resettlement implementation. The CRO will be responsible for organizing the affected villages to carry out the designated activities of the resettlement plan. The GM will monitor, directly and/or through the CRO and Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee, the progress of land acquisition and resettlement management along the project area. The main responsibilities CRO are as follows:

1. Ensure that the resettlement plan process, policies and principles are disclosed to the affected community (i.e. during resettlement plan preparation and periodically during resettlement implementation) in order to maintain participation and transparency;

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2. Ensure that compensation unit rates have been established at current local market

value (if the 2008 compensation rates fixed by PAVA is found to be much lower than current local market rates) for all categories of lost assets, and that the rates have been developed in full consultation with, and agreement of APs;

3. Periodically supervise resettlement plan progress and activities;

4. Coordinate and work with the Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee and

concerned government authorities;

5. Conduct consultation with APs;

6. Establish database for APs and be responsible for internal monitoring, reporting and action in response to the findings of internal monitoring;

7. Provide assistance to APs during compensation and land replacement activities;

8. Prepare reports regularly on progress and outstanding issues;

9. Work closely with the APs, concerned local administrative authorities and local-

based organizations; and

10. Together with the Independent Monitoring Consultant, validate that resettlement activities have been satisfactorily completed.

Consultation with DHPA/DOE during preparation of the resettlement plan has indicated that capacity in resettlement planning and implementation is a concern for both DHPA and DOE. Capacity building of DHPA/DOE in the field of resettlement is required, which can be complimented through on-the-job training during the implementation of this RP. An introductory 1-2 day workshop should be held prior to the start of resettlement activities. The workshop should present the following:

1. Main elements of the policy and technical guidelines; 2. ADB’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement;

3. The broad principles of resettlement planning and the concepts of entitlements for

losses;

4. The basis of resettlement planning for ADB, issues specific to implementation of the resettlement plans and the process for preparation of resettlement plans and community development plans.

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5. The links between, and main roles and tasks of, DOE, DHPA, Dzongkhag Administration and the GRCs at various levels.

The GM, DHPA and other field officers will coordinate with the concerned government departments at various levels to facilitate smooth implementation of the RP. 12.2 Commissioner for Resettlement A Commissioner for Resettlement for the project has been appointed. The Resettlement Commissioner is the Dasho Dzongdag of Dagana Dzongkhag for this project. The Resettlement activities shall be carried out under his directions and guidance. The roles and responsibilities of the Commissioner are as under:

1. Oversee overall implementation of progress of Resettlement Activities as laid out in the RP.

2. Provide guidelines on un-resolved issues / problems to ensure timely

implementation.

3. Hold periodical meetings with APs and Project Authorities.

4. Oversee the disbursement of Land Acquisition compensation and other benefits as per the entitlements.

5. Verify and approve eligible list of APs for various R&R benefits.

6. Review the implementation of RP.

12.3 Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer The Dzongkhag Land Records Officer has been appointed as the Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer for this project. The roles and responsibilities of the Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer are as under:

1. Carryout activities related to land acquisition. 2. Help APs identify appropriate replacement land.

3. Ensure that the AP is aware of his/her rights and entitlements.

4. Assist the APs in obtaining the title deeds (thram) for the new replacement land.

5. Be witness to disbursement of compensation and entitlements.

6. Liaise with project authorities, Dzongkhag authorities, and APs on land matters.

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7. Provide support to APs in court cases relating to land acquisition, if any. 12.4 Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee The Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee (DRC) is pivotal in the implementation of the resettlement plan. The DRC will carry out consultation among the affected households and communities regarding resettlement, prepare the final inventory, valuation of assets, identify and allocate replacement land. The actual acquisition, land transfer, and compensation will be carried out under the supervision of the DRC at the Dzongkhag level. Gups of the concerned gewogs may also be involved in the negotiations with individuals and families. The types of tasks handled at this level will include:

1. Coordination with DHPA when required, in resettlement-related activities; 2. Certifying the list of APs and sign compensation documents;

3. Identifying replacement land;

4. Facilitating/compensating for preparation of paddy land, and;

5. Monitoring and ensuring registration of replacement title deeds (thram) of the

APs.

12.5 Internal Monitoring Committee An internal Monitoring Committee comprising of the following members has been constituted to monitor the progress of resettlement activities.

1. GM, DHPA, Chairperson 2. CRO, DHPA 3. Environment Officer DHPA

The committee will monitor the progress of the Resettlement activities and will ensure timely implementation of RP in compliance with the deadlines provided in the RP. The TOR of the committee will be as follows:

1. Will meet once in four months or any interval as necessary.

2. Monitor the all round progress on implementation of the RP and provide-guidance to those involved in the compensation, land acquisition, and land replacement activities.

3. Make quarterly reports to the DHPA, DOE, Dzongkhag, and ADB on the progress

of implementation of the RP.

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12.6 External Monitoring The DHPA shall appoint an independent local Monitoring Consultant to conduct monitoring on an intermittent basis over a period of two years. The consultant shall carry out monitoring on a quarterly basis for the first year and on a half yearly basis for the second year. The monitoring consultant will:

1. Verify the delivery of entitlements based on field visits and physical verification of receipts and thrams (title deeds).

2. Undertake consultations with APs;

3. Witness compensation payment process to the APs;

4. Review monthly progress and verify the implementation progress made;

5. Maintain close interaction with and APs and project authorities;

6. Document grievances and their process and report them, and;

7. Submit quarterly / half yearly progress report.

The Draft TOR for the Monitoring Consultant is furnished as under: 1. Objective: The objectives of the monitoring shall be to: (i) Ensure timely extension of entitlements to the affected families as per their eligibility; (ii) To provide necessary feedback to the project authority for taking remedial action, and; (iii) Review the RP and ensure its implementation. 2. Scope of work: The scope of work will include: (i) Contacting all the affected families and to check the entitlements provided to them vis-à-vis the RP; (ii) Prepare the necessary progress reports on the status of entitlements and disbursements, and; (iii) Submission of quarterly/half yearly reports to the project authority with specific feedback. 3. Methodology: The Monitoring shall be done through consultation and household visits to the affected families and the community. Note: The TOR may be revised as per requirement.

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Table 19 details the roles and responsibilities of the various committees and individuals involved in the implementation of the RP. Table 19. Roles and responsibilities

Personnel Role and responsibilities GM, DHPA 1) Overall responsibility for all project activities as stipulated in the RP.

2) Ensure availability of budget for compensation activities. 3) Liaison with various administrative departments at the Central and Dzongkhag level. 4) Chair the Internal Monitoring Committee. 5) Review progress and provide-guidance to those involved in the resettlement activities. 6) Ensure transparency in the disbursement of entitlements. 7) Submit quarterly / half yearly progress report.

Chief Resettlement Officer, DHPA

1) Ensure that the resettlement plan process, policies and principles are disclosed to the affected community in order to maintain participation and transparency. 2) Monitor valuation of properties and assets. 3) Ensure that compensation unit rates are in line with current local market value for all categories of lost assets, and that the rates have been disclosed in full consultation with, and agreement of APs. 4) Periodically supervise resettlement plan progress and activities. 5) Coordinate and work with the Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee and concerned government authorities. 6) Conduct consultation with APs. 7) Organize awareness campaigns targeting APs. 8) Establish database for APs and be responsible for reporting and action in response to the findings of internal monitoring. 9) Provide assistance to APs during compensation and land replacement activities. 10) Work closely with the APs, concerned local administrative authorities and local-based organizations. 11) Monitor the development of replacement land sites. 12) Together with the Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer, validate that resettlement activities have been satisfactorily completed. 14) Prepare and submit monthly progress report to GM, DHPA.

Resettlement Commissioner

1) Oversee overall implementation of progress of Resettlement Activities as laid out in the RP. 2) Provide guidelines on un-resolved issues / problems to ensure timely implementation. 3) Hold periodical meetings with APs and Project Authorities. 4) Oversee the disbursement of Land Acquisition compensation and other benefits as per the entitlements. 5) Verify and approve eligible list of APs for various R&R benefits. 6) Review the implementation of RP.

Internal Monitoring Committee

1) Monitor the progress of the Resettlement activities. 2) Verify the delivery of entitlements based on field visits and physical verification of receipts and thrams (title deeds). 3) Undertake consultations with APs; 4) Monitor the indicators provided in the RP;

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5) Review monthly progress and verify the implementation progress made; 6) Maintain close interaction with APs and project authorities and; 7) Submit quarterly / half yearly progress report.

Independent Monitoring Consultant

1) Monitor the progress of the Resettlement activities. 2) Verify the delivery of entitlements based on field visits and physical verification of receipts and thrams (title deeds). 3) Undertake consultations with APs; 4) Monitor the indicators provided in the RP; 5) Review monthly progress and verify the implementation progress made; 6) Maintain close interaction with and APs and project authorities and; 7) Submit quarterly / half yearly progress report.

Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee

1) Coordination with DHPA when required, in land acquisition, land replacement and compensation-related activities; 2) Certifying the list of APs and sign compensation documents; 3) Identifying replacement land; 4) Facilitating compensating payments; 5) Monitoring and ensuring registration of replacement title deeds (thram) of the APs.

Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer

1) Carryout activities related to land acquisition and land replacement. 2) Help APs identify appropriate replacement land. 3) Ensure that AP is aware of his/her rights and entitlements. 4) Assist the APs in obtaining the title deeds (thram) for the new replacement land. 5) Be witness to disbursement of compensation and entitlements. 6) Liaise with project authorities and APs. on land matters. 7) Provide support to APs in court cases relating to land acquisition, if any.

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13. RESETTLEMENT BUDGET AND FINANCING 13.1 Compensation rates and costs In Bhutan the compensation rates for government-acquired private land and fruit trees was determined by the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs and fixed through the Land Compensation Rate 1996. However, the RGOB, although belatedly, realized that the 1996 compensation rates were grossly inadequate for application in 2008. In January 2008, the Ministry of Finance instituted a Property Assessment and Evaluation Agency (PAVA) for the exclusive purpose of revising and standardizing compensation rates in the country, which is to be applicable for all government acquisitions intended for development purposes. PAVA has indicated that the new and revised compensation rates will be value-based compensation, determined by current local market value of properties and assets. Therefore, on this premise, it is expected that the 2008 compensation rates will be significantly higher than the 1996 rates. As per RGOB regulations, until the new and revised compensation rates are finalized and released, all government acquisitions of land and fruit trees are to adhere to the Land Compensation Rate 1996. However, ADB, DHPA, and the concerned consultant found the 1996 compensation rates as being unfair to the APs of 2008. In order to ensure that the APs receive fair compensation, while at the same time being mindful of the APs need for cash arising from the predicament of losing their annual crops to the project, it was decided that, as an interim measure, the APs would be paid cash compensation following the Land Compensation Rate 1996 guidelines. The compensation paid will be topped up when the new compensation rates are released by PAVA in June/July 2008. On this understanding and basis, the APs were paid cash compensation for the loss of their crops and fruit trees on 1.5.2008. The APs were assured that this was only an interim measure to help meet their immediate needs and that they would be fully compensated latest by September (the time they would have normally harvested their crops) so that they are not inconvenienced. The APs were agreeable to mechanism mentioned above and expressed their thanks to the DHPA. The minutes of the consultations held with APs to discuss this issue and receive their feedback is provided in Appendix 3. 13.2 Resettlement Costs and Budget Since compensation for acquired land will be on a land-for-land basis there will not be the need of cash compensation for land acquisition. Nonetheless, the rates of compensation for land as stipulated in the Land Compensation Rate 1996 are as follows for areas in Dagana that fall outside the declared boundaries of the municipal area (the entire project area falls outside the declared boundaries of Dagana municipal area):

1. Chuzhing (wet land/paddy fields): Nu. 35,000.00 per acre; 2. Kamzhing (dry land including orange orchards): Nu. 20,000.00 per acre;

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The Land Compensation Rate 1996 states “…in the event of acquisition of registered land and the owner is endangered of becoming landless, the affected owner will be compensated the cost of the land as well as with substitute land free of cost. However, one shall not make selection of land. In case of rejection of the substitute land no other land will be provided”. Other issues of significance that is stated are:

1. “As far as possible the Government shall give substitute land instead of cash compensation while acquiring land”.

2. “In case developed land is acquired by the Government and is substituted by an

undeveloped Government land, the owner concerned in such cases shall be compensated with half the cost of the land.

However, it has been found that in the case of developed rice fields being acquired and substituted by undeveloped Government land, even if the owner concerned is compensated with an additional half of the cost of the land, it would still be insufficient to cover the cost of converting the undeveloped land into rice fields. The valuation of rice fields in the project area is prescribed (1996 rates) at Nu. 35,000.00 per acre but the land conversion cost to develop an acre of undeveloped land into rice fields is estimated to cost about Nu. 60,000.00 per acre (2008 costs). Even if equivalent substitute land is provided for the rice fields acquired and is topped up with half of the cost of the rice field provided as land conversion costs, AP’s would receive only Nu. 17,500.00 per acre as cost for converting the land into rice fields which amounts to less than a third of the actual costs that will be incurred to convert one acre of undeveloped land into rice fields. Therefore, in keeping with the principles of ‘fair’ compensation, APs who lose developed rice fields to the project but are provided with undeveloped land as replacement land will be entitled to Nu. 60,000 per acre to cover their land conversion costs. 13.3 Compensation rate for fruit trees The compensation rates paid as an interim measure, for fruit trees affected by the project, have been made according to the Land Compensation Rate 1996 guidelines, which are provided in the table below. As mentioned earlier, the 2008 compensation rates are expected to be significantly higher than those mentioned in the table below. Table 20. Compensation rates (Nu./tree) for main fruit trees by age of the trees Fruit trees 0 yrs 1 yrs 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 yrs 6 yrs 7 yrs 8 yrs Apple 121 196 346 421 496 821 1021 1221 1221 Orange 130 233 336 439 542 589 639 739 839 Walnut 177 278 379 480 581 682 781 881 981 Arecanut 43 81 109 161 241 281 321 321 321 Peach 124 217 310 373 416 423 523 623 623 Pear 98 178 258 338 418 498 578 618 718 Plum 105 194 283 372 461 550 611 711 761 Apricot 124 213 302 391 480 569 630 780 780 Cardamom 7.40 8.40 9.40 10.40 11.40 15.40 16.40 17.40 18.40 Lemon 89 189 289 339 364 364 414 464 464

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Jackfruit 162 274 386 498 610 722 834 896 934 Avocado 106 186 266 336 426 456 476 476 526 Lime 73 113 153 193 203 213 233 253 303 Litchi 155 267 379 491 603 665 677 715 765 Guava 93 144 195 246 297 298 321 396 396 Mango 121 256 391 526 661 796 931 946 1596 Banana 57 87 117 187 187 187 187 187 187 Papaya 60 75 90 95 95 95 105 105 115 P/Granute 72 134 196 258 290 312 328 352 352 Olive 114 234 354 474 594 714 834 914 1114 13.3.1 Criteria used by Land Compensation Rate 1996 for calculating the compensation for fruit trees. The following factors were included in calculating the cost of the fruit trees:

1. Land preparation 2. Pit digging 3. Cost of seedling 4. Cost of fertilizer 5. Planting and weeding

From year 1 onwards, till the maturity of the orchard (fruiting), all the maintenance cost incurred has been capitalized since the expenditures incurred do not result in any return and are to be treated as capital cost. When the trees start fruiting, the annual maintenance cost are to be recovered from the revenue generated and accordingly the net return earned is added to the cost of establishing the trees up to fruiting stage. Once the fruit yield stabilizes, a flat rate for value of the tree has been adopted. The total estimated cost for land acquisition and resettlement for the project (including a 10 percent contingency) is Nu. 2,342,199.20 or US$ 58,554.98 (Table 21). The cost items for this RP are; (i) compensation for standing crops; (ii) compensation for 388 orange trees; (iii) compensation for conversion of undeveloped replacement land into paddy fields; (iv) cost of information translation, printing, dissemination, and consultation (for RP disclosure to APs and stakeholders); (v) cost for community education campaign; (vi) training / workshop; (vii) monitoring and evaluation; (viii) Independent Monitoring Consultant; (ix) travel and miscellaneous expenses for Resettlement Commissioner, CRO, Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer, GRC’s Internal Monitoring Committee, Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee, etc. Table 21 below provides the resettlement cost estimates and budget required to implement the RP. However, it should be noted that the costs for compensation for standing crops and compensation for 388 orange trees have already been made as per the 1996 rates for the time being, these costs will definitely increase when the 2008 compensation rates are finalized and released by PAVA. Therefore, this cost estimate and budget will be updated when the revised rates are released byt the end of September 2008.

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Table 21. Resettlement cost estimates and budget Category Cost items Cost in Nu.

Land acquisition Compensation for land acquired will be on a land-for-land basis, therefore no costs are reflected under this category.

00.00

Resettlement preparation and compensation

a) Compensation for standing crops. b) Compensation for 388 orange trees. c)Compensation for converting undeveloped replacement land into paddy fields (7.43 acres). d) Special entitlements to 15 vulnerable households @ Nu. 3,000 each e) Cost of information translation, printing, dissemination, and consultation f) Cost for community education campaign

88,120.00 270,352..00 445,800.00

45,000

125,000.00

50,000.00Administrative costs a) Training / workshop

b) Monitoring and evaluation c) Independent Monitoring Consultant d) Travel and miscellaneous expenses for Resettlement Commissioner, CRO, Dzongkhag Resettlement Officer, GRC’s Internal Monitoring Committee, Dzongkhag Resettlement Committee, etc.

50,000.00 200,000.00 600,000.00 300,000.00

TOTAL 2,174,272.00Contingency 10 percent of total 217,427.20 GRAND TOTAL 2,391,699.20Note: 1US$=Nu. 40.00 13.4 Financing The resettlement costs, provided in the table above, will need to be reflected in the overall cost of the Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project budget. Therefore, the implementation of the RP will be financed by the DHPA.

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14. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE A time-bound implementation schedule is provided below, this assumes a start date of January 2008. All resettlement activities will be coordinated with the civil works schedule. No civil works contract (apart from construction of access roads which have already commenced) for the project will be awarded until the Government has satisfactorily complied with the provisions prescribed in this RP and after the area for the civil works contract has become clear of all encumbrances. The implementation schedule is provided in table 22 below.

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Table 22. Implementation Schedule 2008 2009 Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Selection of consultants Establishment of Resettlement cell in DHPA Conduct of DMS Review of DMS by APs Payment of interim compensation Complete land acquisition Finalization of compensation rates for crop-loss Endorsement of RP Disclosure of RP to APs Training/Wshop for RP implementation personnel Community education campaign Preparation and maintenance of RP database Internal Monitoring of RP implementation External Monitoring of RP implementation Effect revised and final compensation payments Complete land replacement procedures Advance notice for clearance from project site Clearance of encumbrances in project site Award of civil works contracts for project const. Post-resettlement impact evaluation Quarterly progress reports

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14.1 Activities During Resettlement Plan Implementation The APs will participate throughout the various stages of the implementation of the resettlement plan. To ensure that information about the project, entitlements, compensation and rehabilitation options and grievance mechanisms are in place, the CRO will conduct additional rounds of consultations and disclosures to the AP’s. Such consultations and disclosure to AP’s will include:

1. Objectives of the project; 2. Project policies on entitlement and compensation; 3. Mitigation and enhancement measures; 4. Project schedule and activities; 5. Grievance redressal; 6. Monitoring

14.2 DMS and Updated Data and Costs Following verification of the detailed design, the Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) was conducted from March 27 to April 13, 2008. The APs were involved in the DMS themselves when it came to measuring their affected land, standing crops, and fruit trees. After the DMS was conducted and the final details of the land, crops and fruit trees to be acquired by the project was confirmed, the APs were given 14 days to review the results of the DMS and come up with any feedback, issues, or contentions they may have on the results of the DMS. All APs gave their approval and concurrence on the results of the DMS and there were no contentions raised by the APs. Upon finalization of the results of the DMS, the data on the number of APs, amount of land to be acquired, and amount of crops and fruit trees to be compensated for, was updated, including the corresponding costs for compensations to be made. Following this, the interim cash compensation (until the 2008 compensation rates are released) for loss of standing crops and fruits were made to the APs on 1.5.2008. 14.3 Compensation Payment and Clearance of Project Site A number of tasks are to be completed prior to the disbursement of entitlements. These tasks are the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in the project. The tasks of the DHPA and DRC include:

1. Informing APs regarding payment schedule at least two (2) weeks in advance; 2. Presenting to APs proposed compensation amounts. Explain in detail to APs’ their

rights and entitlements based on Project policies and explain how compensation amounts were calculated;

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3. If compensation payment is acceptable to APs, process payment and inform APs of exact date of release of payment;

4. Effect compensation payment. Copies of compensation payment documents will

be provided to APs. Copies will also be provided to the Internal Monitoring Committee, Independent Monitoring Consultant for the project and external agencies for monitoring and reporting;

5. Prepare and update regularly list of APs containing date of payment made to the

AP database for proper recording and monitoring; and

6. Issue advance notification for land clearance upon receipt of compensation by APs.

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15. MONITORING AND EVALUATION 15.1 Supervision, Monitoring, and Evaluation Land acquisition and resettlement implementation will be supervised and monitored by the Internal Monitoring Committee and the External Monitoring Consultant in coordination with the Dagana Dzongkhag Administration, and the gewog administration. The monitoring will be done to provide feedback to DOE/DHPA/ADB and to assess the effectiveness of the resettlement plan implementation, and to provide early feedback for any adjustments that might be needed to make resettlement entitlements and procedures more effective. The procedures for monitoring are discussed further, including reporting requirements. 15.2 Internal Monitoring The Internal Monitoring Committee (IMC) of DHPA will develop a monitoring and reporting framework for resettlement activities. Central to this framework will be the Detailed Measurement Survey. The IMC will oversee the progress in resettlement preparation and implementation through regular progress reports, monitoring key indicators of finance, inputs and activities. The specific objective of the IMC is to: (i) inform management of any deficiencies so that necessary and corrective actions can be taken to resolve problems; (ii) verify that the baseline information of all APs has been collected and that the valuation of assets lost or damaged, and the provision of compensation, and other entitlements has been carried out in accordance with the provisions of the resettlement plan; (iii) oversee that the resettlement plan is implemented as designed and approved; and (iv) verify that funds for implementation of the resettlement plan are provided by the project in a timely manner and in amounts sufficient for their purposes, and that such funds are used in accordance with the provisions of the resettlement plan. The IMC will comprise of the following:

1. GM, DHPA, Chairperson 2. Senior Manager, DHPA, as the Chief Resettlement Officer for the project 3. Environmental officer, DHPA

The TOR of the committee will be as follows:

1. Will meet once in four months or any interval as necessary;

2. Review progress and provide-guidance to those involved in the resettlement activities, and;

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3. Make quarterly reports to the DHPA, DOE, Dzongkhag, and ADB on the progress of implementation of the RP.

15.3 External Monitoring The DHPA shall appoint an independent local Independent Monitoring Consultant to conduct monitoring on an intermittent basis over a period of two years. The consultant shall carry out monitoring on a quarterly basis for the first year and on a half yearly basis for the second year. The monitoring consultant will:

1. Verify the delivery of entitlements based on field visits and physical verification of receipts and thrams (title deeds);

2. Undertake consultations with APs;

3. Review monthly progress and verify the implementation progress made;

4. Maintain close interaction with and APs and project authorities and;

5. Submit quarterly / half yearly progress report.

The Draft TOR for the Monitoring Consultant is furnished as under: 1. Objective: The objectives of the monitoring shall be to: (i) Ensure timely extension of entitlements to the affected families as per their eligibility; (ii) To provide necessary feedback to the project authority for taking remedial action, and; (iii) Review the RP and ensure its implementation. 2. Scope of work: The scope of work will include: (i) Contacting all the affected families and to check the entitlements provided to them vis-à-vis the RP; (ii) Prepare the necessary progress reports on the status of entitlements and disbursements, and; (iii) Submission of quarterly/half yearly reports to the project authority with specific feedback. 3. Methodology: The Monitoring shall be done through consultation and household visits to the affected families and the community. 15.4 Monitoring Indicators The main indicators that will be monitored regularly are:

(i) The adequacy of entitlements to meet the plan’s objectives i.e. whether compensation amounts are sufficient to enable replacement of lost assets, or whether allowance amounts are sufficient to cover all expenses incurred in transition;

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(ii) The entitlements of the APs are in accordance with the approved resettlement

plan and that the assessment of compensation is carried out in accordance with agreed procedures;

(iii) Payment of compensation to the affected people in the various categories

according to the level of compensation described in the updated resettlement plan;

(iv) Public information and public consultation and grievance procedures are

followed as described in the resettlement plan;

(v) Consultation with, and participation of APs in identifying appropriate assistance measures;

(vi) Establishment and effective implementation of the grievance mechanism, and

resolution of grievances to the satisfaction of APs;

(vii) Provision of replacement land and preparation of replacement paddy land;

(viii) Compensation for fruit trees lost to the project as per the resettlement plan;

(ix) Job creation (number of persons who need job provision and the number who have found a job).

The types of indicators that will be monitored and reported for monitoring purposes are shown in Table 23. Table 23. Monitoring indicators and its parameters Type Indicator Monitoring parameters

Staffing 1) No. of DHPA staff 2) No. of Dzongkhag and gewog staff involved 3) Number of line agency officials available for tasks and involved in the process

Consultation, Participation, &Grievance Resolution

4) Number of consultation and participation programs held with various stakeholders 5) Number of grievances by type and resolution

Process indicator

Procedures in Operation

1) DMS and asset verification/quantification procedures in place 2) Effectiveness of compensation delivery system 3) Coordination between DHPA/DOE and other line agencies

Output indicator

Acquisition of Land

1) Area of cultivated land acquired by the project 2) Area of other private land acquired by the project 3) Area of communal/government land acquired by the project

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Structures 1) Number, type and size of private structures acquired 2) Number, type and size of community structures acquired 3) Number, type and size of government structures acquired

Trees and Crops 1) Number and type of private crops and trees acquired 2) Number and type of government/community crops and trees acquired 3) Crops destroyed by area, type, and number of owners

Compensation and Rehabilitation

1) Number of households affected (land, trees, crops) 2) Number of owners compensated by type of loss 3) Amount compensated by type and owner 4) Number and amount of allowances paid 5) Number of entitlements delivered to APs 6) Number of use of entitlements by APs 7) Suitability of entitlements to APs as per resettlement plan objectives

Impact indicator

Household Earning Capacity and Livelihood Development

1) Employment status of economically active members 2) Economic activities 3) Household income by primary and secondary sources 4) Numbers of income earners per household 5) Landholding size, area cultivated and production volume, by crop 6) Selling of cultivated land 7) Changes to livestock ownership – pre- and post disturbance 8) Changes to income-earning activities (agriculture) – pre- and post disturbance 9) Changes to income-earning activities (off-farm) – pre- and post disturbance 10) Number and type of jobs provided to APs 10) Change in income and expenditure pre and post-project.

15.5 Monitoring Methodology The monitoring and reporting framework shall provide a routine flow of information from the field level to the DHPA, based on predefined indicators, together with periodic supervision and verification by the Independent Monitoring Consultant. The Independent Monitoring Consultant will:

(i) Interview a random sample of APs in open-ended discussions to assess their knowledge and concerns regarding the resettlement process, their entitlements and rehabilitation measures;

(ii) Conduct focus-group and community meetings on specific issues;

(iii) Observe the functioning of the resettlement operation at all levels to assess its

effectiveness and compliance with the resettlement plan;

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(iv) Check the type of grievance issues and the functioning of grievance redress mechanisms by reviewing processing of appeals at all levels and interviewing aggrieved APs;

(v) Advise project management on remedial measures to improve the

implementation practices.

15.6 Time Frame and Reporting Requirements Resettlement monitoring is an ongoing process. DHPA will carry out further information campaign and public consultation. This will continue through the rest of the project preparation and during the implementation phase. The DHPA will prepare quarterly reports on the progress of resettlement activities and forward copies of the report to the ADB and DOE. The monitoring report will be prepared to include, but not be limited to, the following sections (each section should include targets, accomplishments and time-bound action plan):

1. Information dissemination, consultation and participation activities; 2. Grievance redressals (mechanisms, number/cases of grievances filed and numbers

resolved);

3. Status of compensation, allocation and preparation of replacement land for farmers;

4. Infrastructure repair, relocation or replacement, if any;

5. Breakdown of payment as per entitlement;

6. Compensation payment activities;

7. Budget and disbursements;

8. Resettlement plan Implementation Schedule;

9. A schedule and action plan to arrive at a realistic date in order to complete the

resettlement plan implementation activities;

10. Status on completion of compensation and resettlement activities and clearance of the project area of all encumbrances;

11. Adjustment of delivery mechanisms and procedures as required; and

12. Outstanding issues, actions required.

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15.7 Evaluation The DHPA will evaluate the performance of the progress of the APs two years after all resettlement activities have been completed and evaluate them against the indicators provided in the table below. This will provide a picture of whether the socioeconomic situation of the APs was better off before the project, or after the project. Table 24. Evaluation indicators S. No. Indicator Unit Value/figure 2007 2 years after

resettlement activities

1. Demographic characteristics:

Average family size of AP’s Literacy (AP’s) Literate Sex (AP’s) Male Female Age group (% of AP’s) Below 20 years Above 60 years

Average % % % % %

5.80 42.00 49.70 50.30 40.68 20.0

2 Economic: Annual household income (in Nu.) Annual household expenditure (Nu) Earning person per family Families under debt Amount of debt (in Nu.)

Average Average Average % Average

49,584.00 40,248.00 1.40 32.00 11,670.00

3 Land holding before land acquisition:

Land holding per Project Affected Families (PAF) in acres Less than 3 acres More than 3 acres

Average % %

4.80 12.00 88.00

4 Annual Yield before land acquisition:

Rice/acre (in kg/acre) Maize/acre (in kg/acre) Orange (in kg/tree) Cattle (annual value of produce in Nu.)

Average Average Average Average

1,000.00 700.00 35.00 5,000.00

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Pigs (annual value of produce in Nu.) Goats (annual value of produce in Nu.) Poultry (annual value of produce in Nu.) Horses (annual value of produce in Nu.)

Average Average Average Average

6,500.00 1,500.00 300.00 6,000.00

5 Vehicles: Two wheeler Four wheeler

Nos. Nos

0 0

6 Occupation: Farming

%

100

7 House type: Permanent Semi-permanent Separate kitchen Separate toilet Rooms

% % % % Average

96.00 4.00 100.00 100.00 3

8 Material assets: LPG TV Refrigerator Radio

% % % %

16.00 4.0 0.00 96.0

9 Health: Major diseases if any (Heart, asthma 2 families) Families hospitalized

Nos. Nos.

2 0

10 Annual Wages: Annual wage earned by a wage earner (in Nu.)

Average

9,600.00

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16. ASSURANCES Certain assurances have been made to the APs and need to be reflected in the RP to ensure that they are realized:

1. The cash compensation made for loss of crops and fruit trees on 1.5.2008 is an interim measure aimed at alleviating APs need for cash until the final 2008 compensation rates are finalized and released by PAVA. All cash compensations for crops and fruit loss will be made latest by 30.9.2008

2. All land replacement procedures will be completed and ownership titles (thrams)

will be delivered to the APs latest by December 2008.

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APPENDIX 1

LIST OF AFFECTED PERSONS AND THE AMOUNT OF LAND LOST TO THE PROJECT

No. Name of affected

person Gewog Village Thram

No. Acreage

as Per

Thram

Acreage to Be

acquired 1 Birman Bomjan Goshi Baleygoan 27 3.30 0.96 2 Mon Prased Subbha Goshi Baleygoan 28 1.54 0.73 3 Langa Goshi Baleygoan 130 0.50 0.08 4 Laxuman Darjee Goshi Baleygoan 26 4.00 1.36 5 Rinchen Chungwa Goshi Baleygoan 135 4.90 1.18 6 Sonam Phentsho Goshi Garbari 131 3.57 0.57 7 Lobzang Goshi Garbari 134 5.00 1.97 8 Tashi Wangdi Goshi Baleygoan 133 5.00 1.62 9 Tshewang Dhendup Goshi Baleygoan 132 2.90 0.07 10 Okchumo Khebisa Thumgang 189 5.37 3.56 11 Bathmo Khebisa Thumgang 200 1.75 0.70 12 Yudungmo Khebisa Thumgang 194 1.20 0.70 13 Khan Dorji Tamang Khebisa Thumgang 118 0.67 0.04 14 Lhadon Khebisa Thumgang 199 1.00 0.73 15 Tashi Dem Khebisa Thumgang 220 0.33 0.33 16 Rinchenmo Khebisa Thumgang 222 0.33 0.33 17 Duba Khebisa Thumgang 78 0.50 0.73 18 Lhamo Khebisa Gepsa 76 1.80 1.61 19 Lhamo Khebisa Gepsa 66 1.60 1.81 20 Lt. Karchang Mo Khebisa Gepsa 47 0.00 0.50 21 Lhamo Khebisa Gewthang 370 1.00 1.00 22 Kencho Wangmo Khebisa Gewthang 90 2.05 2.05 23 Mikmar Khebisa Gewthang 107 1.00 1.00 24 Animo Khebisa Gewthang Nil 1.00 1.00 25 Community land Kana Chineythang 265 7.00 2.61

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APPENDIX 2 MINUTES OF THE CONSULTATIONS HELD WITH AFFECTED PERSONS IN

KANA, GOSHI AND KHEBESA GEWOGS IN DAGANA ON 17TH AND 18TH OF OCTOBER, 2007 AT THE RESPECTIVE GEWOGS

The Gups of the respective Gewogs namely, Kana, Goshi, and Khebisa Gewogs chaired the consultations. They welcomed and introduced Mr. Kinga Namgay, General Manager (GM), Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority (DHPA), the two DHPA AE’s and Mr. Kunzang Yonten, Domestic Consultant (DC) to the participants of the consultations. The Gups gave an overview of the project in general and said that they and the people of their three Gewogs were blessed that the Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project (DHP) was to be located in their Gewogs. The Gups stated that the people of the three Gewogs were very happy that the DHP was coming through and assured the GM and the DC that the people of the three Gewogs would provide all necessary assistance and cooperation to ensure that the DHP is a success. The DHP, they said, would usher in tremendous socioeconomic benefits to the three Gewogs in particular and Dagana Dzonkhag and the country in general. Benefits would accrue from the construction of access roads that would enhance access to markets and other facilities, generation of employment opportunities and promotion of economic and income-generating activities, which would lead to increased incomes and uplift the people in the three Gewogs from the poverty that they currently experienced. The GM introduced himself, the Domestic Consultant, and the two DHPA AE’s. He thanked the Gups, Mangap, Tshogpas, Dagapela Lam, Ex Chimi, the two representatives of the Dzongkhag (the Head of the Land Records Office and the Dzongkhag Forest representative), and the participants for attending this important consultation. He then explained the background of Hydropower development in Bhutan and future Hydropower expansion plans of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB). He said that Hydropower development potential in Bhutan stood at above 25,000 MW and that so far only a fraction of this potential had been harnessed. He emphasized that Hydropower is a clean and renewable energy source that will not pollute the natural environment. Hydropower development will help Bhutan maintain its forest cover at over 60 percent as enshrined in the country’s constitution. He added that as long as our natural water sources and catchments areas are conserved and protected the country could harness energy continuously, unlike other fossil fuels whose reserves would exhaust one day. Therefore Hydropower is a more clean, reliable, and dependable source of energy than fossil fuels. He then explained the concept of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and its benefits to Bhutan. He said that Hydropower projects in other Dzongkhags have had enormous positive socioeconomic impact on the local communities and cited Kurichhu Hydropower Project and Basochhu Hydropower Projects as examples.

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He briefed the participants on the DHP and its various components including the Dam, Tunnel, Powerhouse, Switchyard, Access roads, Desilter, Surge shaft, Project offices, Staff colony etc. He said that the DHP would have an installed capacity of 114 MW, which is almost double the generation capacity of Kurichhu Project, which had brought about huge socioeconomic benefits to Mongar Dzongkhag. He enumerated the benefits the DHP would bring to the Dzongkhag in general and the three Gewogs in particular. He further explained that the DHP would greatly benefit the country by enhancing economic and sustainable development while helping the country realize its goal of self-reliance. He said that the total estimated budget for the DHP was around Nu. 9 billion, most of which would be used to develop the required project infrastructure in the three Gewogs. He said that the first priority of the project was to build the access roads to the project site and broaden the existing highway to enable the transportation of machinery and equipment. This will directly benefit the local communities by improving access to markets and other social facilities, currently some of these communities have to walk for hours across steep terrain to get to the nearest road head. The project will also promote economic activity since the project, during its 4-5 year construction period, will employ over a 1,000 people who will be consumers for all types of essential commodities that can be produced or traded within the project locality. It is expected that the project will help reduce poverty in the project area. The DHP, he explained, would ensure the expansion of electrification within the Dzongkhag. Currently over 95 percent of the population in Dagana does not have access to electrification. He said that Dagana Dzongkhag’s demand for electricity would not exceed 5 MW even if factories and industries were established. Provision of electricity will promote businesses and commercial activity leading to development of the Dzongkhag. Apart from economic progress it will improve delivery of services and other essential infrastructure such as schools, Hospitals, BHU’s, etc. He said that electricity will permit the use of electrical appliances and will decrease the dependence on other fuel sources that were not good for ones health such as kerosene. He said that increased use of electricity for lighting and cooking would, in the long run, lead to improved health and education. Furthermore, electricity could be used to promote income-generating activities that can be pursued even after dark. The GM stated that in order for the project to be successful it was essential that the local people work hand in hand with the project authorities. The project will have to function on the premise of a mutual partnership between the DHPA and the local people since both will benefit from the successful implementation of the project. Therefore, it was imperative that the local people extend their cooperation and assistance towards the project. He said that the Dzongkhag Administration has been very supportive of the project and has provided its assistance and cooperation. Such support from the Dzongkhag through its Forestry Division and Land Records Office is appreciated by the DHPA and will go a long way in contributing to the success of the project.

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He explained to the participants that the project has already been delayed by a year, which has led to losses to the government. The current directive by the RGOB is to commence with the construction of the access roads by January 2008. He reminded the participants that their representatives (community members and elders) had earlier signed an agreement stating that in order to accommodate the DHP the local people were willing to surrender their lands that fall within the project area to the project on a land replacement or cash compensation basis since the project would bring unprecedented benefits to the local people and communities. The Gups affirmed that community members, elders, and some Affected Persons had signed such an agreement earlier and that agreement is still holds, so therefore the project will not face any problems where land acquisition by the project is concerned. The GM said ADB was a partner of the RGOB in preparing and funding the feasibility studies for the DHP and were potential investors in the DHP. Therefore, ADB’s perspectives and guidelines had to be followed by the project. According to ADB’s guidelines the project is to provide and deliver replacement land and other compensations to the Affected Person’s before the commencement of any project construction activity. Although the RGOB guarantees replacement land and compensation for land acquired by the project from Affected Persons, it has been found that the land replacement and compensation procedures will take a minimum of about six months. If the project waits for the replacement land and other compensations to be delivered to the Affected Persons before construction works begin then the entire project would be further delayed. Moreover, the exact amount of private land to be acquired for the access roads from the Affected Person’s can only be accurately ascertained after the access roads have been built, hence it will not be possible to accurately provide replacement land and compensation prior to the commencement of project construction works. Therefore, one of the primary purposes of today’s consultations with the stakeholders and Affected Person’s is to discuss this issue and come to a common understanding on how we should progress from here. If agreeable to the Affected Person’s and stakeholders, another agreement has been drawn up that states that the Affected Person’s have “no objections” to the project commencing with construction works on their private lands even before the Affected Person’s receive replacement land and other compensations due. Concurrent to the progress of construction works, land replacement and compensation procedures will be processed and delivered to the Affected Persons within 2008. This the DHPA will guarantee as is stated in the agreement. The GM assured the participants that as far as possible, the access roads would avoid private land. Where family houses are concerned, he said that the project would avoid acquiring them at all costs even if it means reconfiguring the road alignment. Therefore during the construction of access roads no homes would be lost to the project. He informed the Affected Persons that they should look for and identify appropriate replacement land within their own Gewogs themselves in order to satisfy themselves and to avoid grievances later. If the Affected Persons do not, or cannot, identify replacement land themselves then they will have to accept replacement land identified by the

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Dzongkhag Authorities, otherwise it may be difficult to provide replacement land within 2008. The GM requested the Affected Persons not to plant any crops on the lands that have been identified as land that will be acquired by the project since construction works will commence in January 2008 which is barely two months away. The Affected Person’s of Kana Gewog expressed their appreciation to the RGOB for initiating the DHP in their locality. They stated that they would be happy to provide any assistance and cooperation to ensure that the DHP is successfully completed on time. They expressed their total confidence and trust in the RGOB by stating that they did not have any doubt that the RGOB would provide replacement land and compensation for private land acquired by the project. They submitted that they were aware of the tremendous benefits that the project would bring to their communities and were happy to sign on the agreement which will permit project construction works on their private lands even before replacement land and other compensations are made to them. Some of the Affected Persons from Goshi Gewog inquired on whether they would receive compensation for their fruit trees that are grown on the land acquired by the project. To this the Domestic consultant said that cash compensation would be made for all fruit trees that were grown on land appropriated by the project. He said that the government had compensation rates (prescribed in the Land Compensation Rate 1996 guideline) for all types of fruit trees depending on the age of the trees. The compensation rates took into consideration the costs of; (i) Land preparation; (ii) Pit digging; (iii) Cost of seedling; (iv) Cost of fertilizer, and; (v) Planting and weeding. He then read the compensation rates for various fruit trees according to age categorization of the fruit trees from 0 years to 8 years. The Affected Persons agreed to the compensation rates stipulated in the Land Compensation Rate guideline that is followed throughout the country. An Affected Person from Goshi Gewog sought clarification on the location of the replacement land. He asked if land acquired by the project in Goshi Gewog could be replaced within the same Gewog. The Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office answered by saying that if vacant government land is available within the same Gewog then replacement land would definitely be provided within the same Gewog in order to avoid inconveniencing the Affected Persons. However, if there was no vacant government land available within the same Gewog then the government would have no choice but to provide replacement land from another Gewog within the Dzongkhag. An Affected Person from Khebisa Gewog expressed his concern that the replacement land from within the same Gewog may not be as good as the land lost to the project. In such an event (where the acquired land was better than the replacement land provided), he inquired whether it was possible to get suitable replacement land from another Gewog. To this the Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office said that it would be possible to look for suitable land in a different Gewog as long as vacant government land was available in other Gewogs and as long as the Gup and people of the other Gewog agreed. The Domestic Consultant added that when Khebisa Gewog is going to be the a direct

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beneficiary of the DHP which will bring development right to its doorstep, leading to increased value of land within the Gewog it may be better to request for replacement land within the Gewog itself rather than seek replacement land in another Gewog that would not benefit as much from the project as Khebisa Gewog. The Dagapela Lam explained that the project would raise the status of Khebisa Gewog, which was one of the worst-off Gewogs in Dagana, to the standard of other Gewogs. He said that the project would bring unprecedented benefits to Khebisa Gewog and therefore the Affected Persons must provide all the support and cooperation to ensure that the project progresses smoothly without any problems. He added that the Affected Persons should view the DHP positively and consider themselves lucky. The Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office said that Dagana Dzongkhag consisted of 14 Gewogs of which Khebisa was one of the poorest. He said that the DHP would change this status quo and uplift the socioeconomic status of Khebisa gewog. He reassured the Affected Persons that the RGOB would never give unproductive or “bad” land as replacement land. Rather, the RGOB will strive to provide replacement land that is better than the land acquired, if available. An Affected Person from Khebisa Gewog sought clarification on what would happen if developed land is lost to the project and undeveloped land provided as replacement land. The consultant explained that in the event that private developed land was acquired and undeveloped land was provided as replacement then the land development cost would be provided as part of the compensation package. The Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office urged the Affected Persons to take the agreement seriously and ensure that they understood the agreement fully before signing on it. If Affected Persons had any doubts, misgivings, concerns or questions they should get them clarified at this forum. He said that the Affected Persons should not leave any room for complaints later on by saying; “I did not understand the agreement”, “I did not sign the agreement” or “My wife/husband did not understand the agreement and just put his/her thumbprint on it”. He said that as far as possible the government will try to reduce the inconveniences to the people by giving government land for the project but inevitably some private land that falls within the project area will have to be acquired. He assured the Affected Persons that as far as possible the RGOB would provide appropriate and good replacement land wherever vacant government land is available. He reminded the participants that in 2004 many of the people in the three affected Gewogs had surrendered their land to the government because of land infertility, steep terrain, lack of water, or because of the abundance of wild boars and other agricultural pests. He requested the people not to re-apply for the lands that had been surrendered in 2004 just because the project was now going to be established in the locality. He said that the government would not heed to such requests. The Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office informed the Affected Persons that if private land acquired exceeded 10 decimals (one tenth of an acre) it would not be a problem for the government to identify and provide replacement land. However, if the

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acquired land is less than 10 decimals it may not be possible for the government to identify such a small piece of land and provide it as replacement land, in such cases cash compensation will be provided. He added that the RGOB had guidelines and standards for land acquisition and compensation rates which is adhered to throughout the nation and that these guidelines will be followed when making cash compensations. The GM said that it was extremely important that the Affected Persons understood every word in the agreement before signing it. He said that once the agreement had been signed it was important that that the people honor the agreement otherwise it would lead to complications later. He said that he was happy that the participants and the Affected Persons had expressed their willingness to extend their cooperation and assistance voluntarily. He further added that all the participants at the consultation were above the age of 18 who were capable of making independent decisions therefore they should not say one thing just now and do something else later. The GM then went through the entire agreement in Dzongkha word by word so that the participants fully understood the contents of the agreement. He asked the participants if they had any queries, concerns, doubts, or issues with the agreement and urged them to voice their concerns if they had any. The Goshi Gup, then translated the contents of the agreement in Lhotshamkha for the benefit of the Lotshamkha-speaking participants to ensure that there was not a single participant who did not understand the agreement. He then urged the Lhotshamkha-speaking participants to voice any comments, concerns, and queries on the agreement freely and honestly without feeling intimidated since this was the right platform to discuss any issue that concerned them and the project. The Goshi Gup, told the people that they cannot say “yes” just now and sign on the agreement and later say “no”, this he said would not be acceptable. The Affected Persons said that they had understood the agreement thoroughly and that the agreement appropriately reflected their concerns when it stated that Affected Persons would be guaranteed replacement land and other compensations due to them within the year 2008. Therefore they had no problems with the agreement and would be happy to sign on it. The Ex Chimi of Dagana requested the Head of the Dzongkhag Land Records Office and other government officials present not to delay the identification and delivery of replacement land beyond 2008 as it would adversely affect the already Affected Persons. The GM assured that the agreement was binding even to the DHPA that was a signatory to the agreement and therefore all replacement land and compensations would be made within 2008. The Kana Gup requested for copies of the signed agreement to be distributed to the Affected Persons. The Domestic consultant assured the Gup that on his next visit photocopies of the agreement would be handed over to the Gup who could distribute it to the Affected Persons.

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The GM inquired if the local people had any vacant houses that they would like to lease to the DHPA till the completion of the project construction works. He asked the persons who had suitable houses that the DHPA could lease to meet him after 5:00 p.m. at Khagochen (where he was staying) to discuss the issue further. The Gups thanked the GM, DHPA staff, Dzongkhag representatives, and the Domestic consultant for taking the time to come and consult with the Affected Persons and clear all doubts and concerns harbored by the people. On behalf of the people they guaranteed that the project would not face any problems from the peoples side and that they would extend their full cooperation and assistance to the project. They added that all the participants fully understood the agreement and that they found no problems with it and that the contents of the agreement were perfectly acceptable to the Affected Persons. The Affected Persons then duly signed on the agreement. There were some changes made in the list of Thram numbers, names, and legal signatories; these are: Kana Gewog: Substitute land for Dasho Sonam Dorji is to be given from another area therefore it will not be necessary to approach him and get his signature since the land in question belongs to the government. Ms. Nidu Zangmo’s land bearing Thram number 419 has been purchased by Mr. Nima Khandu so he will sign on behalf of Ms. Nidu Zangmo since he is now the rightful owner. Mr. Nima Khandu has also purchased land belonging to Ms. Passa for which he will sign on the agreement. Late Kencho Lham’s land bearing Thram number 262 will be transferred to her husband’s (Mr. Namga) name so he will sign on the agreement. Ms. Tshering Choden (Thram under process) has authorized (through a fax) the Kana Gup, Mr. Lhawang Dorji to sign the agreement on her behalf. Goshi Gewog: Amber Rai who owns a plot of land that may be acquired by the project has expired and so the person who is responsible for the land currently will sign on behalf of the late Amber Rai.

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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE CONSULTATIONS Kana Gewog Mr. Lhawang Dorji, Gup, Khebesa Gewog, Dagana Mr. Kunzang Namgyel, Ex Chimi, Dagana Mr. Kunzang Lhendup, Head, Dzongkhag Land Records Office, Dagana Mr. D.B. Chettri, Forest Ranger, Dagana Mr. Karma Tshering, Tshogpa, Kana Gewog, Dagana Mr. Sangay, Gup’s Clerk, Kana Gewog, Dagana Mr. Chaddor, Mangi Ap, Kana Gewog, Dagana Mr. Seep Mr. Chandra Bhadur Dal Ms. Rinzin Mr. Kul Bhadur Mr. Phakha Mr. Karchung Ms. Pendey Ms. Lhenkey Pem Mr. Karma Tshering Mr. Bole Raj Chauhan Ms. Sangay Zam Ms. Gyem Lham Mr. Dao Ms. Sonam Lham Mr. Namgha Ms. Kencho Bidha Ms. Lhengey Zam Mr. Tsheten Dorji Ms. Doma Yangzom Ms. Kinza Om Mr. Pratap Singh Katwal Mr. Kaluram Gurung Mr. Jit Bhadur Powdel Mr. Prem Bhadur Mr. Nima Khandu Mr. Kinga Namgay, General Manager, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Sanga Jamtsho, AE Civil, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Namgay Dorji, AE Electrical, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Kunzang Yonten, Domestic Consultant Goshi Gewog Mr. Phub Tshering, Gup, Goshi Gewog, Dagana

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Mr. Tashi Wangdi, Tshogpa, Goshi Gewog, Dagana Mr. Kunzang Lhendup, Head, Dzongkhag Land Records Office, Dagana Mr. Toya Lal Adhikari, Territorial Forest Officer, Dagapela, Dagana Mr. Krishna Bhadur Mr. Jangchu Mr. Pema Wangdi Mr. Man Lal Tamang Mr. Tshewang Dhendup Mr. Sonam Phuntsho Mr. Thakur Singh Powdel Mr. Lobzang Ms. Tshering Lhamu Mr. Pem Dorji Mr. Nagphey Mr. Langa Mr. Akhley Gurung Mr. Kinga Namgay, General Manager, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Sanga Jamtsho, AE Civil, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Namgay Dorji, AE Electrical, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority Mr. Kunzang Yonten, Domestic Consultant Khebisa Gewog Lam Migma, Dagapela Lam Mr. Karma Tshering, Gup, Khebesa Gewog, Dagana Mr. Kunzang Lhendup, Head, Land Records Office, Dagana Mr. Toya Lal Adhikari, Territorial Forest Officer, Dagapela, Dagana Mr. Nima Khandu Mr. Sangay Dorji Mr. Tshenga Tashi, Ms. Lhadey Ms. Tashi Dem Ms. Erru Mr. Pecha Mr. Sonam Ms. Poktom Ms. Kuenza Mr. Mindu Mr. Dou Ms. Kadom Ms. Ugey Dem Mr. Lachu Man Rai Mr. Enda Mr. Karma Mr. Kul Bhadur Mr. Kinga Namgay, General Manager, Dagachhu Hydroelectric Project Authority

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Mr. Kunzang Yonten, Domestic Consultant

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APPENDIX 3

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

OF DISCUSSIONS, CONSULTATIONS, AND PAYMENT OF CASH COMPENSATION FOR CROP LOSS TO AFFECTED PERSONS FOR 2008 INDUCED BY THE PROJECT (DHPA)

1.5.2008

Background A consultative meeting was held with the Affected Persons (AP) who were identified during the Detailed Measurement Survey (DMS) that took place between 27th March and 13th April 2008. Local leaders and Dzongkhag officials were also present at the meeting along with relevant DHPA staff members and the Social Safeguard Consultant for the project. The list of AP’s was revised and confirmed upon the completion of the DMS and revealed that the final number of AP’s had drastically declined from 83 households (identified during the socioeconomic survey and consultations conducted in 2007) to 25 households. Similarly, the amount of affected land (to be acquired by the project) has reduced from 86 acres to 27.42 acres. Purpose of the consultative meeting In order to ensure that the AP’s, many of whom live below the national poverty line of Nu. 1,096.94 per person per month, are not deprived of their income from crops cultivated on their lands that have been identified as Project Affected Land (to be acquired by the project), it was decided, upon the recommendation of the ADB Social Expert, that the AP’s should be paid compensation for their crop-loss at the earliest. However, the question of compensation rates for crop-loss to be paid to the AP’s still loomed large. It had been decided earlier (in January 2008) that the existing compensation rates (Land Compensation Rate 1996) that is followed nationwide and which has not been revised in 12 years was much too low, and that the AP’s would be worse off ‘after the project’ than ‘before the project’ (which is in direct contravention to ADB policy) if the 1996 rates were to be applied. It was therefore decided that the compensation for crop-loss would be paid after the Property Assessment and Evaluation Agency (PAVA) finalizes and releases the revised compensation rates, which is expected to be significantly higher than the existing rates. PAVA is an agency that was instituted in January 2008 and is solely mandated to study and revise the national compensation rates following local market trends and values. The Chairman of PAVA, had in January 2008, informed the Social Safeguard Consultant that the revised rates would be finalized and released in

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March/April 2008. However, towards the end of April the Consultant was informed that the compensation rates had not yet been finalized and that it would take an additional month or two to finalize the rates. This meant that some of the AP’s who are purely subsistence farmers and who depend solely on their crops for survival would face immense difficulties if compensation payments are further delayed. In order to provide relief for AP’s from such a situation, it was decided that the AP’s should be paid compensation according to the Land Compensation Rate 1996 for the time being, which would to an extent, ensure that the problems triggered by the loss of their crops are alleviated. Upon the finalization and release of the revised compensation rates, the AP’s will be paid the difference between the existing rates and the revised rates retroactively. Therefore, the purpose of the consultative meeting was to:

i. See if the AP’s were agreeable to this mechanism whereby they are paid the 1996 compensation rates for crop-loss for the time being, and will be paid the difference in compensation rates after PAVA releases the revised rates;

ii. Discuss with AP’s any issues, problems, constraints, queries etc that they may want to raise or clarify regarding any aspect of land acquisition, land replacement, compensation rates, and timelines for land acquisition, land replacement, and crop-loss compensation;

iii. Discuss, finalize, and make cash compensation payments to AP’s for the loss of their crops, if they are agreeable to the compensation payment mechanism mentioned above.

Minutes The consultative meeting was held on 1.5.2008 at 9:30 a.m. at the DHPA premises in Khagochen, Dagana. The Senior Manager, DHPA, welcomed the AP’s, community leaders, Dzongkhag Agriculture officer, and the Consultant. The Senior Manager provided a brief background of the project and the purpose of the meeting. He reminded the AP’s about the DMS conducted in March/April 2008, in which the AP’s themselves had participated. He said that the information yielded from the DMS was accurate and final. He presented the crop-loss compensation mechanism being proposed to the AP’s and invited their feedback and comments. The AP’s were satisfied with the mechanism adopted for the payment of compensation for crop-loss and they did not have any comments to make. The Consultant reassured the AP’s that, although retroactively, they would definitely be compensated for the difference in rates between the 1996 rates and the revised rates, after it is released by the RGOB. The Consultant also assured the AP’s that the revised rates would be significantly higher than the existing rates. Issues raised, discussed, and clarified

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17. A village community owns 7 acres of land in Kana Gewog of which about 2.61 acres is to be acquired by the project. The village community representative stated that the project acquiring only 2.61 acres of the 7 acres, that too from the middle of the parcel of land, would lead to the community land being fragmented resulting in difficulties in maintaining the land. The community representative asked if the entire 7 acres could be acquired by the project and un-fragmented land of the same size be provided as replacement land. The representative stated that sufficient government land was available in Kana gewog to replace their community land. The Consultant informed the meeting that as per ADB’s and the projects policy, it may be possible for the AP’s to surrender their entire land to the project if the land to be acquired is more than 20 percent of the total land holding of the AP. ADB equates compensation to the “without” project situation, implying that AP’s should be at least as well off after the project as they were before it, in other words AP’s should not be “worse off” after the project than before it. Bearing this in mind, one of the project’s policies is that affected populations that stand to lose more than 20 percent of their land holding to the project, and if it causes them to be “worse off” after the project than before it, can have the option of surrendering their entire land to the project and opt for replacement land of the same size and quality. Since 2.61 acres (to be acquired) of the 7 acres equates to more than 30 percent of the total land size, and since fragmentation of the community land will lead to the community being “worse off” after the project than before it, the Consultant said that according to the project’s policies it would be possible to surrender the entire land and seek replacement land of the same size. However, he asked the representative to submit an application to his Gup stating their predicament and their request and said that the Gup would put it up to the Dzongkhag Committee. The Consultant assured the representative that he would assist and support the community in this endeavor.

18. An AP sought clarification on the surrendering of wet land and receiving dry land as replacement land. To this the consultant said that in the event that wet land is acquired by the project and there is no unoccupied wet land available close by the government would provide the AP with dry land of equivalent size along with cash compensation to develop the dry land into wet land.

19. An AP stated that the replacement land may be forested and that the AP would have to expend much energy and resources on clearing the land to make it conducive for crop cultivation. The consultant responded to this by saying that if undeveloped land is provided as replacement land in place of acquired developed land then compensation would be paid for land development costs, in such cases the AP’s are normally compensated with half the cost of the land.

20. The Senior Manager, DHPA and the Consultant urged the AP’s to identify the replacement land of their choice within their Gewogs themselves, as this would lead to less grievances later on. The consultant informed the AP’s that the Dzongkhag Authorities had consented to the AP’s identifying vacant government land as replacement land for themselves. The AP’s were advised to identify their replacement land at the earliest in order to expedite the land acquisition and land replacement procedures.

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21. An AP recommended that the land replacement procedures, including the delivery of the title deed (thram) for the replacement land should be processed and delivered at the earliest. He said that about ten years ago he lost a portion of his land to a Basic Health Unit project for which he is yet to receive his title deed for the replacement land. He complained that he suffered losses since he was not permitted to cultivate crops on his land that had been acquired by the project and he has yet to receive the title deed for the replacement land. He had gone from pillar to post for 10 years in vain attempts to secure his title deed. The Senior Manager and the Consultant assured the AP’s that such delays would not occur under this project.

22. The Consultant reminded the AP’s about the Grievance Redressal Committees that had been established at the Gewog and Dzongkhag levels. He advised the AP’s to lodge any grievances they might have relating to land acquisition, land replacement, and compensation issues to the Gewog Grievance Redressal Committees. He went through the Grievance Redressal processes and procedures to familiarize the AP’s about the same.

After the consultation and discussions the compensation for crop-loss was paid to the AP’s. Each AP was informed on how much land the project would acquire from them, the type of crops cultivated on the land to be acquired, the yield of the crop, and the amount being compensated for each specific crop-loss. Upon the confirmation by the AP’s of the figures detailed by the Senior Manager DHPA the compensation payments were made in the witness of the Dzongkhag Agricultural Officer, Gup of Goshi Gewog, Tshogpa of Kana Gewog, Mangmi of Khebesa Gewog, Senior Manager DHPA, Environment Officer DHPA, and the Consultant. The Dzongkhag Agricultural Officer, community representatives, the Senior Manager DHPA, and the Consultant countersigned on the receipt of payments made to the AP’s. The consultations, discussions, and payment of compensation concluded at 1:00 p.m.

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APPENDIX 4 DETAILS OF PAYMENTS MADE ON 1.5.2008 TO AFFECTED PERSONS FOR

LOSS OF CROPS

No. Name of AP Land area affected (Acres)

Crops grown on affected land

Compensation paid (Nu.)

Maize 6,720.001 Birman Bomjan 0.96 10 orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

8,390.00

Total paid 15,110.00

0.66 Paddy 6,600.00Maize 490.002 Orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

1,687.00

2 Mon Prasad Subbha

0.07

1 Orange tree (4 yrs old) 542.00 Total paid

9,310.00 Maize 560.003 Langa 0.08 6 Orange trees (5 yrs old)

3,534.00

Total paid 4,094.00

0.38 Paddy 3.800.00Maize 6,860.0021 Orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

17,619.00

4 Laxuman Darjee

0.98

1 Orange tree (5 years old)

589.00


0.19 Paddy 1,900.00Maize 6,930.0034 Orange trees (5 yrs old)

20,026.00

7 Orange trees (6 yrs old)

4,473.00


2,127.00

5 Rinchen Chungwa

0.99

43 Orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

36,077.00


6 Sonam Phentsho Maize 3,990.00

110


8,835.00


4,434.00

0.57


9,229.00


1.77 Maize 12,390.00Paddy 2,000.002 Orange trees (5 yrs old)

1,178.00


12,141.00

7 Lobzang

0.2


6,712.00


1.17 Maize 8,190.00Paddy 4,500.0039 Orange trees (4 yrs old)

21,138.00


3,534.00


5,112.00

8 Tashi Wangdi

0.45


29,365.00


9 Tshewang Dhendup

0.07 Paddy 700.00

Total paid 700.00

0.10 Paddy 1,000.004 Orange trees (3 yrs old)

1,756.0010 Bathmo

0.60


22,653.00


0.75 Paddy 7,500.0011. Lhamo 0.27 Maize 1,890.00

Total paid 9,390.00

111

0.05 Paddy 500.0012 Lhamo 0.60 Maize 4,200.00

Total paid 4,700.00

13 Yudungmo 0.70 Maize 4,900.00 Total paid

4,900.00 14 Lt. Khan Dorji

Tamang 0.04 11 Orange trees (above

8 yrs old) 9,229.00

Total paid 9,229.00

15 Lhadon 0.25 Paddy 2,500.00 Total paid

2,500.00 16 Tashi Dem 0.33 20 Orange trees (3 yrs

old) 8,780.00

Total paid 8,780.00

17 Rinchenmo 0.33 25 Orange trees (3 yrs old)

10,975.00


18 Community land 2.61 8 Orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

6,712.00

Total paid 6,712.00

19 Tshering Choden 0.2 16 Orange trees (above 8 yrs old)

13,424.00


TOTAL AMOUNT OF

COMPENSATION PAID358,472.00

APs cultivate multiple crops such as maize and orange trees on the same plot of land and therefore one will notice this trend in the above table. The compensation rates applied in the above table are the 1996 compensation rates. The 1996 compensation rates had to be used because the RGOB does not permit any other rates to be used for compensation payments other than the compensation rates approved by the Ministry of Finance. The 2008 compensation rates are expected to be out in June/July 2008 and are expected to be significantly higher than the 1996 rates. When the 2008 compensation rates are released the APs will be paid the difference between the 1996 rates (that have been paid to them) and the 2008 rates, in this way the top up payments will be made.

Documents

Resettlement Planning Document - Asian Development Bank · The DHP is located in Dagana Dzongkhag along the Dagachhu between river kilometer (Rkm) 10.5 and 20.2 upstream of the Dagachhu-Sunkosh