Mumbai Urban Transport Project: The Bank's Involuntary Resettlement Policy

The objectives of the World Bank policy on involuntary resettlement are to avoid or minimize the need to move people from their homes or places of work by exploring all viable alternative project designs. If involuntary resettlement is unavoidable, the policy provides that displaced persons are assisted in improving their former living standards, income earning capacity, and production levels, or at least are able to restore them to pre-displacement levels. The policy encourages community participation in planning and implementation and provides for assistance to all affected people, regardless of the legality of land tenure. The policy applies to all components of a project that result in involuntary resettlement, regardless of the source of financing.

Resettlement Action Plans

In Bank-financed projects a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) is prepared to assist project-affected people with resettlement and income restoration. Key components of a RAP include organizational arrangements for implementation, a budget, and a timetable which assures that people are resettled and compensated in advance of construction. RAPs also must provide a mechanism for equitable management and redressal of grievances.

The Bank's Policy includes the following key provisions:

• Restoration of income and standard of living. Resettlement action plans are designed as sustainable development programs which include measures to improve the standard of living of project-affected people, or at a minimum to restore income to former levels.
• Compensation for land and structures lost. All affected assets are to be compensated at replacement cost.
• Squatters and encroachers cannot be denied compensation and resettlement assistance. Where project-affected people do not possess legal titles to land and structures occupied by them, Bank-supported projects are required to make provisions to assist them to resettle and improve or restore income streams. Given that issues of land title are a challenge for millions of people at all income levels across the developing world, the Bank holds that lack of title is not a fair reason to disqualify a person for assistance.
• Poor and vulnerable people: Resettlement action plans must also identify and assist the poor and vulnerable people, especially the elderly, the disabled and women-headed households to resettle and improve their standards of living.

URL- http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20865858~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html