Government of Himachal Pradesh – Forest Department Integrated Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-fed Agriculture in Himachal Pradesh ESS Plans –Final Report 26 December 2019 Government of Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Forest Department INTEGRATED PROJECT FOR SOURCE SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENT RAIN-FED AGRICULTURE IN HIMACHAL PRADESH (World Bank Assisted) Resettlement Policy Framework Final Report 26 December 2019 Himachal Pradesh Forest Department Project Management Unit Solan, Himachal Pradesh 1 Contents 1. Summary of Project Intervention ................................................................................. 3 2. Scope for Involuntary Resettlement Impacts ............................................................... 3 3. Resettlement Planning Framework: Need and Objectives. .......................................... 5 4. Principles for Resettlement Preparation and Implementation ...................................... 6 5. Voluntary Land Donation – Guidelines ....................................................................... 6 6. Guidelines for Access and Usage of Common Resources ........................................... 8 7. Legal Framework ......................................................................................................... 9 8. Organizational Procedures and Implementation Arrangements .................................. 9 9. Grievance Redress Mechanism .................................................................................... 9 10. Consultation and Participation, with affected persons. .............................................. 11 11. Monitoring and Audit ................................................................................................. 11 Annexure 1: Draft Format for Voluntary Land Donation .................................................... 13 ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Resettlement Policy Framework 1. Summary of Project Intervention Component 1 (Sustainable land and water management) will support a) establishment hydrological monitoring stations; b) preparation of Gram Panchayat Resource Management Plans (GP-RMPs); c) Soil and water conservation measures including afforestation, check dams, bunds water harvesting structures, drainage line treatments, gully plugging; d) Plantations, e) Pasture management with rotational grazing, fodder delineated forest, introduction of voluntary systems of rotational grazing in young forest; e) Development of high-quality seed stands f) construction of centralized seed center and climate-controlled seed bank; g) Nursery development h) Forest fire prevention and suppression measures. i) Innovative silviculture pilots and j) operation, maintenance and investment fund (OMIF). Component 2 (Improved Agricultural Productivity and Value Addition) will support interventions on a) water harvesting, storage, and distribution infrastructure, small pond excavation, community tank renovation, roof rain-water tanks, traditional irrigation channels, and gravity and lift intake and distribution structures; b) on farm adoption of Climate Smart Technologies; c) “last-mile� market access infrastructure such as footbridges and manually operated, ropeways (but not roads or investments requiring land acquisition); d) matching grants to individual farmers and farmer groups for essential productive assets. Component 3 (Institutional Capacity Building for Integrated Watershed Management) will support institutional assessments, functional reviews, institutional strengthening, institutional reforms, change management, capacity building interventions that would enable adoption of more holistic approach towards integrated watershed management, climate change, climate resilient and resource efficient agriculture, including information technology strategy. Component 4 (project management) will support key project staff, monitoring and evaluation, grievance redress mechanisms, ESF implementation, overall capacity building, project communication etc. 2. Scope for Involuntary Resettlement Impacts Under ESS5, “Land Acquisition� refers to all methods of obtaining land for project purposes, which may include outright purchase, expropriation of property and acquisition of access rights, such as easements or rights of way. Land acquisition also includes: (a) acquisition of unoccupied or unutilized land whether the landholder relies upon such land for income or livelihood purposes; (b) repossession of public land that is used or occupied by individuals or households; and (c) project impacts that result in land being submerged or otherwise rendered unusable or inaccessible. “Land� includes anything growing on or permanently affixed to land, such as crops, buildings and other improvements, and appurtenant water bodies. Infrastructure related with i) water harvesting, storage and distribution; ii) market access such as footbridges, manually operated pulley-based ropeways; iii) seed collection centres and iv) other infrastructure supported under the OMIF and Matching Grants will be relying on donation of land from either the GP/Departments (through transfer) or from private citizens (through donation). Such lands will need to be screened for their potential to create adverse impacts on the lives, lands and livelihoods of peoples, especially vulnerable social groups. Such land transfers and donations will have to follow the principles, guidelines and mitigation measures provided in ESS5 The land requirement for these structures will vary, depending on their type and size and locations. However, some typical requirements of some of the activities that require land are given below: Type of Structure Average Size Unit Cost (Rs. Likely Thousands Ownership of Land Check Dams, etc. Dry Stone Check Dam 3.5 X 0.75 M (3 14.5 Government Sq. m) Cement Concrete (CC) 5 X 1 M (5 Sq., 38 Government Check Dam m) Crate Wire Check Dam 6 X 1 M (6 Sq. 31.4 Government m) Pond (Manual Excavation) 20 X 15 X 1.5 M 141 Government/ (300 Sq. m) Private Pond (Mechanical 68.7 20 X 15 X 1.5 M Government/ Excavation) (300 Sq. m) Private Spring Source Development 125.7 3 X 3 M (9 Sq. Government/ (Bouries) m) Private Roof Rain Water Harvesting 81 2.5 X 2.5 X 1.5 Private Tanks (RRWHT) M (7 Sq. m) (Individual) RRWHT (Community) 6 X 4 X 1.5 M 229.1 Government/ (24 Sq. m) Private Water Harvesting, Storage and Distribution – Gravity Intake Structure + Tank + Varies 550 Government/ Pipe Private Check Dam (Earthen/ CC/ Varies 100 Government Masonry) +Tank+ Pipe Water Harvesting, Storage and Distribution – Lift Intake Structure + Pump + Varies 750 Government Tank + Pipe Check Cam (Earthen/ CC/ Varies 1200 Government Masonry) + Pipe + Pump + Tank Strengthening of Kuhal 0.25 X 0.175 X 238.5 Government (Irrigation Channel) (500 M) 500 M (22 Sq. m) As can be seen from the table above, most of these structures are going to be small structures cases. Project interventions related to forestry plantations, nurseries, fodder plots/pasture lands and community tanks are likely to involve voluntary, community adopted restrictions of access and usage (such as rotational grazing or social fencing). Such interventions will have to be screened for any potential ‘restriction impacts’ on the lives and livelihoods of potentially affected peoples, and these interventions will have to follow the principles, guidelines and mitigation measures provided in ESS5 3. Resettlement Planning Framework: Need and Objectives. Given that the locations of the infrastructure works requiring land and the sites involving temporary, voluntary restrictions will only be known during project implementation (preparation of the GP-RMP), and only after that the requirement for a small scale, resettlement plan or social mitigation plan would be known, an RPF is required to guide this process. Once the project interventions or individual project components are defined and the necessary information becomes available, such a framework will be expanded into a specific plan proportionate to potential risks and impacts. Project activities that will cause physical and/or economic displacement will not commence until such specific plans have been finalized and approved by the Bank. The purpose of the resettlement framework is to clarify the resettlement principles, organizational arrangements, and design criteria to be applied to project interventions or project interventions that are to be prepared during project implementation. The main objectives of the RPF are to avoid and minimize any involuntary resettlement impacts, and to i) prevent forced eviction, forced land donation, forced restrictions on access and usage of common resources; ii) ensure that any land donation/transfer follows the principles and due diligence provided in the RPF; iii) mitigate any adverse impacts arising from possible restrictions on seasonal access to forest and common resources for transhumant and other communities in project villages iv) mitigate any unavoidable adverse social and economic impacts from land donation/transfer by providing timely mitigation measures; v) encourage community participation in planning and implementing resettlement and rehabilitation measures, and provide assistance to affected people. This Resettlement Policy Framework for this Project is drawn in accordance with ESS 5 of the World Bank and with generally accepted and practiced principles of resettlement and rehabilitation. This framework will act as guide for mitigating the social impacts that could be triggered by any interventions under Project and that are currently foreseen to be related to adverse 4. Principles for Resettlement Preparation and Implementation a) Negative List. IP will not take up Project interventions a) which require statutory acquisition of private land by the government; b) which require physical displacement and relocation of project communities; c) require government imposed restrictions on land access and use that cause economic displacement (loss of land, assets or access to assets, leading to loss of income sources or other means of livelihood), or both; b) Government or Common Land. Public and common land will be prioritized over requirements of voluntary donation of private land. For any requirement of land for project interventions under IP, the Project will use mostly government land, which is free of encroachments and disputes. Land under court cases and under the purview of FRA (unsettled claims) will not be used. All such lands will be screened c) Privately owned land. Project investments on water harvesting, storage and distribution systems will be made on government as well as private land that will be donated voluntarily to the GP, following the due diligence is provided under ESS5. When private land is required the concerned Gram Panchayat will get it through land donation using the guidelines given under this framework; if this is not possible the project interventions location will be shifted to another suitable place. 5. Voluntary Land Donation – Guidelines a) The Titleholder/ Encroacher should not belong to the vulnerable sections/ BPL category. The following categories shall be eligible for recognition as vulnerable groups: BPL households (with a valid proof), BPL households without a proof of the same and belonging to the following social categories Women headed households, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Handicapped persons, Transhumant. The project provides for targeted support/ assistance to the vulnerable groups. b) Whenever there is land requirement, the Project will interact with the land owners and facilitate voluntary donation of land required for taking up project interventions under the project. c) This use of voluntary donation option will be limited to small parcels of land for project facilities. The impacts must be minor. The donor should be holding more than minimum prescribed land, i.e., half hectare of wetland (irrigated land) and one hectare of dry land (unirrigated land) after donation, as much. The land donated should not be more than 1 acre in case of dry land, 0.5 acre in case of wet land and 0.25 acre in case of commercial/ residential. The voluntary donation should not be more than 10 percent of the total land holding of the Titleholder/ Encroacher in that category of land (dry, wet or commercial/ residential). d) This should not require any physical relocation of the Titleholder/ Encroacher. e) Under no circumstances, the titleholder/ encroacher will be subjected to any pressure, directly or indirectly, to part with the land. These actions are expected to minimize adverse impacts on the local population and help in project benefits reaching all sections of community. f) The Project will ensure that the process of voluntary donation of land will be meticulously documented at all levels to avoid confusions, misunderstandings, litigations, etc. at a later stage. A suggested format for this purpose is enclosed. Original copies of all documentation of voluntary donation of land will be kept with the Block Development Officer with copies at GP. Complete documentation along with a copy of the final document will be sent to PMU for records and for inspection later. g) Tripartite Agreement. The land must be jointly identified by the GP, APO and PMU/ DPO representative or other implementing agencies or project authorities. However, the project technical authorities should ensure that the land is appropriate for interventions purposes and that the interventions will not invite any adverse social, health, environmental, safety, etc. related impacts by procuring this land. h) Encumbrance Free. The land in question must be free of squatters, encroachers, or other claims or encumbrances. i) Buildings/structures on the land donated are not accepted as donation. Land having any assets fixed to it will not be acceptable for donation. j) Verification of the voluntary nature of land donations must be obtained from each of the persons donating land. This should be in the form of notarized witnessed statements. k) In case of any small-scale loss of income, verification of voluntary acceptance of community devised mitigation measures must be obtained from those expected to be adversely affected. l) The land will be donated to the Gram Panchayat and appropriate guarantees of uninterrupted public access and non-interference in benefit sharing mechanisms will be taken by the private titleholder. m) The Titleholder/ Encroacher donating land should be provided access on priority basis, subject to eligibility, to the Government housing/ poverty reduction/ livelihoods/ etc. programs operating in the area. n) The Titleholder/ Encroacher donating land should made to understand that they will have equal access to the infrastructure built on the donated land like any other community member and that they cannot claim for any priority treatment. o) Grievance Redress Mechanism must be available. p) The donations and the process followed is documented, monitored and reflected in the monitoring reports. q) All expenses incurred in the course of voluntary donation including any fees will be borne by the beneficiary group with possible support from project, in case of disadvantaged and vulnerable households. r) Voluntary Land Donors and any other project affected persons will need to be among the direct beneficiary of the concerned project intervention. 6. Guidelines for Access and Usage of Common Resources a) Investments in new grazing pastures, fodder plots, new plantations may involve HPFD or community-imposed use restrictions that may restrict traditional usage, and adversely affect the most vulnerable households. Such investment project interventions will be screened for adverse impacts on traditional use and customary rights, and when needed suitable mitigation action plans will be prepared and implemented by the beneficiary groups, GPs and HPFD. b) Any restrictions such as a) keeping people and cattle to specified linear routes, b) requiring people and cattle to enter only at specified points, c) imposing timings for entry of people and cattle, d) imposing specific restrictions on what can be done when on the land, e) excluding public access completely, etc. need to be framed by the communities duly taking into consideration the following guidelines, as required. c) All restrictions will need to be dissolved such as a) the purpose of restrictions, b) nature of restrictions, c) duration for which the restrictions will apply, etc. d) Any restrictions imposed, need to recognize and build on customary property rights regime. e) The restrictions have to be flexible to suit different context and different needs that could be adaptable to local ecological, social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. f) Provide incentives for sustainable management of Natural Resources to UG/ CAG. g) Pay attention to duration of restrictions. h) Avoid reduction or elimination of property rights, as this will have enormous potential for creating poverty, livelihood insecurity, and conflict. 7. Legal Framework When required and justified, the land title will be transferred legally. The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (Section 123) provides that for making the gift of immovable property, the transfer must be affected by a registered instrument signed by the donor and attested by at least two witnesses. The transfer or handover may be made in the same way as goods sold may be delivered. Section 128 highlights that where gift consists of the donor’s whole property, the donor is personally liable for all the debts due by and liabilities of the donor at the time of the gift to the extent of property comprised therein. When required, a deed of gift of an immovable property will be registered as provided under the Registration Act signed by or on behalf of the donor and attested by at least two witnesses. The title cannot pass without there being a registered deed of gift under the Registration Act, 1908. 8. Organizational Procedures and Implementation Arrangements a) All land sites will be screened for adverse environment and social impacts, and when adverse impacts are found, suitable mitigation plans will be prepared and implemented by beneficiary groups. b) Social Extension Officer will be doing the screening with support of GP members, and these will be approved by the DPO c) Mitigation Plans will be prepared by the Beneficiary Group, in consultation with the voluntary land donor. d) The Social Mitigation Plans will be made an integral part of the technical and operational design of the concerned project intervention and will be implemented as part of the project interventions. Any beneficiary group identified mitigation measures will be part of the cost of the concerned interventions. e) All such sites involving either common or private land will need to be screened based on a screening checklist. 9. Grievance Redress Mechanism The Project will establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) which will be implemented with the aim to respond to queries or clarifications about the project, resolve problems with implementation and addressing complaints and grievances. The GRM will focus on corrective actions that can be implemented quickly and at a relatively low cost to resolve identified implementation concerns, before they escalate to the point of harm or conflict. GRM will serve as a channel for early warning, helping to target supervision to where it is most needed and identify systemic issues. The institutional arrangement for the GRM will be established as following: a) Project Grievance Officer. The Executive Director of the HPFD will be the ex- officio, senior most official to act as the Grievance Officer for the whole project. The ED will hold quarterly reviews of the functioning of the GRM. b) State level Grievance Officer. The Social Expert in SPMU will be the Grievance Officer for the Project at the State Level. c) District level Grievance Officer. The District Project Officer (DPO) will be the nodal Grievance Officer at the District Level responsible for receiving, tracking and resolving grievances from the stakeholders HPFD will be issuing an office order and necessary notifications to establish and operationalize the GRM for the project. Grievance Channels. Project beneficiaries and stakeholders will be able to submit their grievances, feedback and inquiries to the Project through multiple channels that are summarized below. a) State Government Portal. The existing mechanism of State Government portal for citizen’s grievances and enquires will also cover the Project. HPFD receives regular inputs from this portal on grievances that are to be addressed by the HPFD. b) Project specific Portal. Project will maintain a portal with dedicated mechanisms for receiving stakeholder grievances. All grievances, feedback and queries received through the project portal will be collated and compiled by the State Social Expert and included in the progress report. The portal will also provide relevant information on the multiple channels that can be used for submitting grievances to the project. c) Grievance Registers. Grievance Registers will be maintained at District/Block levels to record, track and report on the inflow of stakeholder grievances, enquiries and feedback. The Grievance Registers will help with monitoring and evaluation of the functioning of GRMS. d) Status of Grievances received and resolved will be track through the project MIS as well as monthly progress reports from the Districts and Blocks. Grievance Process. All grievances, enquiries and feedback received through the multiple channels will be tracked through a grievance log that would be maintained through the MIS. Grievances will be directed to the competent nodal grievance officer at the state, district, and block levels for resolution, with recommended timelines. The concerned Grievance Officer will be responding to the grievance/query through phone calls, meetings and letters, in order to resolve the issues. If needed site visits will be undertaken to appraise the exact nature of the stakeholder concerns. The Complainant will be made part of the grievance resolution process and kept updated of the resolution process through phone calls and formal letters. Information material on GRM will also inform the stakeholders about grievance escalation hierarchy that would help the complainant to escalate any unresolved issues to higher level officers, as well as the existing state level GRM channels of government portal and grievance committee chaired by the district collectors. The grievance redress process will be a continuous, transparent and participatory process that would be an integral part of the project’s accountability and governance agenda. GRM Monitoring and Reporting. The functioning of the GRM will be monitored by the Social Expert in the SPMU and the ED. Status and function of the GRM will be documented and shared by the Social Expert in the SPMU through periodic reports and review meetings. GRMs will also be tracked through the project MIS. Regular GRM Review Meetings will held chaired by the ED and convened by the Social Expert of the SPMU. The Social Expert will be responsible for presenting status of all matters/ grievances received during the last quarter/month, and the action taken to resolve them. The GRM mechanism will be notified to the public and stakeholders within the 1st 6 months of project effectiveness. The project website will be posting the status of the GRM status periodically on the website of the project. Grievance Redress Service of The World Bank. In addition to seeking to resolve their grievances through the GRM established at the government level, “communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a World Bank (WB) supported project such as this operation may also submit complaints to the Grievance Redress Service (GRS) established by the World Bank. The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address project-related concerns. Project affected communities and individuals may also submit their complaint to the WB’s independent Inspection Panel, after having brought the complaint to the World Bank's attention through its GRS. Information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank’s Grievance Redress Service is available athttp://www.worldbank.org/GRS. Information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel is available atwww.inspectionpanel.org. 10. Consultation and Participation, with affected persons. The Project will ensure regular consultations with and participation of any affected households and community groups, including transhumant, through periodic consultations for planning and monitoring project activities. Consultations will be held at regular intervals with beneficiary groups in the project villages, including any, women’s federations, farmer groups, UGs/ CAGs/ Federations Members GP members, Women, members of tribal households, NTFP collectors, transhumant communities, PAPs etc. Within the project design, participation of affected community will be ensured through strengthening of community institutions and creating awareness among them regarding rights, entitlements and concessions available to them with respect to forests, simplification of procedures for accessing to forest resources and supporting participation of local communities. 11. Monitoring and Audit The concurrent internal social monitoring will be done as part of the regular monitoring by the PMU and DPO and APO level implementing agencies. PMU will prepare a report of the environmental and social safeguards status in the project districts including data and analysis of relevant parameters, including reporting results of screening and implementation of any social mitigation plans. However, project will appoint Independent Environmental and Social Monitoring and Audit Consultants to do the half-yearly environmental and social monitoring and audit of sampled project interventions for safeguards compliance. This will start from the 3rd year of project implementation and will happen twice during the project implementation period. Annexure 1: Draft Format for Voluntary Land Donation 1. This deed of voluntary donation is made and executed on ............................ day of ...................………. between Sri/Smt ...............................................S/o W/o……………………….. Age………… Occupation ……………………………………. resident of ......................................................................... herein after called the “Title holder / Encroacher� on one part. This expression shall mean and include his legal representatives, successors – in-interest, heirs, assignees, nominees etc. AND The Gram Panchayat ......................................................... of District ................................................. represented by Pradhan on the GP …………………………. 2. Whereas, the details of the Location of the, land are given below: Location Details Village Gram Panchayat Block District Title Holder/ Encroacher Details Name of Title Holder/Encroacher Father/ Husband’s Name of Title Holder/Encroacher Status: Title Holder/ Encroacher Age: occupation: Residence: Gender: Schedule -Land Details/Structure Land in Question Area Location North Boundary East Boundary West Boundary South Boundary Note: Detailed Map to the scale is appended. 3. Whereas the Title Holder is presently using/ holds the transferable right of the above mentioned piece of land in the village mentioned above. Whereas the Encroacher does not hold any transferable rights of the above mentioned piece of land in the village mentioned above but has been a long standing encroacher dependent on its usufruct hereditarily. 4. Whereas the Title Holder/Encroacher testifies that the land is free of encumbrances and not subject to other claims/ claimants. 5. Whereas the Title Holder/Encroacher hereby voluntarily surrenders the land/structure without any type of pressure, influence or coercion what so ever directly or indirectly and hereby surrender all his/her subsisting rights in the said land with free will and intention. 6. Whereas the Recipient shall construct and develop infrastructure facilities under the project, and take all possible precautions to avoid damage to adjacent land/structure/other assets. 7. Whereas both the parties agree that the infrastructure so constructed/developed shall be for the public purpose. 8. Whereas the provisions of this agreement will come into force from the date of signing of this agreement. Signature of Title Signature of Holder/Encroacher Pradhan GP Name of Title Holder/Encroacher Name of Pradhan GP Date Date Identified by 1. Name: Signature: 2. Name: Signature: Witnesses Signature of Pradhan, Gram Panchayat Name of Pradhan, Gram Panchayat Signature of GP Secretary Name of GP Secretary Signature of APO Representative Name of APO Representative Designation of APO Representative