Project Appraisal Document - IHDP

completed house. Disbursement would be contingent upon meeting pre-specified constructionmilestones. The Interim Financial Reports would measure disbursement progress.During appraisal of refugee camps selected for Phase 1 of the PHP, it was noted that the numberof temporary houses had grown by 16% when compared to the estimate provided in the UNHCRsurvey. The IDPs had been encouraged to put up new thatched huts on the eve of the housingproject in order to be entitled to the cash grant. It was agreed therefore to use the UNHCR Surveyconducted in April 2006 as the baseline to determine eligibility for housing assistance.Sequencing of Refugee Camps for Implementation:The phasing of refugee camps for housing support was done on the basis of a two stage screeningprocess. Relying upon UNHCR data, all 141 IDP camps were socially ranked using threeindicators i.e. (i) percentage of temporary houses in a camp; (ii) percentage of families possessingland in a camp; and (iii) percentage of families in a camp who opted to settle in Puttalam. Theseindicators were assigned scores of 75, 15 and 10 respectively in keeping with communityperceptions as to their relative weight. The socially ranked camps were then screened in terms ofthree environmental indicators i.e. (a) flooding, (b) land surface and (c) quality of environment.25 camps were thus identified for Phase 1 of the PHP. Based on the availability of social andenvironmental profiles, 20 camps were appraised and would constitute the first set of refugeecamps for implementation. Five of the twenty camps would be taken up for funding in the latterpart of the Phase after the EIAs and SIA’s have been completed. The beneficiary households havebeen identified for receipt of the cash grants. The beneficiary list would now be reviewed by theDistrict Secretary and the PSC. The PHP aims to cover all refugee camps for housing assistanceand the provision of water, sanitation and environment improvement. The ranking of camps wasdone with the intent to phase the PHP over the four year implementation period. The criteria weredefined after consultation with the communities.IDP households living in environmentally unsustainable camps might need to be relocated on avoluntary basis. The Government agreed to provide alternate land to such IDPs who had land asat April, 2006. An Environmental Impact Assessment would be carried out in the proposed newsites and such communities would be accommodated in the third and fourth year of the PHP.Those with a permanent house would be excluded from the housing assistance.The PPU relied on the following studies to rank refugee camps.i. The UNHCR supervised a census of refugee camps in Puttalam in April, 2006. The surveyprovided detailed information on IDPs living in refugee camps. This included the number ofrefugee camps, number of families in each camp, their level of education, vulnerability,employment status, obstacles to return, extent of land ownership and title to such land, typeof houses and other relevant socio-economic information.ii. The PHP sponsored a Social Assessment (SA) of IDPs in Puttalam which mapped the typeof housing, land ownership, possession of title, livelihood opportunity, socio-economicprofile, social capital, and the relationship between IDPs and non-IDPs. It did this throughfocus group discussions and beneficiary interviews using participatory rural appraisalmethods in 111 refugee camps.iii. The Environmental Assessment (EA) reviewed the suitability of 111 refugee camps forhousing construction. The PPU used a questionnaire - Environmental Checklist – to obtainbasic data. This was followed by an in-depth examination of environmental suitability in33