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Addendum to Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan Compliance report

Project Number: 46392-001 June 2020

Afghanistan: North-South Power Transmission Enhancement Project (500-kV Transmission line, Section Two- Kabul Province)

Prepared by Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat for the Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank.

This addendum to land acquisition and resettlement plan compliance report is a document of the

borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of

Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature.

In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation

of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian

Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any

territory or area.

Addendum to LARP Implementation Compliance Report North South Power Transmission Enhancement Project

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ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT (DABS)

ADDENDUM TO LARP IMPLEMENTATION COMPLIANCE

REPORT

500kV North South Power Transmission Enhancement Project

(NSPTEP)

SECTION TWO – KABUL PROVINCE

Project Number: 46392-001, ADB Grant: 0374/0375 AFG

June 2020

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), Kabul, Afghanistan


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DOCUMENT REPORT CONTROL FORM

Project Name: 500kV North South Power Transmission Enhancement

Report: Addendum to LARP Implementation Compliance Report

Project No: 46392-001 (G0374/0375) Report for:

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB)

PREPARATION, REVIEW AND AUTHORISATION

Revision #

#

Date Prepared by Reviewed by Approved for Issue

0 April 2020 A. Rasool Wardak Mohammad Mujeeb Barakzai Sayed Arif Ahmadzada

ISSUE REGISTER

Distribution List Date Issued Number of Copies

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat -DABS April -2020 2 Hard copies

1 Electronic copy CD

Asian Development Bank-ADB June -2020 1 Hard Copy

1 Electronic Copy

PMO-DABS April -2020 1 Hardcopy 1 Electronic copy

The information within this documents is and shall remain the property of DABS


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GLOSSARY

ADB : Asian Development Bank

AHs : Affected Household

AP : Affected Person

CSC : Construction Supervision Consultants

DABS : Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat

EA : Executing Agency (DABS)

ESDIP : Energy Sector Development Investment Program

ESU : Environmental and Social Unit

IoL : Inventory of Losses

kV : Kilo volt

LAR : Land and Resettlement

LARF : Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework

LARP : Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan

MFF : Multitranche Financing Facility

MUDL : Ministry of Urban Development and Land

NSPEP : North South Power Enhancment Project

PMO : Project Management Office

RoW : Right of Way

SPS : Safeguard Policy Statement

TL : Transmission Line

HH : Household


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Table of Contents

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 5

2 Project Background ................................................................................................ 5

3 Description of 500 kV North South Power Enhancement Project .................. 6

4 Findings of the Addendum LARP Implementation Compliance Report ........ 7

5 Conclusion: .............................................................................................................. 9

TABLES:

Table 1: Basic Project features .................................................................................................. 7

Table 2: RoW and Access Road Impact of the identified 79 AHs ............................................... 8

Table 3: Actual payment to 79 AHs ............................................................................................ 9

Figure:

Figure 1: The Route of 500 kV North South Power Enhancement Project .................................. 7

ANNEXES:

Annex 1.1: Compensation Payment Documents. ......................................................................11

Annex 1.2: Letter on Establishment of Escrow Account in Azizi Bank for 3 AHs disputed land ..26

Annex 1.3: Letter on Establishment of Escrow Account in Azizi Bank for 79 AHs – doposited 45

million AFN ...............................................................................................................................27


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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. After three decades of conflict, Afghanistan’s power sector is slowly recovering, but more than 70 percent of the population does not have access to the grid. Even those connected to the grid suffer from frequent power blackouts of up to 9–15 hours a day in some areas, which impacts residential and commercial users and severely limit development across all sectors of the economy. The Afghan government wants to move away from its heavy reliance on imported power, which accounts for 78 percent of their supply, and develop its own natural gas resources in the country.

2. The most significant expected project-level impacts are to (i) increase the supply of domestic power generation capacity, resulting in a decrease in load-shedding and an improvement in quality of the life of the people well as industrial and commercial customers, (ii) enhance energy security by reducing reliance on other countries for electricity imports (iii) increase private sector participation in the energy sector, encouraging other potential investors to enter this untapped market. The project is further expected to optimize the use of the existing gas supply and electricity distribution infrastructure.

3. This project is divided into three sections (Kabul, Parwan and Baghlan), the LARP of Section Two (Kabul) has been approved by the ADB. The main objective of this report (Section Two) to elaborate the implementation and compliance of the ADB approved land acquisition and resettlement plan (LARP) focusing on topic such as the scope of land acquisition and affected households.

4. As a result of verification of affected households from the land office records, the identified and verified numbers of affected households (AHs) for Section Two of the TL are 212. Out of 212, 133 was already paid and reported through Section Two compliance report submitted to ADB on January 3, 2020. The verification and valuation of the remaining 79 AHs’ losses due to impact of the Access Roads and RoW were in the execution process by MUDL at that time while the compliance report was submitted. Three anticipated AHs dispute is still in court and there cases have not yet been finalized – they will be paid once the court finalized their cased and their land ownership documents are processed. These 3 anticipated AHs will be subsequently identified as AHs.

5. As stated in Para 4, MUDL with the support of DABS’ Social Safeguard Team was identified 79 affected persons/households in Paghman, Shakardara and Qarabagh districts of Kabul province which includes 12 AHs losing houses and structures, 50 AHs losing land plus productive and non-productive trees, and 19 AHs losing productive and non-productive trees. These impacts caused due to stringing process of the transmission line and permanent access roads to the angle towers.

6. The ownership and other related documents process of the 79 AHs eventually accomplished by MUDL and sent to DABS for payment. DABS made payment to the AHs via their bank accounts based on the documents received from MUDL (Annex 1.1).

2 Project Background

7. In order to meet the development challenge pointed out in summary setion, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) executed North-South Power Transmission Enhancement Project aiming at building of 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line straddling 238 kilometers across the Hindukush mountain range from the northern town of Dashte Alwan to Kabul (Arghandi) in the south. It will include a substation connecting to the grid in the capital, Kabul. It will also


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complement a separate 500-kV substation to be built in the north by ADB under its Energy Sector Development Program.

8. To support the potential of industrial growth in all three provinces (Baghlan, Parwan and Kabul), where the subject transmission line is crossing through, better connectivity of townships and villages, towns with adjoining areas is very much required. The economy of these three provinces is mainly based on agricultural and trading activities. The industrial and agricultural developments have led to higher demand for electricity. With the higher demand of electricity, and the expansion of the existing development activities, there is a growing mismatch between the rapid population growth and availability of electricity related infrastructure, which has resulted in reversing the development of the area. As a result of the aforementioned growth and need to fulfil the mismatch, various new infrastructure development activities including power transmission enhancement Projects have been planned across the country. The Government of Afghanistan through the DABS and other Government Agencies has taken the needful actions to meet the challenges.

9. This Resettlement Plan for North South Power Enhancement Project is prepared based on the detailed design report prepared by DABS. The LARP complies with the applicable Government of Afghanistan and ADB policy and legal framework. This project is considered as Category B for Involuntary Resettlement (IR) as per the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS 2009).

3 Description of 500 kV North South Power Enhancement Project

10. This Power Transmission line Project in Afghanistan has been classified as a Category B Project in accordance with ADB Safeguards Policy Statement 2009. Kabul is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 4,372,977 which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society.

11. The town of Kabul serves as the provincial capital. The Kabul Province is located between Latitude 34-31' North and Longitude 69-12' East at an altitude of 1800 m (6000 feet) above sea level, which makes it one of the world's highest capital cities. Kabul is strategically situated in a valley surrounded by high mountains at crossroads of north-south and east-west trade routes.

12. Kabul Province has 14 Districts out of which only 61 villages in 6 Districts namely Paghman, Shakardara, Gul Dara, Farza, Istalif, Qarabagh are going to be affected by the Project.

13. The 500 kV TL of the North South is crossing through 3 province (Baghlan, Parwan and Kabul). The total length of the TL is 238 km from which 52.8 km is passing via Kabul province related districts. The sectional approach in terms of LARP and its implementation was agreed between ADB and DABS and as a result the entire length/route of the TL divided into 3 sections (each section per province). Therefore, Individual LARP for each section was prepared and approved by ADB. Kabul section is considered as Section 2. Some of the Project features are given in Table 1 Below.


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Table 1: Basic Project features

1.

No Deign Detail Description

1 Total length of the TL 238 km

2 Total length covers in Kabul Province 52.834 km

3 Length of Row

For the 500-kV line (first- and second-line sections), the Right of Way (ROW) is of 50 m (25 m on both sides of the centre line).

4 Total No of Towers of the TL 688

5 Total No of Towers in Kabul 145

6 Total No of Government lands affected 67,437 m2

7 Total No of Private lands affected 47,713.05 m2

Figure 31: The Route of 500 kV North South Power Enhancement Project

4 Findings of the Addendum LARP Implementation Compliance Report

14. A Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP) for the Transmission Line Component of the Project was prepared by the DABS in October 2019 to address social and resettlement impacts of the transmission lines component and implemented. The document was prepared as a requirement of PFR submission.

15. The final LARP was revised for the 500kv North South Power Enhancement Project, based on the final details design of the project. The LARP was prepared in accordance with provisions of the laws in Afghanistan and ADB SPS 2009.


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16. The LARP was revised in October 2019, by the PMO-DABS through its PMPIC. The LARP was based on the final design of the project; and in accordance with provisions of the laws in Afghanistan, ADB SPS 2009 that was updated to comply with the requirements of SPS 2009. The LARP identified, quantified and valued the impacts of HVTL on land, crops and structures in order to determine the compensation package and accordingly its implementation.

17. The Section Two (Kabul) LARP Implementation Compliances Report was submitted to ADB in January 2020. The compliance report demonstrated and explain the compensation process of 133 out the total identified 212 affected households (AHs). The report also briefly explained the matter of already identified but unpaid 79 AHs which their verification and ownership documents were in process by MUDL.

18. At the time of LARP implementation compliance report submission (January 2020), the construction was ongoing only on erection of towers for which compensation payments of affected persons foundation land was paid. Payment to the 79 AHs was due to completion of valuation and verification supporting documents which were supposed to be completed and submitted by MUDL to DABS for payment. The rough losses estimation of the identified 79 AHs were made by MUDL during identification process.

19. In order to make that sufficient amount fund is available to cover the losses of 79 AHs, an Escrow Account was established by DABS and sufficient amount of money transferred to cover the total estimated compensation of about 35.4 million AFN for the identified 79 AHs. The below table is showing the impacts of RoW and Access Road on the 79 AHs with estimated amount.

Table 2: RoW and Access Road impact of the identified 79 AHs with estimated costs

AHs Source of

Impact Impact Quantity Unit Amount (AFN) USD

79

RoW

Structure 1661.25 m2 15,691,947.00 203,000.61

Wall 196.402 m3 769,820.00 9,958.86

Productive and Non-

Productive Trees 170 Each

2,011,000.00 26,015.52

Access

Road

Land 13931 m2 15,747,141.75 203,714.64

Productive and Non-

Productive Trees 319 Each

993,000.00 12,846.05

Structure 6 m2 46,200.00 597.67

Wall 51.8 m3 120,820.00 1,563.00

Total Compensation 35,379,928.75 457,696.36

20. Compensation for these 79 AHs was deposited in escrow account. To be in safe side, 45 million AFN were deposited to the established account. Details of the escrow account and corresponding estimated compensation amounts of these AHs are included in Annex 1.3.

21. Furthermore, 3 AHs dispute are still in court - the compensation amounts for these affected households have been already deposited to an escrow account so that once the court finalized their cases and their documents processed, they will be considered as AHs and can be paid immediately from this account. These 3 AHs’s compensation would be processed once they


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are cleared by court and submit their land ownership documents to DABS for payment through the collective escrow account already established in Kabul province. For further details on the specs of the escrow account, please refer to Annex 1.2.

22. Eventually, Kabul Land Department of MUDL along with the team seconded from its HQs, close coordination with the respected District Governors and Land Department at the district level with the support of Social Safeguard team of PMO resulted to complete the relevant verification and ownership documents as per LAL and ADB SPS 2009 and submitted to DABS for payment. DABS, based on the documents received from MUDL, paid compensation of losses caused by the RoW and/or permanent Access Roads of the project to the AHs via their bank accounts. The table below is showing summery of payment done as per the documents include in Annex 1.1.

Table 3: Actual payment to 79 AHs

Group Number of AHs

Letter Number Amount (AFN)

1 7 69721/74, 69721/74 dated 1/4/2020; 69673/29, 69669/25, 69672/26, 69676/28 dated 24/3/2020; 69674/27 dated 25/3/2020

4,283,386.47

2 9 97772/7583, dated 2/3/2020 2,177,638.65

3 9 95512/4628, dated 21/1/2020 3,406,589.87

4 11 111757, dated 17/3/2020 5,708,573.72

5 12 97931/5539, dated 15/3/2020 7,834,487.57

6 31 97771/7582, dated 2/3/2020 18,736,310.34

Total 79 42,146,986.62

23. In a quest to ensure transparency in compliance of SPS 2009 and approved LARP provisions, the DABS directly transferred the compensation amounts to the Bank Accounts of the affected households, after receiving confirmation of the status of ownership in favour of the claimant from the offices of relevant District Land Department.

24. All the affected household showed their satisfaction over the compensation and payment process. The project temporary losses have been fully compensated by the contractor as per provisions of the Project Contract and the approved LARP. Most of them pledged to spend the compensation amounts on the welfare of the family.

5 Conclusion:

25. Access Roads and ROW’s land impact and identification of affected persons/households have been finalized by MUDL. MUDL was identified 79 affected persons/ households in Paghman, Shakardara and Qarabagh districts of Kabul province. Payment to the 79 AHs was pending due processing verification and ownership documents which were supposed to be completed and submit by MUDL to DABS.


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26. Escrow account was established and sufficient amount of money transferred to cover the total estimated compensation of about 35.3 million AFN for the 79 identified AHs.

27. Compensation payment made to the already identified 79 AHs by DABS based on the documents and respected forms submitted my MUDL (Annex 1.1).

28. The 3 AHs dispute are still in court and missed the compensation amounts for these affected households have been deposited in any escrow account so that once the court finalized their cases and their documents processed, they will be considered as AHs and can be paid immediately from this account (Annex 1.2).

29. By payment made to the 79 AHs, all the 212 affected households (AHs) of this section (Kabul) of the project have been covered as per the approved LARP of this section and LAL. The project is thus considered as in compliance with ADB SPS 2009 and the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP).


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Annexes:

Annex 1.1: Compensation Payment Documents.

Note: The documents included the formal letters sent to Azizi Bank for transferring money to the AHs bank accounts as well as list of 79 AHs to whom paid their compensation for the losses made due the RoW and/or Access Roads.


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Annex 1.2: Letter on Establishment of Escrow Account in Azizi Bank for 3 AHs disputed land

Note: Based on the letter below, DABS requested Azizi Bank to establish a temporary joint

account that only CEO DBA and Governor of Kabul province will be its utilizer for covering the

compensation of AHs.


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Annex 1.3: Letter on Establishment of Escrow Account in Azizi Bank for 79 AHs – deposited 45 million AFN

Note: The following two letters demonstrating that Escrow account was established in January

2020 for covering the compensation of 79 AHs once the related document process is

completed.


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