The establishment of a framework and principles for preventing adverse social impacts due to land acquisition and involuntary resettlement as well as mitigation and compensation are the key measures that are taken during the implementation of the Project.
Therefore, apart from the Resettlement Policy Framework that sets out operational standards for the entire Project,specific Land Acquisition and Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) are additionally prepared for individual investments carried out under the OVFMP. Such plans contain detailed information on land, properties, and communities affected by the implementation of a particular investment. They also define mitigation measures and timelines for their implementation.
Each Land Acquisition and Resettlement Action Plans is prepared based on detailed analyses and studies whose aim is to guarantee safety for project-affected people.
The RAP document contains the following permanent elements:
- Short description of the proposed Project – type of infrastructure that is to be built under the Project and which requires the acquisition of land, recovery of land, or acquisition of the right of possession of the land as well as agencies responsible for the implementation of the Project.
- Mitigation of the impact – a description of potential effects of the Project; a description of investment options in terms of their impact on the community concerned; a description of any activities taken in order to mitigate the impact related to land acquisition.
- Socio-economic survey – conducting and presenting results of sociological and socio-economic surveys and a real property inventory; identification of all categories of impacts and affected persons; a summary of consultations conducted as part of the surveys among members of the community in question.
- Eligibility criteria and catalogue of entitled persons – a description of eligibility criteria (who is entitled to receive compensation) and presentation of a catalogue of entitled persons. This chapter also contains a detailed matrix of compensation measures.
- Ways of public participation in the preparation and implementation of the Project – a description of the stakeholder group; the process of public participation/public consultations that will be conducted among the project-affected population and stakeholders during the preparation of a contract-specific RAP and during the performance of a given Contract.
- Grievance redress mechanism – a description of the procedure for management of complaints and suggestions submitted during the preparation and implementation of a contract-specific RAP; a description of the process of registering and processing complaints as well as of the appeal procedure; a description how a particular case can be brought to civil courts if other options fail.
- Institutional structure and implementation team – a description of the team managing the preparation and implementation of the RAPs for particular investments; designation of the unit that will coordinate the activities of all implementation units; a description of external institutions engaged in the process of restoration of the level of living of the population (land use, allocation of lands, loans, and training) and mechanisms that will ensure appropriate activities of these institutions.
- Monitoring and evaluation – a description of the internal process of monitoring the implementation and effects of these plans; a description of key monitoring indicators developed based on a baseline study and a list of monitoring indicators that will be used to conduct internal monitoring.
- RAP implementation schedule – a chronological list of RAP implementation steps, including the units responsible for each activity and a short description of each activity. The RAP implementation schedule presents activities that will be carried out as part of the RAP implementation month after month.
