Involuntary Resettlement Assessment and Measures

5.5 
The Local Executive State Power in Districts (Hukumats)  
96. 
The District Hukumat is the level of administration in cities and districts. It is under the 
Oblast level and there are Jamoats under the District Hukumats. The Hukumat is led by a 
chairperson who has a wide range of responsibilities and authorities, including land 
management, housing and infrastructure, social security, law and order, health care and 
production. The planning and implementation of any LAR activities related to land and assets is 
done through the help of Hukumats. This is the local administration having a direct link with the 
people and most of the small grievances related to allocation amd distribution of land rights. In 
relation to land and immovable property administration, the Hukumat provides help to 
concerned departments (land commission/MBTI/PIU etc) for resolving the issues with specific 
key roles such as allocation of land use rights,  and decisions on acquisition of land use rights 
and allocation of alternate sites for resettlement. An Ad Hoc Commission exists for Land 
Acquisition/Compensation/Resettlement. 
 
97. 
For defining the losses of land users at land acquisition for state and public needs or for 
the temporary occupation of land parcels, there valuation commissions  are formed consisting of 
                                                            
18
 The Government Decree No. 613, dated 26 December 2006 provides the details of the roles and responsibilities, 
organizational structure and its associated enterprises.   
19
 ‘It was established by Government Decree No235, dated 6 June 2001, and has 131 subordinate enterprises, 
including 31 MBTIs. 

 
 
 
36 
the following:
20
 (i) a representative of the district Hukumat, usually the deputy chairman of the 
district or town, (ii) the head of district agency on land management, geodesy and cartography, 
(iii) a representative of the district or town office of architecture, (iv) representatives of the water 
management department, (v) a representative of the district nature protection committee, (vi) 
representatives of the affected land users, (v) representatives of the enterprises and/or 
institutions interested in land acquisition, and (vi) representatives of other organizationss as 
defined by the Hukumat. The commission shall prepare the assessment with an indication of 
size of due compensation of agricultural losses that shall be approved by the Hukumat. The 
valuation for buildings and structures are done by MBTI. 
 
98.  For addressing land acquisition and resettlement issues associated with major road 
improvement projects, MOTC has recently formed a Working Group for land acquisition 
planning (Resettlement Working Group) comprising the following representatives: 
•
  First Deputy Minister, MOTC 
•
  Acting Deputy Head of Main Department for Road Construction Economy of MOTC. 
•
  Head of Cadastre and Land Registration, Land Management, Geodesy and Mapping 
Agency under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan 
•
  Senior Construction Supervision Inspector, Construction and Architecture Agency under 
the Republic of Tajikistan   
•
  Engineer of IZDP unit, State Unitary Enterprise “Research and Planning - Surveying 
Institute”  
•
  Coordinator for consultants in PIU 
•
  Representatives of the Hukumats of Rudaki, Gissar, Shakhrinav and Tursunzade 
 
99. 
The principal task of this group is to work towards finding an appropriate methodology for 
assessing fair replacement values for residential and commercial land, and to establish 
principles and processes for cash compensation payments. The Resettlement Working Group is 
representative of the various concerned departments related to LAR planning and 
implementation and by officials at central and local government level. Consultations with the 
Resettlement Working Group were carried out during the preparation of the LARP, and ADB 
safeguards was discussed and debated in the context of the project LAR activities in the project.   
 
Specialists'>5.6 Consultants 
100.  The following Consultants will be involved in LAR tasks: 
1.  Land Acquisition and Resettlement Specialists: These will include international and 
local consultants who will manage survey teams to carry out the tasks required for 
finalizing the LARP and for ensuring compliance before civil works proceed (terms of 
reference (TOR) included under preparatory procurement and safeguard support 
services), and during implementation (TOR under project management and construction 
supervision services). These specialists will be responsible for working with the 
engineering team and the working group along with PIU staff for carrying out the final 
impact assessment survey which will be detailed in nature. The LAR will be working 
closely with the MBTI representatives and with the Hukumats for the valuation of 
structures and buildings. In case the land for land compensation method is agreed then 
the consultants under detailed design will be responsible assisting with the preparation of 
                                                            
20
 
Item 31, Regulation about the order of compensation of losses to the land users, approved by the Government 
Decree  dated December 30, 2000, 
№
515  

 
 
 
37
MOTC /Government of 
Tajikistan 
Asian Development 
Bank 
Agency on Land 
Management, 
Geodesy and 
Cartography 
 
Displaced Persons 
Working Group 
MBTI 
PIU Field Level Staff and 
the PIU Resettlement 
Specialist
Ad hoc Commission for 
Land Acquisition  
Ministry of Finance 
Local Executive 
State Power in 
District (Hukumats) 
Independent Monitor 
micro plans for land redistribution in respect of individual specific land parcels. TORs for 
the resettlement specialists are included in the Project Administration Manual (PAM). 
2.  Independent Monitor (IM).  An entity or an individual will be engaged to conduct 
independent monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the LARP. In the 
absence of a supervision consultant, the IM will continue to carry out the external 
monitoring and evaluation for the project. Preliminary discussion has been made with the 
NGO, “Munis” for their possible role as IM.for the project. 
 
5.7 
Other Government Organizations 
101.  The Ministry of Finance (MOF) will be responsible for allocating the budget for LARP 
implementation. The budgets for the implementation of the LARP will be provided to MOTC by 
the MOF following the official approval of the final LARP and after receipt of the formal request 
from MOTC to MOF for the allocation of budget. An organization structure is depicted in figure 
5: 
 
Figure 5: Institutional Arrangements
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
38 
 
6.0 
GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 
6.1 General 
 
102.  The DPs will have the right to file complaints and/or queries on any aspect of land 
acquisition compensation, and resettlement. MOTC will ensure that grievances and complaints 
on any aspect of the land acquisition, compensation, and resettlement are addressed in a timely 
and satisfactory manner. All possible avenues are made available to DPs to air their grievances. 
A grievance mechanism will be available to allow an DP appealing against any decision, 
practice or activity arising from land or other assets assessment, acquisition and compensation. 
DPs have been fully informed of their rights and of the procedures for addressing complaints 
whether verbally or in writing during the time of compensation. Care will always be taken to 
prevent grievances rather than going through a redress process. This will be obtained through 
careful LAR implementation, by ensuring full participation and consultation with the DPs, and by 
establishing extensive communication and coordination between the affected communities, the 
PIU, and local governments in general.  
 
6.2 
Steps for Grievance Redress 
103.  Complaints and grievances will be addressed through the following steps and actions: 
i.  First, complaints can be lodged at the Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) to be 
established at the district level which will meet at least twice a month to discuss and 
propose actions on feedbacks and concerns from DPs and other key stakeholders.  
Efforts will be made to address and resolve complaints raised at the GRC within 30 
days. Staff from the MOTC district Office will act as Secretariat for the GRC and will 
record/monitor and report on the status of complaints received by the GRC.  
ii.  If still unsettled, after 30 days a grievance can then be lodged to Working Group 
Committee at the PIU central level. Again the elected representatives of the DPs will 
have the opportunity to mediate in their favour. 
iii.  If no solution is reached within 14 days the DPs can further submit their case to the 
appropriate court of law. 
104.  A grievance redress mechanism is depicted in figure 6. 
6.3 
Grievance Redress Commitee (GRC) Formation 
105.  A Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) will be established at the rayon level in each 
district to resolve complaints and grievances informally through community participation. The 
GRC will be formed with representatives from MOTC/PIU, hakumat, DPs, women DPs (if any), 
and appropriate local NGOs to allow voices of the affected communities to be heard and ensure 
a participatory decision-making process. GRC decisions will be on a majority basis and will be 
publicized among the local communities. Where the complaining parties are not satisfied with 
the GRC decisions, they can always file their cases in court. 
  
106.  GRCs will be established at the rayon level with an office order from the Ministry of 
Transportation and Communication (MOTC) with provision of 7 members of following 
composition
.  

 
 
 
39
 
Deputy Hukumat, District Government 
:  Convener 
Representative from the PIU 
 
Member Secretary 
Representative from the district Office of the  Cadastre and Land 
Registration, Land Management, Geodesy and Mapping Agency 
 
 Representative from the Jamoat within the District 
:
: 
Member 
Member 
 
Representative of DPs 
:  Member 
 
Representative of Women DPs 
:  Member 
 
Representative local NGO 
:  Member 
 
Figure 6: Grievance Redress Mechanism  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GRC at the district 
level 
Grievance 
Addressed  
PIU Field Level 
Staff/Resettlement Specialist 
Minor Grievances 
Major Grievances
Grievance 
Addressed 
Not Addressed 
Not Addressed 
Working Group  
Court of Law 
Grievance Addressed 
Displaced Persons 

 
 
 
40 
 
7.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATON, INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND 
DISCLOSURE  
7.1     General 
107.  Public consultations were carried out at various stages of project preparation especially 
during preparation of LARP, including a screening survey, a land census survey, a socio-
economic survey and targeted consultation meetings with affected people and local stakeholder 
organizations and individuals. Public consultation is designed to share information on issues 
related to LAR activities. Consultations were carried out with affected persons, local 
communities, people’s representatives, government and non-government organizations. It 
ensured that the affected people and other stakeholders are informed, consulted and allowed to 
participate actively in the process of road development and preparation of LARP; reducing 
public resistance to change; helping mitigate and minimize any probable negative impact and 
bringing in the benefit of the project to the people. Public consultation has also been used as a 
tool to obtain socio-economic information, public opinion towards proposed project, and on 
sensitive and critical issues. This has provided information to be used in preliminary design, to 
minimize adverse social and resettlement impacts. 
  
108.  Consultations with all the stakeholders have been carried out during LARP preparation. 
Consultations carried out in the initial stages covered project design, fixing the alignment based 
on the resettlement impact, land situation in the project area and general socio-economic 
activities of the affected people and the findings were recorded. A second round of consultations 
was held during the census and socio-economic survey. These covered types of ownership, 
function of the collective farms, availability of alternate land and discussions on involvement of 
people during the LARP preparation and implementation. Regarding policy, the following points 
were discussed: 
 
•
  Rules and Regulations of Tajikistan pertaining to land acquisition and Resettlement; 
•
  Requirements of ADB’s Safeguards  on Involuntary Resettlement and provisions 
made under the compensation and rehabilitation policy for the project; 
•
  Initial Draft Compensation Policy specially the Entitlement Matrix; 
•
  Eligibility of various types of compensation; 
•
  Project Assistance to the eligible DPs;  
•
  Discussion on how to assess the replacement cost, i.e, unit cost for sample 
structures, productivity of land etc; 
•
  Discussions on implementation of the  LARP with due involvement of all 
stakeholders;  
•
  Discussions on how to take forward the grievance and how to address the grievance 
during LARP implementation. 
7.2     Objective of the Consultation  
109.  The basic objective of consultation is to explore the measures to safeguard the concerns 
of affected people and the people in the project area as follows:  

 
 
 
41
•
  Disseminate information to the people about the project in terms of its activities and 
scope of work; and understand the views and perceptions of the people affected and 
local communities with reference to acquisition of land or loss of property and its due 
compensation; 
•
  Assessment of road alignment; 
•
  Understand views of displaced people on LAR options and gain an understanding of 
their expectations;  
•
  Identify and assess major economic and social information and characteristics of the 
project area to enable effective social and resettlement planning and its implementation; 
•
  Resolve issues related to impacts on community property and their relocation; 
•
  Examine DPs’ opinions on health safety issues during the construction period and on 
potential areas of concern such as the handling of construction waste and other pollution 
issues. 
•
  Identify levels and extent of community participation in project implementation and 
monitoring; 
•
  Establish an understanding for identification of overall developmental goals and benefits 
of the project;  
•
  Disseminate information to government, non-government and public private sector 
stakeholders and develop an approach for co-ordination with them to ensure their 
participation and mobilization of support in the process for the successful planning and 
implementation of the project;  
•
  Assess the local people's willingness to get involved with the project; and enumerate the 
measures to be taken during the implementation of the project. 
7.3     Methods of Public Consultation 
110.  The following methodologies have been used for carrying out public consultations: 
•
  Disseminating information and requesting the stakeholder people and organizations 
including affected people to attend the public consultation meetings at various sensitive 
places by involving the local administrations (Hukumats);  
•
  Sharing the opinions and preferences of the DPs;  
•
  Involving the DPs and all other stakeholders in decision-making including 
implementation of the LARP; 
•
  Walk-through informal group consultation along the road; 
•
  Focus group discussions with different groups of affected people including women 
groups, poor, and disadvantaged community groups; 
•
  In-depth individual interviews; 
•
  Discussions and interviews with key informants.  
7.4     Individual Consultation 
111.  Individual consultations were made with all households (436) which had family members 
present during the survey. A door-to-door 100% Census was done by administering a scientific 
questionnaire in order to know the LAR impact and condition of the DPs. Additionally, socio-
economic baseline survey was carried out in the project affected area comprising 430 
households. 

 
 
 
42 
7.5     Community Consultation 
112.  Community consultations were held at various locations, especially at 4 locations through 
focused group discussion which involved both men and women participants. The details of the 
locations recorded are at: (i) Choryakkoron (Women: 8 and Men:25), (ii) Morteppa (Women: 6 
and Men: 17), (iii) Shakhrinav (Women: 10 and Men: 17), (iv) Kommuna (Women: 5 and Men: 
9). Community level discussions were held in different areas. The benefits of the project were 
explained in detail to them. In the process of public consultation and meeting with a number of 
potential affected people, it is observed that most of the people are concerned about their 
livelihood issues. The majority fear the loss of the commercial activities which will have a direct 
impact on their livelihood. However, it is noted that the loss of livelihood will be very minimal and 
can be well compensated. Almost all of the people welcomed the project expressing their views 
that this is a project of national importance. A summary of consultations covering the 
methodology, dates and participants is provided in Appendix 2. The major findings of the 
consultations held at various locations are summarized as follows.  
 
•
 
People are aware of the project and are willing to render support; 
•
 
DPs losing property expect a proper compensation package;  
•
 
The owners of affected structures stated that they should receive compensation 
adequate to build the similar type of structure elsewhere. They stressed that they should 
get advance notice for shifting and building new structures in new locations prior to the 
commencement of project construction works; 
•
 
Proper measures need to be taken to restore loss of livelihood by displacement; 
•
 
Proper safety measures need to be incporporated in the design of road improvements. 
Measures should focus on installing speed limits, warnings to traffic as providing 
adequate footpaths; 
•
 
People advised that there are archaeological sites or protected place in the area but they 
are distant from the project road; 
•
 
Compensation should be based on a fair assessment; 
•
 
DPs requested to be further consulted on project activities; 
•
 
Contractors should be advised by the project authority to employ local people. 
7.6     Consultation with NGO 
113.  There is scope for the role of NGOs during the project implementation. The NGO, “Munis” 
was consulted in order to share the information about the proposed project. It is interested in 
providing independent monitoring support for the successful implementation of the proposed 
project with special reference to the resettlement of the displaced people and the proper 
management of the social and resettlement mitigation measures.  
 
7.7     Consultation with Government Officials  
114.  The concerned government offices were involved in LARP preparation. They include 
District Land Committees, Construction and Architecture Departments of the Hukumats, and the 
MBTI (interdepartmental technical inventory bureau/pricing agency). Other offices consulted 
include the ALMGC, District Chairmen and First Deputy Chairmen, District Agriculture 
Departments, Committees on Women and Family Affairs, Jamoats and village councils. These 

 
 
 
43
officials represent local, district, and national level government organizations. Additionally, 
consultations were held with the Working Group Committee. In-house orientation training was 
provided to the working group committee about the ADB safeguards on Involuntary 
Resettlement and to address issues related to cash compensation for land loss along with a 
mechanism for developing a methodology to calculate the replacement cost of land based on 
the market rate. 
 
7.8     Continuation of Public Consultations 
115.  Consultations will be continued throughout the project. The effectiveness of resettlement 
implementation is related to the continuing involvement of those affected by the project. Several 
additional rounds of consultations with DPs will be required during LARP implementation. 
Consultations during LARP implementation will involve agreements on compensation, 
assistance options, entitlement packages and income restoration.  The other round of 
consultations will occur when compensation and assistance are provided and actual 
resettlement begins. Information disclosure is pursued for effective implementation and timely 
execution of the LARP. For the benefit of the community in general and DPs in particular, the 
LARP will be made available at concerned offices of Hukumats, Jamoats for Mahalla leaders 
and NGOs (if other potential ones are found). For continued consultations, the following steps 
are envisaged in the project: 
 
•
 
PIU and consultants will organize public meetings and will apprise the communities 
about the progress in the implementation of resettlement, and social activities. 
•
 
PIU will organize public meetings to inform the community about compensation 
arrangements and amounts to be paid. Regular update of the progress of the 
resettlement component of the project will be placed for public display at the PIU office 
and at local Hukumat Office. 
•
 
All monitoring and evaluation reports of the LARP components of the project will be 
disclosed in the same manner as that of the LARP. 
•
 
Key features of the entitlements will be disclosed along the project corridor. 
•
 
PIU will conduct information dissemination sessions at major intersections and solicit the 
help of the local community leaders to encourage the participation of the DPs in RP 
implementation. 
•
 
Attempts will be made to ensure that vulnerable groups understand the process and to 
take their specific needs into account.