Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement — Policy and ... - CEPA

31 IntroductionThe Southern Transport Development Project (STDP) is the very firstlimited-access expressway in Sri Lanka, and involves the construction of a128 km road between the capital city, Colombo, and Matara in the south,including a 6 km link to the southern port city of Galle. As the expresswaydoes not follow an existing roadway, all land needed for the construction hadto be acquired by the state for this purpose. Approximately 10,271 land lotshave been acquired for the project, which is estimated to have affectedabout 3,000 families. Of these, about 1,400 households were physicallydisplaced 4 . Resettlement activities (including payment of compensation andother entitlements, relocation of affected persons to specially designatedresettlement sites, the income restoration programme, assistance forre-establishment of social networks and social capital; and monitoring andevaluation of the resettlement process) were carried out in terms of aResettlement Implementation Plan (RIP), jointly agreed on between thegovernment and the financiers, and implemented by the Road DevelopmentAuthority (RDA), under the Ministry of Highways.The RIP is a radical departure from current Sri Lankan laws on landacquisition, compensation and resettlement. As such, the impacts ofresettlement due to the STDP have many implications for future policy,particularly because many such expressways are expected to follow 5 .This paper focuses on the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Committee(LARC) which was introduced via the RIP of the STDP. The primary role ofLARC was to decide on the replacement value for land and assets acquired,while acting as a forum for consultation and negotiation between theaffected persons and the officials of the government. It explores the role ofLARC in facilitating a more equitable and participatory process in theinvoluntary resettlement. The design of LARC within the RIP, its actualimplementation as well as issues to consider in balancing the needs of theaffected persons with that of infrastructure development are explored in thispaper.3This paper draws on evidence and knowledge generated by CEPA in the capacity of IndependentExternal Monitors to the Resettlement Activities of the STDP, 2006 – 2008. It also drawson an assignment to review the grievance redress mechanism of STDP carried out on behalf ofthe Asian Development Bank in 2009.4Position Report on ADB and JBIC sections in STDP as at 31/12/2006, Jan 20075http://www.rda.gov.lk/source/expressways.htm166