GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTANdocuments.worldbank.org/curated/en/651691547237912925/... · 2019-02-07 · Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Ministry

Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) Afghanistan Land Administration System Project (ALASP)–The World Bank Assisted Resettlement Policy Framework – Final Report February 2019

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GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND LAND (MUDL)

Afghanistan Land Administration System Project (ALASP) The World Bank assisted

(P164762)

Resettlement Policy Framework Final Report

February 2019

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Table of Contents

Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ 5

List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................. 6

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 9

1. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 17

1.1 Background and Project Description .................................................................... 17

1.2 Project Development Objective(s) ......................................................................... 19

1.3 Project Components ................................................................................................ 20

1.4 Rational for applicability of Operational Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12) .............................................................................................................................. 20

1.5 Resettlement Policy Framework ........................................................................... 24

1.6 Objective of RPF ...................................................................................................... 24

1.7 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 25

2 Profile and Perception Survey ..................................................................................... 26

2.1 Socio-Economic Profile (secondary and primary data) ..................................... 26

2.2 Housing Tenure ....................................................................................................... 26

2.3 Land Holding Size .................................................................................................. 26

2.4 Poverty Incidence .................................................................................................... 26

2.5 Information based on primary data ..................................................................... 27

2.6 Average Monthly Income ...................................................................................... 27

2.7 Ownership of Land ................................................................................................. 28

2.8 Perception on the implementation of the processes to deliver OC. ................. 28

2.9 Satisfaction with Land Surveys ............................................................................. 28

2.10 Occupancy Certificates – Issuance ................................................................... 29

2.11 Occupancy Certificates - Perceptions .............................................................. 29

2.12 Title Deeds ........................................................................................................... 32

2.13 Stakeholder Engagement – Consultations ...................................................... 32

2.13.1 Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations from FGDs and KIIs ........... 33

2.13.2 Public Consultation and Disclosure Workshop ........................................ 34

3 Legal Policy Framework ............................................................................................... 36

4 Mitigation and Relocation and Rehabilitation .......................................................... 47

4.1 Impacts and Mitigation .......................................................................................... 47

4.2 Resettlement Principles and Definitions .............................................................. 48

4.2.1 Resettlement Principles ................................................................................. 48

4.2.2 Definitions ....................................................................................................... 49

5 Gender strategy ............................................................................................................. 51

5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 51

5.2 ALASP Gender Study ............................................................................................. 51

5.3 Key Actions .............................................................................................................. 52

6 Relocation of Housing and Settlements ..................................................................... 54

6.1 Basic Provision for Relocation ............................................................................... 54

6.2 Need for Relocation ................................................................................................ 54

6.3 Development of Relocation Sites .......................................................................... 54


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6.4 Reconstruction of affected community structures ............................................. 55

7 Livelihoods Restoration and Rehabilitation .............................................................. 56

7.1 Livelihoods Restoration Measures ....................................................................... 56

7.2 Impact Categories and Livelihoods Restoration Schemes ................................ 56

7.3 Principles of Livelihoods Restoration .................................................................. 56

7.4 Livelihoods Restoration Activities ........................................................................ 56

7.5 Livelihoods Restoration Procedures..................................................................... 57

8 Stakeholder Engagement ............................................................................................. 59

8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 59

8.2 Citizen Engagement Strategy ................................................................................ 59

8.2.1 Communications Strategy ............................................................................ 59

8.2.2 Stakeholder Consultations: Participatory Planning, Implementation and Monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 60

8.2.3 Citizen Feedback Model - ICT ..................................................................... 60

8.2.4 Support from Grievance Redress Mechanism ........................................... 61

8.2.5 Independent External Third Party Monitoring ......................................... 61

8.2.6 Information, Education and Communication Strategy ............................ 61

9 Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) ...................................................................... 62

9.1 Objective of the GRM.............................................................................................. 62

9.1.1 Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) ........................................................ 62

9.1.2 Project Grievance Redress Committee (PGRC) ......................................... 63

9.1.3 Documentation of the GRM Processes ....................................................... 64

9.1.4 Other Options ................................................................................................. 64

9.1.5 Legal Options to PAFs .................................................................................. 65

10 Institutional and Implementation arrangements ...................................................... 66

10.1 Overall Institutional Arrangements ................................................................. 66

10.1.1 Social Safeguards Implementation Arrangements ................................... 67

11 Monitoring and Evaluation .......................................................................................... 68

11.1 Monitoring and Evaluation ............................................................................... 68

11.1.1 RPF and RAP .................................................................................................. 68

11.1.2 Social Indicators ............................................................................................. 68

11.1.3 Half-Yearly Independent External Third Party MEAL (IETP MEAL) ... 69

11.1.4 Monitoring Plan ............................................................................................. 69

12 Capacity Building and Training Plan ......................................................................... 71

12.1 Capacity Building Strategy ............................................................................... 71

12.1.1 Objectives ........................................................................................................ 71

12.1.2 Approach ........................................................................................................ 71

12.1.3 Training Providers ......................................................................................... 71

12.1.4 Details of Training Programs ....................................................................... 72

12.1.5 T1. Orientation/ Learning Training Programs .......................................... 72

12.1.6 T2. Training on the RPF and Management Plans ..................................... 72

12.1.7 T3. Training on Social Management ........................................................... 72

12.1.8 Training Budget ............................................................................................. 73

13 Implementation Schedule ............................................................................................ 74

13.1 Coordination with Project Activities ............................................................... 74

14 Budget ............................................................................................................................. 75


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14.1 Cost of Implementation of RPF ........................................................................ 75

14.2 Means of Disclosure ........................................................................................... 75

15 Annexures....................................................................................................................... 77

15.1 Annexure 1: Content of RAP ............................................................................ 77

15.2 Annexure 2: Household Survey Questionnaire ............................................. 79

15.3 Annexure 3: Focus Group Discussions & Key Informant Interviews Check List 83

1.5 Annexure 4: Public Consultation and Disclosure Workshop ........................... 84


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List of Tables

Table 1: Project Components and Applicability of OP 4.12 ........................................ 21

Table 1: Distribution of Families on the Basis of Average Monthly Income ..................... 27 Table 2: Average Income of Different Income Groups ....................................................... 27

Table 3: Average Monthly Income by Source ..................................................................... 27 Table 4: Duration of Ownership of Land ............................................................................ 28 Table 5: Reasons for Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction from Land Surveys ............................. 28 Table 6: Occupancy Certificate Obtained ........................................................................... 29 Table 7: Perceived Use of OC ............................................................................................. 29 Table 8: Perceptions on the benefits of OC ......................................................................... 30

Table 9: Difficulties in OC Application Process ................................................................. 30

Table 10: Suggestions for Improving OC Process ............................................................ 30

Table 11: Use of OC in Land Transaction ........................................................................ 31 Table 12: Registration of Land by Owners ....................................................................... 31 Table 13: Benefits of Having OC ..................................................................................... 31 Table 14: Suggestions on Process for getting OC ............................................................ 31

Table 15: Knowledge about Title Deeds .......................................................................... 32 Table 16: Where to get the Title Deeds From................................................................... 32

Table 17: Community Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations of Respondents .................. 33 Table 18: Process of Community Validation and Issuance of Occupancy Certificate. ........... 38 Table 19: Risk Analysis ........................................................................................................... 40

Table 20: A comparison of The World Bank Involuntary Resettlement Policy and Regulation

of Registration of Urban Informal Properties (RRUIP) (OC Regulation) ............................... 42

Table 21: Relocation and Rehabilitation Matrix ................................................................ 47

Table 22: Grievance Redressal Mechanism ............................................................................. 63 Table 23: Implementation Arrangements ................................................................................. 67

Table 24: Monitoring Indicators .............................................................................................. 69 Table 25: List of Training Programs ........................................................................................ 73 Table 26: Training Budget ....................................................................................................... 73 Table 27: Total indicative budget for mitigating/ managing social impacts ............................ 75


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List of Acronyms AFPOS Afghanistan Positioning System

ALASP Afghanistan Land Administration System Project

ALCS Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey

ALPIS Afghanistan Land Pricing Information System

ANDAP Afghanistan National Disability Action Plan

ANPDF Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework

MUDL Afghanistan Independent Land Authority

ASA Afghanistan Surveyors Association

BCE Before Common Era

BP Bank Policy

CDCs Community Development Councils

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women CEO Chief Executive Officer

CFA City for All

CHMP Cultural Heritage Management Plan

CoC Certificate of Compliance

CORS Continuously Operating Reference Stations

CSO Central Statistics Organization

CTU Cadastral Territorial Unit

DBMS Database Management System

DLC Developing the Land Code

DMS Document Management System

EHS Environmental Health and Safety

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EIS Environmental Impact Statement

EMF Environmental Management Framework

EMP Environmental Management Plan

ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

FGD Focus Group Discussion

GIS Geographic Information System

GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

GPS Global Positioning System

GRC Grievance Redress Committee

GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism

GRS Grievance Redress Service

GSM Global System for Mobile Communications

HH Households

ICLA Institute of Cartography and Land Administration

ICT Information and Communications Technologies

ID Identity Deeds


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IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance

IDPL Institutional Development Plan for Land Administration

IDPs Internally Displaced Persons

IETP Independent External Third Party

IGS International Geodetic Service

ISAF International Security Assistance Force

ISSP Information System Strategic Plan

IT Information Technology

ITRF International Terrestrial Reference Frame

KIIs Key Informant Interviews

LAL Land Acquisition Law

LAP Land Administration Policy

LARA Land Reform in Afghanistan

LGAF Land Governance Assessment Framework

LIS Land Information System

LML Land Management Law

LTERA Land Titling and Economic Restructuring Activity

M&E Monitoring & Evaluation

MEAL Monitoring Evaluation Audit and Learning

MIS Management Information System

MMR Maternal Mortality Ratio

MTR Mid-Term Review

MUDL Ministry of Urban Development and Land

NEET Not in Education, Employment and Training

NEPA National Environmental Protection Agency

NGOs Non Governmental Organizations

NLC National Land Code

NLP National Land Policy

NRVA National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

NSDI National Spatial Data Infrastructure

OC Occupancy Certificates

OP Operational Policy

PAFs Project Affected Families

PDO Project Development Objective

PGRC Project Grievance Redress Committee

PIU Project Implementation Unit

PMU Project Management Unit

QA Quality Assurance

QC Quality Control

RAP Resettlement Action Plan

RPF Resettlement Policy Framework

RTK Real Time Kinematic

SA Social Assessment

SDLC System Development Life Cycle

SIA Social Impact Assessment


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SMF Social Management Framework

SMP Social Management Plan

SNGP Sub National Governance Policy

SOA Service Oriented Software Architecture

SOPs Standard Operation Procedures

TA Technical Assistance

TD Title Deeds

TIKA Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency

TKGM Turkish Land Administration Agency

TV Television

UN United Nations

UNDESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USD United States Dollar

VGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible Governance of Tenure of Land

WB World Bank


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Executive Summary Background The Afghanistan land sector is plagued by a multitude of problems linked to weak governance, corruption and lack of capacity. There are competing claims to land, widespread conflicts, resultant landlessness and poverty. Other issues are limited availability of undisputed farmland, difficulties in accessing grazing lands and many disputes over pasture lands. These issues are exacerbated by conflicting land ownership systems, insecure land tenure and registration, weak land governance environment and uncertain and incomplete legal frameworks. Further, formal and informal dispute resolution mechanisms coexist with inadequate resolution of conflicts over land. Project Description The Afghanistan Land Administration Systems Project is being prepared by the Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) with support from The World Bank. The Development Objective of the project is (a) to support the development of the Afghanistan land administration system; and (b) to provide the population in selected areas with improved land registration services, including issuance of Title Deeds (TD) and Occupancy Certificates (OC). The Project will comprise three components: (1) Land Policy and Institutional Strengthening; (2) Developing Technological Capacity, Information and Systems for Land Administration; and (3) Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation. The project will focus on the critical building blocks required to develop a modern land administration system in the country, while allowing implementing agencies to gain experience in land survey, registration and other related activities in Kabul, Herat and six other cities. Building upon the work led by UN Habitat, the project will also support the issuance of land Occupancy Certificates (OCs) and Title Deeds population in Urban Informal Settlements. The transition from deed to title registration will continue as well as the development of national capacity for land survey and valuation. Subsequently, the Land Information System (LIS) would be made fully interoperable with other relevant information systems in the country, leading in time to the eventual establishment of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Cadastral surveying and land registration will focus on selected urban districts of Kabul and Herat, with an expected target of 100,000 parcels. Issuance of OCs and TDs in informal settlements will focus on 8 cities – Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazhar e Sharif, Nili, Farah and Bamyan, with an expected target of 150,000 parcels. Resettlement Policy Framework The objective of this RPF is to provide a better standard of living to the project affected families or at least restore their standard of living to that of before project. If the affected persons belong to Below Poverty Line1 (BPL) category before the project, then this RPF aims to bring them Above Poverty Line (APL). The other objectives are to avoid or minimize adverse impacts and risks where feasible, exploring all viable alternatives, mitigate the adverse impacts and risks, assist affected persons in improving/ restoring their former living standards, income earning capacity and production levels, which were adversely affected due to loss of land, asset, access, etc., provide assistance to affected people, encourage stakeholder engagement in planning and implementing resettlement and lay out a robust Grievance Redressal Management.

1 Afs. 2,064/- per person per month as per Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-17


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Legal and Policy Framework The key laws governing the land sector include the Law on Land Acquisition (2017) and the Land Management Law (2017). In 2018, the cabinet approved the National Land Policy, which provided the policy framework for compensation in case of land expropriation. The Law on Land Acquisition provides the legal basis for land acquisition and compensation. It provides for the range of public interest projects (including infrastructure) for which property may be expropriated and also defines properties whose expropriation is prohibited. The law contains provisions for valuation, compensation and resettlement in case of expropriation. The Land Management Law (2017) aims to create a legislated, unified, reliable land management system. It provides for a standard system for land titling, land segregation and registration; prevent illegal land acquisition and distribution; access to land to people; and conditions for appropriation of lands. It also provides for regulation of government lands by the Land Authority (erstwhile ARAZI, present MUDL). The Regulation on Registration of Urban Informal Properties 2017 (RRUIP) provides for issuance of Occupancy Certificate (OC). It lays down the principles to provide an Occupancy Certificate (OC), and facilitate issuance of Title Deed (TD) to households, collect safai tax by the municipalities, and is a step towards providing secured assets that are on state and private land. Based on the assessment, it can be safely concluded that the process covers two phases. Phase I is a community-led validation process to survey land plots and identify households occupying such plots within the informal areas (which has been implemented by UN-HABITAT supported by European Union and USAID under City For All program from 2016 onwards and will end in 2020). This includes a participatory process to map areas of each land plot in informal urban areas. The Phase II will cover the processes for issuance of OCs under the RRUIP by MUDL. Phase II and will be supported by the ALASP project.

World Bank’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) The World Bank’s policy on involuntary resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) would be applicable in respect of the activity on supporting issuance of Occupancy Certificates. The potential adverse impacts with the implementation of the OC regulation are likely to arise from: a. The broad principles, eligibility criteria and cut-off date will exclude people from

accessing benefits on many accounts such as establishing that the settlement was 15 years prior to issue of the regulation (January 2017) and excluding those who occupy public land and water source areas:

b. Leaving lands that are included for planned development for 10 years without indicating the start and end date for considering the 10 years may create uncertainty during identification of which plot will fall within the planned area.

c. People may not be able to meet the cost towards documentation. d. The occupant may not be able to pay the fair valuation or market valuation for land

between 300 and 1,000 sq.m. Then the OC will be issued for the minimum 300 sq.m. The status quo of the balance area (between 300-500 or 500-1000 sq.m.) may be maintained and that creates a lot of uncertainty amongst the occupiers to bring it under any productive use;

e. Privately owned land may not have traditional documents to establish ownership; f. Occupiers of land above 1000 sq.m. will have to surrender land without compensation; g. Structures may become unviable after surrendering the area beyond the threshold limit

and lack of capacity of occupiers to meet the cost to purchase the area beyond the threshold limit;


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h. The occupiers are required to surrender their right to be consulted if land in question is required for development purposes. This provision suggests that the occupiers will get “user rights”.

OP/BP 4.12 would also be applicable with respect to stakeholder engagement, citizen feedback and Grievance Redressal Management. Accordingly, the Resettlement Policy Framework has been developed for the project to assess risks and adverse impacts, along with mitigation plan to improve or at least restore the livelihood; stakeholder engagement; Grievance Management; institutional arrangement, monitoring systems and budget.

Social Risks The RPF analyzes the RRUIP to identify the key social risks as follows:

Provisions Broad Risks

The key definition covers occupants2, business area3 and residential house4. (Article 3)

Terms such as informal properties, informal areas, displaced people and returnees are not defined and should be clarified in the procedures.

RRUIP recognizes those who occupy state land; and owners of private land to prove their ownership with original documents of their property. The property should be within the boundaries of the master plan and/or urban strategic plan. The settlement should be able to be included in “urban plan” by the municipality and should have existed for at least 15 years before the passing of the OC regulation, i.e. 15 years before January 30, 2017. The property should not be in an area that is planned for the development of government or public projects within a period of ten years.

Structures on private and state land will be considered and those on public land excluded. In the absence of land records, it will be challenging to demarcate boundaries of state and public land.

There is an underlying assumption that approved plans for development projects exist for 10 years; people would be aware of the specific locations of these planned projects that may be a factor for people not to construct even on private land.

The eligibility criteria could exclude those unable to furnish proof of ownership of private land; those who may have entered into transaction without documentation; whose structures (both on state and private land) are within the planned development areas.

The occupiers of state land are required to surrender their user rights and rights to be consulted for development projects.

Occupancy Certificates will be granted only to occupants of residential houses in informal settlements. (Article 8)

This provision excludes commercial structures and residential cum commercial structures. In the absence of a definition of “informal settlement”, there is an assumption that such settlements on state land may be considered as “informal settlement”. This implies that only residential structures on state land and private land will be considered.

If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, up to 300 sq.m. will be registered in the name of the occupant or his/her descendant with a nominal fee.

There is an underlying assumption that people have the paying capacity to meet the cost of the documentation and purchase at fair price and market value; all irrespective of their vulnerable status have the capacity to pay.

2 Occupants - means a real person who has constructed a residential dwelling and is entitled to be

granted a deed according to this regulation (They are informally settled in state or private land, and at least on state land do not have legal rights to such land. Through the OC program the government is granting occupancy rights).

3 Business area - a place or a building which is in an informal settlement area and a real or legal person uses it for business or trading

4 Residential house - individual or shared structure which is built in an informal settlement area such as an apartment block or single-family house.


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If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, any additional area from 300 Sq.m. up to 500 Sq.m. that is not required by the state can be sold to the occupant based on a just and fair price considering the location of the land.

If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, any additional area from 500 sq.m. up to 1000 sq.m. that is not required by the state can be sold to the occupant at the prevailing market price and considering the location of the land.

If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, any additional area exceeding 1000 Sq.m. will be repossessed by the state from the occupant or his/her descendants.

(Article 9)

The residential structures may become structurally unsafe if they span beyond the threshold limit and/or the occupant is unable or unwilling to pay for the excess land.

Procedures should clarify how what action will be taken in case the occupant cannot or is not willing to pay for the excess land beyond 300 sq.m (300-1000 sq.m).

Occupiers are required to sign a contract agreeing to conditionalities for properties on state land for OC, including agreeing to evacuate the property for implementation of public development plans or public infrastructures. If the informal settlement area is reorganized by the government and private sectors jointly, the occupant will have the rights based on relevant legal documents. (Article 10)

The conditionality to agree to vacate the property if land is required for public purpose, then the occupier is expected to surrender its rights to be consulted. The occupier will not enjoy rights to the property if only government is responsible for re-organization of the informal settlement

Registration of properties in informal settlements occupied by displaced people will be organized in a separate procedure document. (Article 23)

The regulations will not cover the displaced and returnees and will be rehabilitated as per the 305 Decree. There is a robust data available on IDPs and Returnees.

Recognizes share of owners established by courts (Article 18)

This provision is applicable to structures on private land

Relocation The threshold of 300, 500, and 1000 sqm may force people to move out of unviable structure or to meet the cost to restore the same. Paying capacity of the occupiers and owners may create barriers to access project benefits, especially the women and vulnerable. It may increase the gap in asset ownership amongst the occupiers and private owners and increase poverty.

Stakeholder Engagement There is a risk that the right to be consulted for development projects is denied to affected persons. Weak consultations with affected people on the provisions of the OC, its’ implication on the asset either on state land and private land, roles and responsibilities of the implementing agencies, supporting to meet the cost requirements, etc, may exclude people from accessing the benefits of the program.

Impacts and Mitigation


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The following mitigation measures are proposed for the potential social impacts identified in the RPF. Impact Category

Mitigation Proposed

Occupancy Certificate not granted (eligibility)

All eligible occupants will be granted with Occupancy Certificates, provided they deposit the fee stipulated under the regulation.

Those unable to meet the cost or the eligibility criteria, will receive concession for payment within specified time period and develop appropriate procedures to address the risks of exclusion.

Conduct social Impact assessment to identify all households dependent on land within the geographical coverage of the Municipalities after establishing the eligibility under Phase II of the process who will be covered under ALASP.

Implement the provisions of LML for those with/ without documents as per LML article 18 (that prescribes documents as valid proof of ownership) and article 19 (that prescribes the procedures for person without valid documents. Government directorate to find the document that may be available in the land registration books at ARAZI and with Makhzan (city archive)

Implement the eligibility criteria of affected Person as defined in LAL and the census carried out as part of SIA. According to LAL, affected person is a person who is not the owner of acquired property, but is affected by the process of expropriation (Article 3).

As per the LAL, Inform and consult with community of the area under expropriation regarding implementation of the project (article 8, 9)

Include all informal areas that are within the boundary of municipalities

Loss of Land For those who lost part of land will be paid just compensation at market rates for the land lost.

For those who lost all land are eligible for a) compensation at market rates for the land lost and b) a plot of 300 Sq.m. for every adult member of the household.

Loss of Assets Implement the provisions of compensation at replacement value and the process to arrive at the replacement value for impacted assets to owners included in LAL (Chapter 5 - Article 23 - 29). It recognizes that those settled on state land will receive compensation for the structure only.

All common and community/ communal assets lost will be built/ provided in due consultation with and engagement of the community.

Loss of Livelihoods

Implement the provisions of compensation at replacement value and the process to arrive at the replacement value for impacted assets to owners included in LAL (Chapter 5 - Article 23 - 29)

Those who lost livelihoods will be provided (a) subsistence allowance at a rate of Afs 2500/- per person per month for each adult member of the household for six months; and (b) Income Generation Asset of Afs. 100,000/-

For loss of commercial assets, the replacement cost of assets to be provided to the occupants. When livelihoods are affected, they will be provided with livelihood assistance to restore the livelihoods

Relocation The relocation of the people whose property becomes unviable following the implementation of threshold limits, as per the provisions laid down in article 40, 41. The owners shall be eligible for receiving a residential plot in the resettlement project. Implementation of the resettlement project shall be applied after determination and confirmation of owners of the expropriated properties who need to be resettled and affected persons by the Resettlement Committee, prior to implementation of the expropriation project or their transfer.

No permission for renting

All affected tenants will be eligible for six months rental allowance and shifting allowance.


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leasing and mortgaging properties

Evacuation for public development/ infrastructure

When such evacuation takes place the for public development/ infrastructure purposes, the affected people will be paid compensation and other benefits, as per the Law on Land Acquisition and the principles of this RPF.

Displaced people not considered

The displaced and Returnees will be rehabilitated under Decree 305.

Land for zonal Registration Offices

All land required for this project will be acquired as per the Law on Land Acquisition the principles of this RPF.

Women and other Vulnerable affected people

Women and other vulnerable people impacted will be paid an additional 25% over and above their eligible compensation and allowances.

Stakeholder engagement

The program will have consultants to design a citizen engagement strategy and program, and to have staff at field level to assist the occupants not only in engagement in the program gut in improving their quality of living.

The detailed communication strategy developed for the project includes guidelines for stakeholder mapping, analysis, tools for communication for both internal and external purposes and systems for Citizen Feedback.

Relocation The MUDL will provide adequate and appropriate replacement land and structures or cash compensation for lost land and structures, adequate compensation for partially damaged structures, and relocation assistance. The MUDL will compensate PAPs/ PAFs for the loss of land and assets, such as dwellings, and also for other improvements to the land. Those who lost part of land will be paid just compensation at market rates for the land lost. Those who lost all land are eligible for (a) compensation at market rates for the land lost and (b) a plot of 300 Sq.m. for every adult member of the household. The MUDL in consultation with the concerned city municipality will identify suitable land for relocation. Housing units with an area of about 300 sq. m will be constructed if more than 20 families are affected in a CTU in accordance with principles detailed in the relevant chapter. The MUDL and project authorities will replace and reconstruct all community assets before demolition. It will be ensured that these processes are consultative.

Gender Strategy As the National Land Policy (2017) mentions, Sharia law and the Civil Code guarantee comprehensive rights (ownership and inheritance) to land for both men and women. However, two factors prevent women’s attainment of their legal rights: the lack of knowledge about such laws and regulations and strongly embedded male-dominated social norms. has a Gender Equity Policy and Action Plan which provides for work place diversity and equal employment opportunity and deals with work place harassment and discrimination. The elements of the Gender Strategy include the following:

• When MUDL develops the land registry and LIS, it will include gender disaggregated information on women and other vulnerables as part of the baseline data collection for subsequent usage during mid-term and end-term evaluation.

• Separate Consultations/ FGDs would be conducted at suitable times and locations with experienced Communications Experts of MUDL field offices at all stages of project interventions.


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• Gender and other vulnerables disaggregated monitoring indicators would be developed to monitor and evaluate the project

• Representation of women in the GRM would be mandatory, both at GRC and at PGRC. • Female staff, wherever possible, would be deployed in MUDL and in ALASP operations

to the extent possible. MUDL would deploy at least fifty percent women Communication Experts in its field offices. The project will establish a special desk at MUDL provincial offices, staffed by women, to process the OCs and facilitate property/ land leasing, renting and acquisition/ registration. MUDL is expected to follow the new government policy (IARCSC 2018) on increasing women’s participation in Civil Service by increasing the number of female staff by 2% every year.

• To help promote normative change, the project will support comprehensive public awareness campaigns about women’s land rights in Islam.

• The project has also taken up a study on Gender and the recommendations of this study will be implemented by the project.

Livelihoods Restoration and Rehabilitation Livelihoods restoration activities would include short-term and long-term activities. In the short-term, the PAPs’ income during periods immediately before and after relocation would be restored. For the long-term, there would be provision of shops/ work sheds for those losing their total livelihoods, to re-establish their commercial activities. Shopping units/ Work sheds with an area of 100-200 sq. ft. will be constructed, at a suitable location agreeable to PAPs/ PAFs, if more than 20 shops/ sheds are affected in a CTU and if the PAPs/ PAFs opt for these. It also includes purchase of income generating assets up to Afn. 100,000. The livelihoods restoration plan also includes provision for trainings and monitoring.

Citizen Engagement Strategy Citizen Engagement (CE) will form an integral part of ALASP project implementation to enable an effective two-way interaction between citizens and governmental officials. The primary focus will be to ensure that project beneficiaries understand what to expect from this project, so as to gain their trust and confidence during surveying, registration and issuance of OC certificates. MUDL will develop an information calling center. The proposed social mobilisers would act as a communication bridge between citizens and the Ministry. The Communications Strategy will have a mix of mass communications, advocacy (general and targeted), community mobilization and social messaging and use tools including mass media, social advertising, direct interaction, and development of platforms and champions, at the local levels. The strategy would aim at a) informing the occupants about the OC program; b) making the occupants aware of the provisions of RRUIP, LML and this RPF; c) creating awareness about the document requirements for granting OCs; and d) creating awareness on the Grievance Redress Mechanism. Grievance Redressal Mechanism MUDL will establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for ALASP, to respond to queries about the project, resolve problems and addressing complaints and grievances. The Grievance Redress Committee will be established at the provincial level under the chairmanship of the Head of MUDL Field Office for redressal of grievances of the stakeholders. The Communications Expert of the MUDL Field Office would be the convener of this Committee. Provincial level heads of related departments (such as heads of municipalities) along with a community representative and a prominent Social Worker of the Province would be members. Grievances cannot be kept pending for more than a month. The GRC would be responsible for implementation of the redress with support from the MUDL field office. In case the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the proposed redress measures by the GRC, then the party can


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approach the MUDL Head Office for redressal. In order to address grievances which are escalated to MUDL Head Office, the Project GRC (PGRC) is formed with the CEO, MUDL as chairman and Social Specialist at MUDL Head Office as the convener. The PGRC will also monitor and review the grievances filed at MUDL Field Offices. This committee will include representatives from municipalities, a prominent academician, a prominent woman development professional and representative of a prominent voluntary organization. There is a provision for documentation of GRM processes and the GRM is envisioned as a continuous, transparent and participatory process that would be an integral part of the project’s accountability and governance agenda. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements The Project will be implemented by MUDL through a Project Implementation Unit (PIU). The core team of the PIU will include a Social Specialist who would have overall responsibility for social safeguards issues and implementation of RPF. MUDL will incorporate the provisions of this RPF as actionable points in the Project Operations Manual or other similar document prepared for the project. The Social Specialist will oversee the application of these provisions and guide the process, while at the same time building the capacity of the field units. At the provincial level, one Communications Expert would be appointed at each field office for community engagement, communications, grievance redressal, gender, etc. Monitoring As part of the supervision plan, all the provinces where ALASP is being implemented will be visited at regular intervals by the Social Specialist. Once every year, the MUDL will prepare a report of the social safeguards status in the project districts including data and analysis of relevant parameters detailed in the document. The monitoring framework also provides for Independent External Third Party Monitoring Evaluation Audit and Learning (MEAL) consultants appointed by MUDL, who will do half-yearly social monitoring and audit of sub-projects, on a sample basis, for social safeguards compliance.

Capacity Building Strategy The RPF provides for capacity building for social management in MUDL for ALASP staff and participating communities. The objectives of these initiatives are to build and strengthen the capability of MUDL, participating agencies and to integrate sound social management into sub-project implementation. The trainings will also build capacity for RPF implementation, including social appraisal, preparation and supervision of mitigation plans, community-led social monitoring etc. There would be a training needs assessment. Suitable training resources from among national and international experts would be identified by MUDL. The participants would include key officials of the project, participating agencies and members of community institutions. All the trained staff and master trainers developed for different training components will conduct onsite or offsite trainings (at provincial level). Periodic tracking of learning outcomes would help to institutionalize best practices.

Budget The total administrative budget for RPF implementation under the proposed ALASP has been worked out as Afn. 66.1 Million (USD 860,000). The cost of implementing the proposed mitigation measures is given only for a sample population for one CTU at 10 PAPs for land loss, asset loss and livelihoods loss. The actuals need to be worked out for each CTU and RAP prepared accordingly, as these are not included in this costing. The detailed budget is detailed in the document.


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1. Introduction 1.1 Background and Project Description Afghanistan is a deeply fragile and conflict affected state. It has been in almost constant conflict for over 35 years. Civilian casualties remained at unprecedent levels in 2017 and 2018 while some areas of the country are still difficult to access because of insecurity. This situation has had a destabilizing effect on the social cohesion of the country, exacerbating ethnic divisions and weakening government institutions and rule of law. As a result, competing claims to land, and conflicts between individuals, communities, and citizens and the state have accumulated over time. Falling economic growth, high incidence of poverty and sharp inequalities drive the country’s developmental challenges and have contributed to Afghanistan remaining among the least developed in the world. The political context of Afghanistan remains complex and dominated by the Taliban insurgency, narcotics production, weak governance and rule of law. Despite challenges, substantial improvements in development outcomes in areas such as water, sanitation, electricity, education and health, have been observed in the country since 2001. However, the poverty rate has increased from 38 percent in 2011-2012 to 55 percent in 2016-2017, and it is expected to remain high in the medium-term5. Afghanistan’s development depends, to a large extent, on the efficient use of its land resources. Afghan cities have witnessed rapid urban growth, estimated at 4.7 percent per annum (2010-2015) which is increasing the pressure on land. Today an estimated 8 million people (25 percent of total population) live in cities and it is projected that half the country’s population will reside in urban areas by 2060. This growth is in part due to the influx of returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Currently, 18 percent of Afghanistan's poor live in urban areas, mostly in informal settlements, with urban poverty concentrated in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Kunduz. Overall, insecure land tenure and registration are a serious drag on investment. In this context, improving the functioning of land markets can help bolster both private sector confidence and state legitimacy. Strengthening of institutions and service delivery capacity and improving revenue policies and administration is critical. The proposed project is thus intended to support achievable and important reforms within a difficult environment. Weaknesses in Afghanistan’s land governance environment are a major source of conflict and poverty. The post-Taliban period has seen strong political will from the government, as well as international donors’ support, for land reform. Demand for land for agriculture, commercial development as well as physical infrastructure, housing and urban development is high. Addressing this demand adequately requires a legal and institutional framework that allows efficient and effective allocation of

5 Based on the poverty headcount rate, which measures the share of the population whose monthly per capita

expenditure falls below the poverty line (World Bank, 2016, Trends in Poverty and Inequality 2007-17).


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land, provision of land for public infrastructure, the resolution of conflicts over access and usage of land, and the establishment of a comprehensive land information database. Recent analytical work, including a World Bank Land Governance Assessment Framework Report (2016), shows that Afghanistan faces critical constraints including outdated systems, overlapping responsibilities across agencies, lack of capacity at local levels, conflicting systems for land ownership, and uncertain or incomplete legal frameworks. Compounded by decades of conflict and widespread displacement, these have resulted in weak property rights, inequitable distribution, and widespread land-related conflict. Limited availability of undisputed farmland and tenure insecurity have contributed to the increasing number of land-poor and landless families. Moreover, land-grabbing has been a recurrent issue, with almost 240,000 hectares of state lands having been grabbed by powerful people and warlords. Rapid urbanization since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 has dramatically reshaped the spatial and demographic profile of Afghanistan and increased the need for providing tenure security. Rapid urban growth is increasing the pressure on land and posing challenges to urban policy and planning. Much of the urban population growth has been driven by IDPs and refugee returnees, over 5.8 million of whom returned to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2015. Since 2015, moreover, the number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan and Iran have substantially increased6. Land tenure insecurity in urban areas is a significant issue, while the majority (61 per cent) of the housing stock consists of unplanned, informal housing7. The 2013-2014 Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey estimates that 74 percent of the urban population lived in underserved, informal settlements, many of which faced the potential risk of eviction. Improving the tenure security for this population can have substantial social and economic impact. An important, positive step has been the consolidation of land administration agencies, culminating in the establishment of the Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) in 2018. In August 2009, The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) merged the AMLAK8 with the Independent Commission for the Restitution of Illegally Occupied Land, naming the new organization ARAZI and ascribing it under the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). However, through a Presidential Decree in 20139, ARAZI became Afghanistan’s Land Authority. At the same time, the Cadastral Survey Department of the Afghanistan Geology and Cartography High Office (AGCHO) was merged with ARAZI, with all structure and service transferred to ARAZI. A new National Land Policy (NLP) governs ARAZI’s functions, while its 50 Year Roadmap describes its mandate. In general, MUDL / ARAZI has an extensive mandate over land administration

6 According to the United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees in 2011 74.3 percent of returnees in the

country did not have access to land. 7 Matthew French, Abdul Popal, Habib Rahimi, Srinivasa Popuri and Jan Turkstra, institutionalizing participatory slum

upgrading: a case study of urban co-production from Afghanistan, 2002–2016 8 AMLAK is another term for lands or property which in this context refers to the Land Management Department

of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. 9 Resolution No. 11 dated 27 May 2013 (1392/3/6).


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demanding a balanced approach between: (i) land administration services in support of individual and collective tenure security through land registration; and (ii) land allocation and the provision of land to support private sector investment in infrastructure, natural resources, agriculture and industry. While maintaining its mandate and basic structure, as of December 2018, ARAZI became the Deputy Ministry of Land (DML) under MUDL. An important building block for a modern land administration is the legal and policy framework, which is still under development in Afghanistan. The NLP was endorsed by the Afghanistan Cabinet on May 03, 2018. Moreover, the President endorsed two new land-related laws, including the Land Management Law (LML) on April 03, 2017, during the summer recess of the House of Representatives10. Next step would be making the LML fully operational in terms of requisite implementing rules and regulations. An Outside Courts Land Dispute Resolution law is also being prepared. It is essential to continue completing and clarifying the legal framework for land in Afghanistan as several important areas require laws and regulations, including land survey, land registration, geodetic services, and valuation. This effort would be consistent with Afghanistan’s medium-term goal of establishing a comprehensive Land Code. Land registration in the country is highly fragmented while property registration is low. Afghanistan does not have one single land register (apart from filing of documents related to purchase, sale, mortgages and transition procedures). Currently, the information, which tends to be outdated, is scattered across several registries under different ministries and agencies with limited interconnection or synchronization. Many documents were destroyed due to the war, while document forgery is a prevalent issue, which increases the difficulty in updating of registers and compromises the reliability of registry information. Under such circumstances, more than 80 percent of lands in the country are unregistered. Less than 30 percent properties in urban areas, and less than 10 percent of properties in rural areas have been registered by official institutions of the state, mostly by the primary courts, which are the lead custodian for property and land transactions in the country. Moreover, the limited land cadaster, covering only around one-third of total land, is outdated as it has not been outdated since it was first conducted almost 40 years ago. 1.2 Project Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective is (a) to support the development of the Afghanistan land administration system; and (b) to provide the population in selected areas with improved land registration services, including issuance of Titles and

10 New laws after endorsement by the President acquire the force of law. However, legislative decrees shall be

presented to the National Assembly within thirty days of convening its first session, and if rejected by the National Assembly, they become void. The LML is still under discussion by the National Assembly. The other law endorsed by the President is the Land Acquisition Law, which includes provisions on resettlement,

livelihood restoration, and clearer guidance on fair compensation. This law has recently received Parliamentary

approval.


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Occupancy Certificates. The Project will contribute to the establishment of a modern land administration system that will secure land tenure rights for all citizens and the State, based on an adequate policy, legal, institutional and technological framework that is responsive to the country’s context, needs and aspirations. 1.3 Project Components The Project is designed within a programmatic framework, considering the land administration challenges faced by the country. These challenges create the need to build over time a clearer and comprehensive policy and legal enabling framework, institutional and technical capacity, professional knowledge and experience, technology and systems, as well as adequate cadaster and property registry information. Drawing on the overall framework of the IDPL, the project will focus on critical building blocks required to develop a modern land administration system in the country, while allowing MUDL and other relevant stakeholders, including municipalities and local communities, to gain experience in implementing land survey, registration and other land-market-related activities in two of the IDPL’s selected cities, namely Kabul and Herat. Moreover, building upon the work led by UN Habitat, the project will support the issuance of land Occupancy Certificates (OCs) to informal urban population ensuring a systematic approach to land tenure rights. Emphasizing modern technological approaches and global good practices suitable to the Afghan context, subsequent phases would help expand systematic land survey and registration to other urban, and eventually rural areas, as MUDL capacity is strengthened at the provincial level and new land policies and laws are made operational. This would further help decentralize land administration services and build citizens’ trust at the local level. In addition, the transition from deed to title registration will continue as well as the development of national capacity for land survey and valuation. Subsequently, the Land Information System (LIS) would be made fully interoperable with other relevant information systems in the country, leading in time to the eventual establishment of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The project will cover the following selected areas: (a) the cadastral surveying and land registration will focus on selected urban districts of Kabul and Herat, with an expected target of 100,000 parcels; and (b) issuance of OCs in informal settlements will focus on 8 cities, Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazhar e Sharif, Nili, Farah and Bamyan, with an expected target of 150,000 parcels. In the case of OC issuance, the selected areas have been expended to make Project support consistent with the geographical scope under the CFA program. 1.4 Rational for applicability of Operational Policy on Involuntary Resettlement

(OP 4.12) MUDL, in coordination with UN HABITAT is implementing the Program for Registration of Urban Informal Settlements following the “Regulation for Registration of Urban Informal Settlements” across 8 cities of Afghanistan. Over a million properties are expected to be surveyed by UN HABITAT and around 0.5 million


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properties are expected to be informal settlements whose owners could potentially receive “Occupancy Certificates” (OC) subject to their satisfying set criteria. This is a new initiative of the Government of Afghanistan, and systems and processes are being established at MUDL to handle the volume of work related to this activity. UNHABITAT with support from USAID and EU established a survey and community led validation system that has resulted in over 0.5 million surveyed properties being delivered to MUDL’s newly formed Occupancy Certificate Directorate to process. A broad analysis of the scope of the components linked with it the applicability of specific related to OP 4.12 is included below, and further detailed in Chapter 3. Table 1: Project Components and Applicability of OP 4.12

Component / Sub-component Applicability of OP 4.12

Component 1 - Land Policy and Institutional Strengthening

Strengthening the Land Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Framework a. The development and consultation of new laws and

regulations for key areas such as land survey, land registration, land valuation, and geodetic activities, including consideration of disaster risk and climate change in land survey and information management

b. Supporting the development of standard operation procedures (SOPs) and uniform service standards for MUDL, as well as related technical and field manuals.

N/A. Given the scope of the project, MUDL would not support activities including classification, allocation of land related issues with the existing Forests Land Law, Pasture and Grazing Land Law and Wildlife Land Law. Similarly, the project would not review or entails revision or update of the existing laws/regulations related to forest and other areas of natural resources.

Institutional and Technical Capacity Building a. The preparation of a professional and training needs

assessment related to land administration, including key areas such as land survey and land valuation;

b. The development of specialized curricula and learning modules for academic and training programs for technicians and professionals of MUDL and land agencies in general;

c. Provision of geo-spatial and training equipment to partner organizations (Polytechnic and Technical Institute)

d. Carrying out of training for MUDL staff on basic principles of climate-induced disaster risk management and the use of available risk information;

e. Preparation of a medium-term strategic staffing plan to support the operational needs of MUDL;

f. Undertaking South-South knowledge exchanges to facilitate relevant learning and sharing of experiences; and

g. Provision of support to the Afghanistan Surveyors Association for development of professional requirements and certification.

N/A. The Project supports training and capacity building activities under this component.

Public Awareness Raising, Communication and Citizen Engagement a. the carrying out of project-related public awareness and

communication activities, as reflected in MUDL’s Communication Strategy;

b. the implementation of an institutional Grievance Redress Mechanism(GRM), including MUDL’s offices in the selected areas, with capability for tracking of cases and their resolution; and

Provisions of the OP would be applicable with respect to stakeholder engagement, citizen feedback and Grievance Redressal Management


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c. the assessment, design, implementation and training on guidelines and procedures on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Component 2 - Developing Technological Capacity, Information and Systems for Land Administration

Developing Geo-Information Infrastructure a. Supporting the establishment of Afghanistan’s

Geodetic Reference Network (AFPOS), including permanent GNSS stations, equipment and related works, and the preparation of a technical and financial sustainability plan;

b. the generation of orthophotography and vector base maps;

c. the strengthening of MUDL’s information communications technology (ICT), including an ICT Feasibility and Design Study, communications network, and connectivity between central and offices in the selected areas, a data center, and adjustments to underlying physical infrastructure of offices in the selected areas.

N/A. The Project supports under this component systems development, and ICT investments.

Designing and Implementing a Land Information System a. the preparation of a user needs study, design and

feasibility studies, and technical specifications; b. software development and testing of modules

comprising the LIS; c. the integration of the Afghanistan Land Pricing

Information System (ALPIS) into LIS; d. incorporation of available disaster risk information

by linking the existing disaster risk platform with the LIS; and

e. provision of hardware and training.

N/A. The Project supports systems development.

Supporting cadastral surveying and land registration in selected areas a. the surveying, adjudication and registration of

urban land parcels, including preparation of procedures, standards and technical manuals, field work, validation of results, and quality assurance;

b. the incorporation of information from surveying and registration in the Land Information System; and

c. the establishment of zonal land registration offices, including construction of facilities, equipment and training of personnel.

The systematic cadastral and registration activities are considered to be largely outside the purview of OP 4.12 as set forth in footnote 8 of this policy regarding disputes between private parties in land titling projects. The OP is applicable to build the infrastructure facilities for the project. Land included in the city plans have been transferred to MUDL by the municipalities. However, small parcels of land may be required for the offices.

Supporting Issuance of Occupancy Certificates.

a. Strengthening of MUDL capacity for issuing OCs, including provision of technical and other expertise, training, and equipment;

b. The carrying out of field work and collection and analysis of information;

c. Developing a database management system and digital archive of OCs; and

The OP is applicable. The potential adverse impacts with the implementation of the OC regulation are likely to arise from: (a) The broad principles, eligibility criteria and cut-off date will exclude people from accessing benefits on many accounts such as establishing that the settlement was 15 years prior to issue of the regulation (January 2017) and


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d. Strengthening of capacity of MUDL and municipalities to carry out valuation to support the OC process.

excluding those who occupy public land and water source areas: (b) Leaving lands that are included for planned development for 10 years without indicating the start and end date for considering the 10 years may create uncertainty during identification of which plot will fall within the planned area. (c) People may not be able to meet the cost towards documentation. (d) The occupant may not be able to pay the fair valuation or market valuation for land between 300 and 1,000 sq.m. Then the OC will be issued for the minimum 300 sq.m. The status quo of the balance area (between 300-500 or 500-1000 sq.m.) may be maintained and that creates a lot of uncertainty amongst the occupiers to bring it under any productive use; (e) Privately owned land may not have the traditional documents to establish ownership; (f) Occupiers of land above 1000 sq.m. will have to surrender land without compensation; (g) Structures may become unviable after surrendering the area beyond the threshold limit and lack of capacity of occupiers to meet the cost to purchase the area beyond the threshold limit; (h) The occupiers are required to surrender their right to be consulted if land in question is required for development purposes. This provision suggests that the occupiers will get “user rights”. Accordingly, the Resettlement Policy Framework has been developed for the project to assess risks and adverse impacts; mitigation plan to improve or at least restore the livelihood; stakeholder engagement; Grievance Management; institutional arrangement, monitoring systems and budget.

Component 3 - Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation


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3.1 Supporting Project Management

i. the carrying out of the coordination, administrative, and social, environmental and fiduciary aspects of the Project; and

ii. the provision of training and the carrying out of workshops

The OP includes guidance on institutional mechanism and capacity support to implement the safeguard instrument prepared for the project i.e. RPF

3.2 Supporting Monitoring and Evaluation i. implementation of an institutional M&E system

with links to offices in the selected areas; ii. the carrying out of surveys and other activities

related to the measurement of the Project’s results framework; and

iii. the preparation of any required project reports, including the midterm review evaluation and final evaluation reports; as well as social assessments and required monitoring relevant to the OC issuance process.

The OP requires appropriate monitoring mechanism and reporting the implementation of the RPF and its compliance.

1.5 Resettlement Policy Framework This Resettlement Policy Framework for the Afghanistan Land Administration Systems Project (ALASP) is drawn in accordance with generally accepted and practiced principles of resettlement and rehabilitation. The framework comprises of the following sections:

a. Project Adverse Impacts b. Legal Framework (described in detail under Social Assessment) c. Gaps in RRUIP in comparison with The World Bank’s OP 4.12 d. Proposed Mitigation Measures e. Resettlement Principles and Definitions f. Citizen Engagement g. Grievance Redress

1.6 Objective of RPF The primary objective of this RPF is to provide better standard of living to the project affected families or at least restore their standard of living to that of before project. If the affected persons belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL) (Afs. 2,064/- per person per month as per Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-17) category before the project, then this RPF aims to bring them Above Poverty Line (APL). The other objectives of this RPF are to:

a. Avoid or minimize adverse impacts and risks where feasible, exploring all viable alternatives

b. Mitigate the adverse impacts and risks c. Establishes the eligibility criteria for settlement and household eligible for OC

and process to identify if the Household may be adversely affected due to loss of asset or livelihood, if any, with the issuance fo OC


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d. Assist affected persons in improving/ restoring their former living standards, income earning capacity and production levels, which were adversely affected to loss of land, asset, access, etc.

e. Provide assistance to affected people regardless of the legality of land tenure. f. Provide specific mitigation measures for loss of asset and livelihood if the

implementation of OC will lead to surrender of land. A Resettlement Action Plan will be prepared (if required) after validation and identification of the affected people after selection of the specific “settlement” to be covered under OC during implementation of the project. It will be approved, disclosed in local language in country and implemented in parallel with the issuance of the OC.

g. Encourage stakeholder engagement in planning and implementing resettlement

h. Lays out a robust Grievance Management. 1.7 Methodology The approach and methodology used for conducting this assignment is summarized below:

1. Literature Collection and Review 2. Desk Analysis 3. Tools (Household Survey Questionnaire and Community Consultation

Checklist) Preparation and Field Testing – Inception Report 4. Field Surveys - Primary Data Collection 5. Community Consultations through FGDs and KIIs 6. Data and Dialogue Analysis – Secondary Review Report 7. Stakeholder Consultation 8. Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) Preparation – Draft Report 9. Revising Reports based on Comments and Suggestions 10. RPF Final Report Submission


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2 Profile and Perception Survey

2.1 Socio-Economic Profile (secondary and primary data) The analysis of the profile of Afghans, is derived from secondary and primary survey. Both the sources of information confirm that the conflict over the years has led to decrease in ownership of asset in urban areas. This indicates that the IDPs/Refugees are settling in comparative safer and more secured areas in Urban settlements. 2.2 Housing Tenure ALCS reports that the majority of Afghan households are owners (where they have a document to prove ownership) of the units where they live (around 87.2% in 2016-17 and 88.9% in 2013-14). The proportion of households who own a dwelling is considerably higher in rural areas than in urban areas (94.2 and 66.9 percent, respectively). The owned dwellings include inherited units, units provided by the family, purchased dwellings and dwellings constructed by the household. Within the group of households who own their dwelling, it is interesting to observe that the national percentage of inherited or constructed housing units has slightly decreased, and more so in urban areas, in comparison to the ALCS 2013-14 round, from 50.6% to 48.5%. As per ALCS 2016-17, the percentage of households living in constructed dwellings is higher for the rural population, in comparison with the urban population. AS per ALCS 2016-17, renting has increased and is more common in urban areas. At provincial level, Kabul presents an interesting characteristic: the percentage of households owning their dwelling is rather below the national average, about 64.9%. Indeed, 27.6% of Kabul households are renting the units where they live, showing a more ‘modern’ attitude than in other provinces. 2.3 Land Holding Size A disquieting underlying trend is the decreasing land size of households engaged in irrigation farming. Every successive NRVA/ ALCS survey reported smaller average plot sizes – from 6.7 jeribs in NRVA 2007-08 (1.3 ha.), to 4.9 jeribs (1.0 ha.) in ALCS 2016-17 – and larger proportions of small land holdings. The limited availability of arable land in combination with very high population growth inevitably results in increasing pressure on farm land and fragmentation of land holdings and is a likely contributor to the observed increasing poverty in the country. 2.4 Poverty Incidence Poverty rates increase steadily with household size and households of larger size are both more prevalent and face a higher poverty rate. Education (or the lack thereof) is another important correlate of poverty in Afghanistan. Low levels of educational attainment are pervasive and households with illiterate heads account for 74% of the population. These illiterate households face poverty rates of 63% on average, when


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compared to 40% poverty rates among households with literate heads. While unemployment of the head of household is correlated with higher poverty, employment is no guarantee against poverty. As per ALCS 2016-17, roughly half the population belonging to households with employed heads lives in poverty; few have access to productive or remunerative employment. Afghans living in households where the household head is employed in agriculture are likely to face higher poverty rates (63%) and account for a third of the poor population. More broadly, almost 60% of the population belongs to households where the head of household holds vulnerable employment, or in other words, is self-employed or works on own-account, is a day labourer or is an unpaid worker. 2.5 Information based on primary data 2.6 Average Monthly Income Table 1: Distribution of Families on the Basis of Average Monthly Income

City Less Than 5000

5000-10000

10000-20000

20000-30000

30000-50000

More than 50000

Grand Total

Herat 10% 20% 30% 15% 20% 5% 20

Jalalabad 50% 25% 20% - 5% - 20

Kandahar 25% 60% 15% - - - 20

Mazar-e-Sharif 40% 45% 15% - - - 20

Grand Total 25 30 16 3 5 1 80

% 31.3% 37.5% 20.0% 3.8% 6.3% 1.3% 100%

Among the sampled households, the households from Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif have incomes upto Afn. 20,000/- per month. About 40% of the sampled households in Herat have income above Afn. 20,000/-. Table 2: Average Income of Different Income Groups

Row Labels

Less Than 5000

5000-10000

10000-20000

20000-30000

30000-50000

More than 50000

Grand Total

Herat 4000 6250 11167 20000 35000 80000 19000

Jalalabad 2550 5800 10500 - 35000 - 6575

Kandahar 3400 6500 10000 - - - 6250

Mazar-e-Sharif 3188 5556 11333 - - - 5475

Grand Total 3040 6067 10813 20000 35000 80000 9325

The average monthly income of sample households in Herat is Afn. 19,000/-, followed by Jalalabad (Afn. 6575), Kandahar (Afn. 6250) and Mazar-e-Sharif (Afn. 5475). Table 3: Average Monthly Income by Source

What are the sources of above income

Count %

Monthly Income

Avg. Monthly Income


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Agriculture 2 2.5% 11000 5500

Pension 3 3.8% 5500 1833

Wages 2 2.5% 12000 6000

Others 72 90% 682501 9479

Service 1 1.3% 35000 35000

Grand Total 80 100% 746001 9325

The average monthly income of the sampled households by source reveals that those in Service have highest monthly income (Afn 35,000) followed by Others (Afn 8479), Wages (Afn 6000), Agriculture (5500) and Pension (1833). 2.7 Ownership of Land Table 4: Duration of Ownership of Land

Name of City Less than 5 Years

5-10 Years

10-15 years

15-20 Years

More than 20 Years

Grand Total

Herat 15% 20% 15% 15% 35% 20

Jalalabad 15% 25% 10% 15% 35% 20

Kandahar 10% 15% 50% 20% 5% 20

Mazar-e-Sharif 5% 25% 40% 30% - 20

Grand Total 9 17 23 16 15 80

% 11.3% 21.3% 28.8% 20.0% 18.8% 100%

Most households (28.8%) informed that they own the land for the last 10-15 years, whereas 18.8% of them for more than 20 years. About 11.3% of the households claim that they own their land for less than 5 years. 2.8 Perception on the implementation of the processes to deliver OC. All the HH surveyed possess land and they have Urfi Qabala11 documents to support their ownership. The respondents inform that no one had ever had any boundary dispute with their neighbours. All the respondents except 2 respondents in Mazar-e-Sharif stated that the Surveys of land have been conducted. Survey was conducted by MUDL Office. Surveys were done using the measuring tapes and all the respondents were aware of the process. 2.9 Satisfaction with Land Surveys Table 5: Reasons for Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction from Land Surveys

Reasons for satisfaction/ Dissatisfaction Count % Cumulative

We will get legal document and would feel safe about ownership of the property 66 82.5% 47.5%

our land will be secured against the claims and disputes 6 7.5% 80.0%

11 Urfi Qabala is a property document given by property dealers issued by Ministry of Justice


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we will have the ownership of our land 3 3.8% 88.8%

Our land will be registered with government agencies 2 2.5% 91.3%

It will avoid future disputes and claims 1 1.3% 95.0%

Our land will be registered officially 1 1.3% 96.3%

No Response 1 1.3% 100%

Grand Total 80 100% 100%

Almost all the participants are satisfied about the surveys and the issuance of the Occupancy Certificates. The main causes for satisfaction of the households are a) getting a legal document from the government and b) security against claims and disputes. It may be noted that the households perceive the Occupancy Certificate is a LEGAL document. 2.10 Occupancy Certificates – Issuance Table 6: Occupancy Certificate Obtained

Name of City Yes No Waiting to Apply Grand Total

Herat - - 100% 20

Jalalabad 65% 30% 5% 20

Kandahar - - 100% 20

Mazar-e-Sharif - 100% - 20

Grand Total 13 26 41 80

% 16.3% 32.5% 51.3% 100%

Among the surveyed households, 16.3% have already received the Occupancy Certificates and 32.5% are yet to receive them, whereas 51% People are waiting for the land surveys to be completed and once the surveys are completed they will apply for the OC. It may be noted only the households from Jalalabad have received Occupancy Certificates. 2.11 Occupancy Certificates - Perceptions Table 7: Perceived Use of OC

What is the Use of OC? Count of Name of

Respondents %

To get ownership of our land 23 28.8%

our land will be registered with government 20 25.0%

Govt. doc 8 10.0%

Value of my land will increase 4 5.0%

If I go somewhere , our land will be safe 2 2.6%

Don't Know 23 28.8%

Grand Total 80 100%

It is to be noted that about 28.8% of the surveyed households perceived that the OC gives them the ownership of their land and about the same number of households do not have any idea about the use of the OCs. This is a good case to start a concerted


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communication campaign on the project to create awareness about the project and its outputs and outcomes. Table 8: Perceptions on the benefits of OC

What are your perceptions on benefits of OC? Count %

Enjoying the property ownership 34 42.5%

land safety, value of land, feeling ownership of our land, OC is Govt. issued credible document 9 11.3%

Our land value will increase 2 2.5%

our land will be registered formally and nobody will claim the ownership 12 15.0%

our land will be safe with OC 14 17.5%

We will get legal document for ownership of property 4 5.0%

Don't Know 5 6.3%

Grand Total 80 100%

Except for 6.3% of the surveyed households who did not respond, the remaining perceive that the OC will enhance their ownership, legality and safety of land asset. Table 9: Difficulties in OC Application Process

Did you find the OC application process cumbersome? Count %

No it was easy 5 6.3%

process takes too long 1 1.3%

the process was easy and short 2 2.5%

No Response 72 90.0%

Grand Total 80 100%

When enquired about the difficulties faced in applying for the OC, about 8.8% have responded that it was easy and short, only one responded saying the process takes long and 90% did not respond. Table 10: Suggestions for Improving OC Process

Suggestions for Improving OC Process Count %

Duration should be reduced 1 1.3%

The Process is Fine 25 31.3%

Short and easy process to be adopted 1 1.3%

Should not ask for documents several times 1 1.3%

We would be happy to get OC Quickly 1 1.3%

No Response 51 63.8%

Grand Total 80 100%

When asked to make suggestions to improve the OC process, 63.8% did not respond and 17.5% said that they have no suggestions, while 13.8% opined the process is fine. About 5.2% suggested that process has to be made short and easy with reduced duration.


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Table 11: Use of OC in Land Transaction

Can you use the OC for making Land Transactions (Sale)? Count %

Yes 24 30%

Don't Know 56 70%

Grand Total 80 100%

About 30% of the surveyed households perceived that the OC can be used for making land transactions, while 70% do not know the use of OC in land transactions. Table 12: Registration of Land by Owners

Did you Register the Land? Count %

Yes 12 15.0%

No 68 85.0%

Grand Total 80 100%

About 15% of the land owners have registered their land, while the remaining 85% did not register. Registration process did not involve any payment of fees as informed by the respondents who have applied for registration. Table 13: Benefits of Having OC

What are the benefits of having OC? Count %

Land value will increase 9 11.3%

Our land will be secured 11 13.8%

We can feel comfort 5 6.3%

We can use Govt. services 1 1.3%

We will feel comfort 5 6.3%

will get government issued documents 1 1.3%

I don’t know 48 60.0%

Grand Total 80 100%

When enquired about the benefits of OC, 13.8% of surveyed households responded saying that their land will be secure, 11.3% said that their land value will increase, 6.3% said that it will make them feel certain amount of comfort, while 2.6% said that they will get government documents and can access government services and about 60% did not know the benefits. Table 14: Suggestions on Process for getting OC

Any other suggestions about Process of getting OC Count %

People themselves should submit required document to MUDL office for OC 1

1.3%

the process should be shorter & collect all the required documents at once 19

23.8%

we need survey again 1 1.3%

No suggestion 59 73.8%

Grand Total 80 100%


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The responses to make suggestions on process of getting the OC are not many. While the majority (73.8%) had no suggestions, a sizeable portion (23.8%) of the respondents have suggested that the process should be shorter and all the required documents should be collected at once. 1.3% of the households wanted the survey again. This strengthens the need for a robust grievance redressal process. 2.12 Title Deeds Table 15: Knowledge about Title Deeds

Do you know about Title Deeds? Count %

Yes 69 86.3%

No 11 13.8%

Grand Total 80 100%

Among the surveyed households, 86.3% know about title deeds, while the remaining 13.8% do not know about title deeds. Table 16: Where to get the Title Deeds From

Where do you get it from? Count %

MUDL 1 1.3%

Court 11 13.8%

Court & Finance directorate (Mastofiat) 16 20.0%

Municipality 7 8.8%

Municipality / Local district courts 37 46.3%

Don't Know 15 18.8%

Grand Total 80 100%

When enquired about where to get the title deeds from, about 46.3% respondents replied that Municipality/ Local District Courts gives them, 20% replied that the Court & Finance Directorate gives them, 13.8% replied that the Courts give them and 8.8% replied that Municipality gives them. Only 1.3% replied that MUDL gives these title deeds. It takes several months to obtain the Title Deeds as reported by 10 respondents. Others were not aware of the time taken. 2.13 Stakeholder Engagement – Consultations The Social assessment was based on secondary research which was complemented with focus group discussions and Key Informed Interviews and primary data. In each sampled Herat, Jalabad, Kandhar and Mazar-e-Sharif city where about 6 FGDs with different stakeholder groups, who comprised of owners of formal/ informal properties, urban poor settlements (slums), occupation diversity, gender, faith/ social status, etc. were conducted. The FGDs were geographically spread to cover the entire city. Thus a total to 24 FGDs were conducted. Each of these FGDs were attended by over 20 persons, totaling to about 460 persons. In each of the city 6 Key Informant Interviews were conducted; 1 each with a household in possession of OC (where applicable), household yet to receive OC, City administrative staff involved in the land


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survey and OC process, local MUDL staff involved in the land survey and OC process, local people representative who is involved in land survey and OC process and any other informed person, based on the availability. At least one of them was a women, where possible.

2.13.1 Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations from FGDs and KIIs The following are the observations/ suggestions/ expectations of the community members/ respondents participated in FGDs and KIIs: Table 17: Community Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations of Respondents

S.No. Topic/ Issue Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations

1 Disputes Related to Boundaries

1. Difference in Measurement of the Land 2. Joint walls generates problems. 3. Shared land between inheritances creates problems of joint

ownership. 4. Part of land left for Road/ Street becomes problematic. 5. Same land is issued to many people by having two documents

with different Land owners names. 6. People makes windows on 2nd and 3rd floor that opens towards

the neighbours which is not acceptable due to privacy. 7. Inheritors may create problem in future.

Mutually accepted terms during land transactions

1. Land legal Documents need to be checked. 2. Four side Neighbours are informed and are witness. 3. Elders of street/ CDCs are invited. 4. Property dealer is involved. 5. Family members of seller are involved to confirm the

transaction. 6. And Agreement Letter describing that seller is not responsible

for Government claims but only responsible for public claims against this land.

7. Imam Masjid is also involved.

Problems/ issues during measurement/ survey,

1. No Problem, it was an excellent job done both by UN-Habitat and MUDL

2. Team leader Survey was not too much active. 3. Some team members were not pre-trained.

Pre-requisites for issuing OCs Documents, Fees, etc.

1. Any property document (Shari Qabala12 and Urfi Qabala13) 2. ID card with full biodata form 3. Electricity Bill 4. Property Dealer document if exists 5. Photos 6. Phone Number

Perceptions on property rights

1. Having legal document. 2. Four side walls 3. People feel confidence on undertaking works on the land. 4. Existence of Safayee booklet issued by Municipality. 5. No frequent troubles with Government Agencies with regard to

ownership. 6. MUDL issued document is good.

Need for more precise surveys

1. No- It will be waste of time and money

12 Shari Qabala is a property document issued by Court 13 Urfi Qabala is a property document given by property dealers issued by Ministry of Justice


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S.No. Topic/ Issue Observations/ Suggestions/ Expectations

2. No Need - It was very accurate survey and the team worked with very patience and our complaints are fully recorded and checked.

3. Yes if it would more useful for minimizing the no of disputes for future time.

Willingness and Capacity to pay for more accurate (precise) measurements/ surveys – payment of actual (real) costs

1. No - People are very poor and they are not able to pay for the OC Fee so how will they pay for the survey cost.

Perceptions on land markets/ costs – before after OCs

1. Value of Land will be increased 2. People will feel secured and will start further construction of

their homes according to their need. 3. Land Sale and purchase will increase and people will get high

interest. 4. People will be provided with by Municipality Services. 5. The investment opportunities will increase in the area

Any alternatives/ changes/ etc., to OCs

1. No Alternative - OC is the best option and we hope for quick implementation of the process and issuance of OC

Timing for issuance of Title Deeds (TD)

1. Five years, which is too long and it would be better to be issued within one year.

2. We have weak trust on Government due to many frequent changes so want this OC and Title Deed soon.

3. Some powerful people will make document for our land and will take our properties from us so it would be better to receive OCs/ TDs as soon as possible.

4. Five years’ time is enough. There is good chance that all disputes will be finished in this duration.

2.13.2 Public Consultation and Disclosure Workshop A public consultation and disclosure workshop was held on 03 December 2018 at MUDL, Kabul, where various representatives have participated. The key suggestions from the participants include: a) Faster issuance of Occupancy Certificates: The MUDL clarified this as this will involve design of specific procedure, collection of information pertaining to background of ownership of land, resolving issues through legal procedures, survey of properties, etc. will take time. It is further clarified the problems of land grabbing cannot alone be solved by land administration measures, but require, security organs and other agencies to work together to tackle the issues. It was further clarified the proposed system taken from the Turkey Model, and this would suit, because both countries are similar in terms of culture and religion. b) Joint Ownership of Properties by both Spouses: This was clarified that when the land is identified as government land, the property certificate will be given in the name of both the spouses (woman and the man) in a joint form. It was added that in other areas, people are free to choose to receive the OC in whatever name they wish to, and this matter is explained in the presidential decree No. 305. It was mentioned that people do not want to give women ownership due to customary rules and this is a


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traditional issue in Afghanistan, which requires awareness of among the people. On issue of Wasseqa (a legal document), agreement with the Supreme Court have been signed to process the legal cases. c) Inclusion of Rehabilitation Measures to Mitigate Risks and Impacts: It was suggested by the participants that the project procedures and implementation plans, should include rehabilitation procedures, since some areas are under the threat of environmental hazards, people should be made aware of these issues and MUDL should take action in preventing of distribution of OCs in hazardous areas and rehabilitate them. For instance, in Khwaja bughra area of Kabul city, there are plenty of houses below the overhead power lines with high voltage as the impact of which is very dangerous to the people residing there. d) Submission of EMF, SMF and RPF to NEPA: NEPA suggested that MUDL should share the EMF, SMF and RPF with NEPA and seek their approval before it is proceeds for implementation. It was clarified that ALASP project is categorized as category “B” in compliance with World Bank Safeguards regulations, which have minor and temporary impacts as they can be mitigated through proper mitigation measures. At the same time all the donor agencies who are funding the government projects are exempted to seek the NEPA’s approval for category “B” projects. However, it was assured that, MUDL will share the documents with NEAP. It was further added that the documents will be accessible through MUDL’s website and a soft copy would be send to all the concerned stakeholders. A summary of this workshop is annexed to this report.


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3 Legal Policy Framework

Introduction The framework has been developed as enunciated in the national legislation; Law on Land Acquisition, Land Management Law and Regulation on Registration of Urban Informal Areas. This framework will act as guide to assess and mitigate the social impacts that would be triggered by the implementation of the regulations of Occupancy Certificate (OC) supported under ALASP. National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan (2013) This policy sets out the rights of IDPs to assistance and protection during all phases of displacement, from emergency through protracted displacement, until they are effectively integrated into host communities. The policy lays out the national responsibilities of the Afghan Government in accordance with international standards and Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. A comprehensive government approach is detailed in a road map for implementation that integrates provincial action plans with a National Implementation Plan. Policy Framework for Returnees and IDPs (2017) The Policy Framework for Returnees and IDPs (2017) elaborated following the surge of returnees to Afghanistan in 2016. The framework is anchored in the Constitution of Afghanistan and its aim is to ensure the safe and successful re-integration of returnees and IDPs into the social and economic fabric of Afghanistan. The Law on Land Acquisition (2017) Law on Land Acquisition (2017) replaces The Law on Land Expropriation (2009) in providing the legal basis for land acquisition and compensation. Article 4 confirms Municipalities in urban areas and ARAZI in rural areas as the enforcement authorities of the law. Article 5 sets out the range of public interest projects, including a range of infrastructure projects, for which an individual’s property and assets may be expropriated; Article 6 reconfirms the types of properties ( cultural and historic) and land ( required for environmental protection) where expropriation is either prohibited or limited; Articles 9-12 set out the various responsibilities of the expropriating authority, affected person and evaluation committee; Articles 13-18 describe the different types of expropriation; The arrangements for transfer of Government Property in order to enable a Project are described in Articles 19- 21. Articles 22 -37 are devoted to a set of issues around the valuation of expropriated properties including the establishment of a Panel of Developing Bill of Valuation of Expropriated Properties in every province ( article 22), appraisal of compensation for different assets ( articles 25-33); Articles 36 and 37 deal respectively with expropriation of property of an absent person and timing of compensation payments; Articles 38-41 set out the Resettlement procedures and responsibilities of the Resettlement Committee. Various miscellaneous provisions related to land acquisition including assessment of property related conflicts and enforcement are set out in articles 42-53.


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The Land Management Law (2017) The new Land Management Law (2017) replaces the Law on Managing Land Affairs (2008) and aims to create a legislated unified, reliable land management system. This Law also aims to provide a standard system for land titling, land segregation – subdividing land into a number of parcels of land- and registration; prevent illegal land acquisition and distribution; access to land to people; and conditions for appropriation of lands. Article 40 states that government lands are regulated by the Land Authority and Article 50 states that public welfare projects cannot be implemented on government lands without acquiring the agreement of the Land Authority. Protection of Property Rights It is a national policy that the national and provincial governments take measures to protect citizens including residents of informal settlements from arbitrary and forcible eviction. Eviction and relocation of unplanned settlement residents shall be undertaken with community involvement only for necessary spatial rearrangement that should take effect in accordance with the public’s interest. Compensation for expropriation of rights over land must be provided equitably in accordance with the law. National Land Policy (2018) National Land Policy was approved by the cabinet in 2018. Important relevant provisions of the current policy include: Land Tenure/Land Acquisition (i) Land policy provides that compensation for the expropriation of ownership or of rights over land as enshrined in the Constitution be strictly enforced by law. Property rights may only be expropriated under defined legal procedures and for defined legal purposes; (ii) it also provides that no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property rights. If the government decides to implement a development project in the interest of the public, the value that the land had prior to the announcement of the expropriation will form the basis for monetary compensation to the owners of the property. Regulation on Registration of Urban Informal Properties (RRUIP) 2017 The regulation for the Occupancy Certificate (OC) is based on article 112 of the Land Management Law. This regulation was approved by the Cabinet on January 30, 2017. It became effective after the gazette notification in February 2018. It lays down principle to provide a certificate that will facilitate issuance of Title Deed, collect safai tax by the municipalities, and is a step towards providing secured assets that are on state and private land. It recognizes that separate procedures will be developed for the displaced people. Accordingly, the process covers two phases i.e Phase I - community led validation process to survey land plots and identify households occupying such plots within the informal areas (which has been implemented by UN-HABITAT so far), and Phase II – issuance of OC under the RRUIP by MUDL as indicated in table 1.


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It should be noted that the European Union and USAID have supported the City for All (CFA) program being implemented by the UN-HABITAT, between 2016-2020. This includes a participatory process to map areas of each land plot in urban informal areas which is Phase I of the process. The information is shared with Municipalities to collect safai tax and MUDL to issue the Occupancy Certificate to eligible households under the RRUIA i.e. Phase II and will be supported by the ALASP project (component 2.4). Broad features of the Regulation to issue Occupancy Certificate is as follows: -

a. Includes definitions, b. Establishes the eligibility, c. Provides for institutional mechanism and roles and responsibilities d. Determination of boundaries, e. Includes eligibility criteria for occupants, f. Provides for differential rates for registration for structures on state land, g. limitation on the quantum of area to be registered of structures on state land, h. Requirement of contracts to be signed for receiving OCs i. Basic cost for issuance of the OC document.

Table 18: Process of Community Validation and Issuance of Occupancy Certificate.

Activity Responsibility

Phase I

1 Submit request to municipalities to identify the border of the city

UN-Habitat

2 The border of the municipality and city (excluding rural areas) are identified and shared with UN-Habitat

Municipality

3 Orientation workshop to inform the local authorities about the process required for the data collection and OC and priorities area to initiate the activity with Local Government, Municipality, representative of community (Vakeele Gozar)

UN-Habitat

4 Count all residential and Households independently UN- Habitat

5 Reconcile the counts of GIS and UN-Habitat to include all who may be separate household inhabiting upper floors through field verification

UN-Habitat

6 Identify borders demarcate Gozars to cover maximum 1250 HHs and provide a unique number to each Gozar for reference

UN-Habitat

7 Demarcate the Gozar boundary for Cadastral Territorial Unit (CTU)

UN-habitat, Municipality, Community representatives, representatives of other local authorities and MUDL

8 CTU boundary is presented to the community and their representative to agree on the CTU boundary

UN-Habitat

9 Formation of Council for each CTU. The Council constitutes of 13 elected members with each member represents maximum 100 HH.

Community mobiliser of the UN-Habitat

10 The Council members are registered with UN-Habitat and ARAZI

Community mobiliser of the UN-Habitat


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11 Workshop organized at Gozar and district level. Information provided on the details of the surveys, documents required and other information

UN-Habitat

12 Property survey completed. UN-Habitat – survey teams, community mobilisers and CTU member

13 Develop Map of each Gozar to include information of HH, and information of owners including photograph of the owner prepared in a separate sheet.

UN-Habitat – GID and database officers

14 Display the 3 copies of Map and information page at 3 public places in each Gozar for community validation

UN-Habiat-community mobilisers, validation team and CTU members

15 During community validation process mistakes identified and corrected and also property disputes identified and registered.

UN-Habitat- validation teams

16 After the community validation the collected data completed and cleaned and saved at the CFA database.

UN-Habitat – database officers

18 Data on HH is submitted to Provincial Directorate (MUDL) and Municipality

UN-Habitat- Database Unit and database officers

Phase II

1

A City Coordination Committee will be formed and chaired by the Governor, all other urban institutions will be members of the City Coordination Committee.

MUDL Provincial Directorate

2 Prepare District Information Map of municipal District/City in cooperation with City Officials – on soft copy of the map, collect information from district office of the area, complete the HH level form and submit to the Directorate. This information includes areas eligible to receive OC. The official signs the document

MUDL – Data base officer and GIS officer.

3 Send information and figures from Municipal to MUDL Office

UN-Habitat- Database officers and MUDL - database and GIS officers

4 Beneficiary Identification Committee is formed representing ARAZI, Municipality, CTU, MUDH (land and urban development)

ARAZI Provincial Directorate

5 Identify Eligible people – Review the data and information prepared by UN-Habitat and based on prepared district Information Map take the decision on the eligible HH. Beneficiary identification form is signed

Beneficiary Identification Committee

6 Cost of land calculated ARAZI provincial Directorate

7 Prepare invoice and distribute to the eligible HH ARAZI Provincial Directorate

8 Payment is made through Banks towards the cost of OC/land depending on the rates applied for above 300 sqm to 500sqm and above 500sqm.

Eligible HH

9 Payment receipt submitted to ARAZI Eligible HH

10 Prepare list of all entitled HH after receiving the receipt MUDL Provincial Directorate

11 Information on eligible HH submitted to ARAZI HQ MUDL Provincial Directorate

9 Receive figures and information and store them in central data base of OC (back-up data base is available with the OC Directorate)

OC Directorate

10 Authorization for printing the OC Minister of MUDL (may be delegated to Deputy Minister land)

11 Print of Occupancy certificate OC Directorate


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12 Send printed ownership documents to provincial directorate of ARAZI

OC Directorate

13 Control the printed OCs and sign printed MUDL Provincial Directorate

14 Prepare the record of ownership documents MUDL provincial Directorate

15 Distribute ownership documents MUDL Provincial Directorate

16 Keep one copy in relevant directorate’s archive and three copies to be out


15 Distribute ownership documents MUDL Provincial Directorate

16 Keep one copy in relevant directorate’s archive and three copies to be out


The regulation further lays down conditions under Article 5, 8, 9 and 10 for the land plot and structures that will be considered for the OC. Together they cover those structures that are on private and state land in informal area as given below in Table 20. The detailed mitigation measures are provided in Table 21 and Chapter 4.

Table 19: Risk Analysis

Article Provisions Broad Risks

Article 3 The key definition covers Occupants - means a real person who has constructed a residential dwelling and is entitled to be granted a deed according to this regulation (They are informally settled in state or private land, and at least on state land do not have legal rights to such land. Through the OC program the government is granting occupancy rights). Business area - a place or a building which is in an informal settlement area and a real or legal person uses it for business or trading. Residential house - individual or shared structure which is built in an informal settlement area such as an apartment block or single-family house.

Terms such as informal properties, informal areas, displaced people and returnees, are not included in the definition. These terms should be clarified in the procedures.

Article 5 The property should be within the boundaries of the master plan and/or urban strategic plan. The settlement should be able to be included in “urban plan” by the municipality, The settlement should have existed for at least 15 years before the passing of the OC regulation, i.e. 15 years before January 30, 2017. The property should not be located within a water source area, The property should not be in public service establishments, entertainment parks, sports grounds, green areas and protectable area. The property should not be in an area that is planned for the development of government or public projects within a period of ten years.

It establishes that structures on private and state land will be considered and excludes those that are on public land. In the absence of records of land, there will be a challenge to demarcate the boundaries of state and public land. There is an underlying assumption that - approved plans for development projects exists for 10 years; people would be aware of the specific locations of these planned projects that may be a factor for people not to construct even on private land

Article 8 Occupancy certificates will be granted only to occupants of residential houses in informal settlements.

This provision excludes commercial structures and residential cum commercial structures.


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The building should be used only for residential and shelter purposes.

In the absence of a definition of “informal settlement”, there is an assumption that such settlements on state land may be considered as “informal settlement”. This implies that only residential structures on state land and private land will be considered

Article 9 If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, up to 300 Sq.m. will be registered in the name of the occupant or his/her descendant with a nominal fee. If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, any additional area from 300 Sq.m. up to 500 Sq.m. that is not required by the state can be sold to the occupant based on a just and fair price considering the location of the land. If a property in an informal settlement is on state land, any additional area from 500 sq.m. up to 1000 sq.m. that is not required by the state can be sold to the occupant at the prevailing market price and considering the location of the land. If a property in an informal settlement is on state land any additional area exceeding 1000 Sq.m. will be repossessed by the state from the occupant or his/her descendants.

There is an underlying assumption that – people have the paying capacity to meet the cost of the documentation and purchase at fair price and market value; all irrespective of their vulnerable status have the capacity to pay. The residential structures may become structurally unsafe if they span beyond the threshold limit and/or the occupant is unable or unwilling to pay for the excess land. Procedures should clarify how what action will be taken in case the occupant cannot or is not willing to pay for the excess land beyond 300 sqm (300-1000 spq mt)

Article 10

A contract to be signed by the occupier to agree to the conditionalities for properties on state land for OC. This includes: To evacuate the property in the event of the implementation of public development plans or public infrastructures. If the informal settlement area is reorganized by the government and private sectors jointly, the occupant will have the rights based on relevant legal documents. The occupants of properties as described in article 9 have more responsibilities than the occupants who have official or traditional property ownership documents with land plots on private land

The conditionality to agree to vacate the property if land is required for public purpose, then the occupier is expected to surrender its rights to be consulted. The occupier will not enjoy rights to the property if only government is responsible for re-organization of the informal settlement

Article 23

Registration of properties in informal settlements occupied by displaced people will be organized in a separate procedure document.

Accordingly, the regulations will not cover the displaced and returnees and will be rehabilitated as per the 305 Decree. There is a robust data available on IDPs and Returnees.

Article 12-17

Establishes institutional arrangement with roles and responsibilities to deliver OC to property owners and monitoring arrangement.

Article 18

Recognizes share of owners established by courts This provision is applicable to structures on private land

Article 19

Conflict management will be as per the arrangements included in LML


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The World Bank’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) The Operational Policy lays down objectives to mitigate economic, social, and environmental risks that leads to impoverishment by developmental projects through the life of the project. These are; a. Involuntary resettlement should be avoided where feasible, or minimized,

exploring all viable alternative project designs. b. Where it is not feasible to avoid resettlement, resettlement activities should be

conceived and executed as sustainable development programs, providing sufficient investment resources to enable the persons displaced by the project to share in project benefits. Displaced persons should be meaningfully consulted and should have opportunities to participate in planning and implementing resettlement programs.

c. Displaced persons should be assisted in their efforts to improve their livelihoods and standards of living or at least to restore them, in real terms, to pre-displacement levels or to levels prevailing prior to the beginning of project implementation, whichever is higher.

Table 20: A comparison of The World Bank Involuntary Resettlement Policy and Regulation

of Registration of Urban Informal Properties (RRUIP) (OC Regulation)

S.No.

The WB Involuntary Resettlement Policy

Comparative analysis of RRUIP and Operational Policy 4.12 and gaps and risks

Mitigation measures

1. Eligibility criteria

OC – Recognizes those who occupy state land; and owners of private land to prove their ownership with original documents of their property. Occupiers of public land and water source area will not be considered; occupiers of land set aside for urban plans for 10 years will not be considered. Separate rules will be prepared for the IDPs/Returnees. Occupiers of state land to accept the conditions to evacuate the property in the event of the implementation of public development plans or public infrastructures. OP4.12 – those who have formal legal rights to land (including customary and traditional rights recognized under the laws of the country); who do not have formal legal rights to land at the time the census begins but have a claim to such land or assets--provided that such claims are recognized under the laws of the country or become recognized through a process identified in the resettlement; and who have no recognizable legal right or claim to the land they are occupying; and Applies to other activities resulting in involuntary resettlement, that are directly and significantly related to the Bank-assisted project, Gaps and Risks: Excludes those unable to furnish proof of ownership of private land; those who may have entered into transaction without

Conduct social Impact assessment to identify all household dependent on land within the geographical coverage of the Municipalities after establishing the eligibility under Phase II of the process who will be covered under ALASP. Implement the provisions of LML for those with/ without documents as per LML article 18 (that prescribes documents as valid proof of ownership) and article 19 (that prescribes the procedures for person without valid documents. Government directorate to find the document that may be available in the land registration books at ARAZI and with Makhzan (city archive)


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S.No.



Mitigation measures

documentation; whose structures (both on state and private land) are within the planned development areas. The occupiers of state land are required to surrender their user rights and rights to be consulted for development projects.

Implement the eligibility criteria of affected Person as defined in LAL and the census carried out as part of SIA. According to LAL, affected person is a person who is not the owner of acquired property, but is affected by the process of expropriation (Article 3). As per the LAL, Inform and consult with community of the area under expropriation regarding implementation of the project (article 8, 9)

2 Cut – off date to establish the informal area (includes both state and private land) to be considered for OC

OC – Establishes 2003 as the cut of year for settlements 15 years prior to the gazette notification of the regulation on January 30, 2018. Households settled after 2003 will be covered under the OC. OP – To establish the cut-off date for the project area, it is the date on which the Bank received the request for project support. Date of census or date could also be the date the project area was delineated, prior to the census, if there has been an effective public dissemination of information on the area delineated, and systematic and continuous dissemination subsequent to the delineation to prevent further population influx. Gaps and Risks– Establishing the boundary of informal areas including state and private land in absence of maps and documents, may lead to excluding areas or houses.

Include all informal areas that are within the boundary of municipalities.

3. Loss of asset - Shelter homestead Land

OC – A minimum threshold limit of up to 300 sq.m of land will be registered with a nominal fee paid by the occupant; the excess area between 300 sq.m up to 500 sq.m if that is not required by the state will be sold to the occupant based on a just and fair price considering on the location of the land, and any additional area from 500 sq.m up to 1000 sq.m that is not required by the state will be sold to the occupant at the prevailing market price and considering the location of the land; and additional area exceeding 1000 sq.m on state land will be repossessed by the state from the occupant or his/her descendants. OP – Includes loss of shelter; assets or access to assets and if the residual of the asset being taken is not economically viable. Compensation and other

Implement the provisions of compensation at replacement value and the process to arrive at the replacement value for impacted assets to owners included in LAL (Chapter 5 - Article 23 - 29). It recognizes that those settled on state land will receive compensation for the structure only.


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S.No.



Mitigation measures

resettlement assistance are to be provided for affected asset irrespective of the area and if the entire asset had been taken. Gaps and Risks – The adverse impact is not linked to the size of the asset, and may lead to loss of asset leading to loss of shelter and/or livelihood. The paying capacity is very low and people may not be able to meet the nominal cost, especially the vulnerable and women.

Loss of livelihood

OC – Recognises structure only for shelter purposes and does not consider commercial structure, kitchen garden, trees. OP – All types of assets for shelter or livelihood. Impacts are considered "minor" if the affected people are not physically displaced and less than 10 percent of their productive assets are lost. Gaps and Risks – There are residential cum commercial shops (petty business). These structures may be either excluded in its entirety or area utilized for commercial purpose that may lead to loss of livelihood.

Implement the provisions of compensation at replacement value and the process to arrive at the replacement value for impacted assets to owners included in LAL (Chapter 5 - Article 23 - 29)

Relocation OC – No provision OP - Displaced persons are provided assistance (such as moving allowances) during relocation; and with residential housing, or housing sites; measures to ensure that displaced persons are offered support after displacement. Gaps and Risks – The threshold of 300, 500, and 1000 sqm may force people to move out of unviable structure or to meet the cost to restore the same. Paying capacity of the occupiers and owners may create barriers to access project benefits, especially the women and vulnerable. It may increase the gap in asset ownership amongst the occupiers and private owners and increase poverty

The relocation of the people whose property becomes unviable following the implementation of threshold limits, as per the provisions laid down in article 40, 41. The owners shall be eligible for receiving a residential plot in the resettlement project. Implementation of the resettlement project shall be applied after determination and confirmation of owners of the expropriated properties who need to be resettled and affected persons by the Resettlement Committee, prior to implementation of the expropriation project or their transfer. Based on the Social Impact Assessment undertaken, Resettlement Action Plans be prepared for each informal area.

Rehabilitation to restore or

OC – Provides secured title to private owners and secured user rights to occupiers on state land.

For loss of commercial assets, the replacement cost


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S.No.



Mitigation measures

improve livelihood

OP – Provide development assistance in addition to compensation measures assistance for a transition period, to restore their livelihood and standards of living; assistance for land preparation, credit facilities, training, or job opportunities Gaps and Risks – The regulation excludes commercial structures from accessing project benefits. Also, the structural viability of residential cum commercial structure may lead to loss of livelihood and increase poverty.

of assets to be provided to the occupants. When livelihoods are affected, they will be provided with livelihood assistance to restore the livelihoods.

Stakeholder Engagement

OC - Conduct public awareness campaign for the occupants of informal settlements through radio, TV and other mass media to inform them about the regulation. Effective consultation to be carried out to inform the people about the implication of the OC. Occupiers of state land to agree to be evacuated for development projects OP – Affected to be provided timely and relevant information, consulted on resettlement options, and offered opportunities to participate in planning, implementing, and monitoring; informed about their options and rights pertaining to resettlement; and consulted and offered choices among Gaps and Risks – The right to be consulted for development projects is denied.

The program to have consultants to design a citizen engagement strategy and program, and to have staff at field level to assist the occupants not only in engagement in the program gut in improving their quality of living.

Institutional Mechanism

OC – establish Coordination Committees at ARAZI and Provincial level, Monitoring Committee that have women members and public representatives; set up Cadastral Territorial Unit Committee with representatives of informal settlement residents not more than thirteen including at least four females will be appointed by Arazi and approved by municipality. The cadastral territorial unit committee will identify three representatives including one female from the community to liaise with ARAZI (MUDL) and Community. This committee shall function as communication team to convey messages and disseminate information about the project to occupiers and private owners. OP – Inform, consult and ensure participation of the affected during the design and implementation of the project. Gaps and Risks – Weak consultations with affected people on the provisions of the OC, its’ implication on the asset either on state land and private land, roles and responsibilities of the implementing agencies, supporting to meet the cost requirements, etc, may exclude people from accessing the benefits of the program.

Implement the detailed communication strategy developed for the project. It includes guidelines for stakeholder mapping, analysis, tools for communication for both internal and external purposes and systems for Citizen Feedback.


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S.No.



Mitigation measures

Dispute Resolution

OC - conflict over properties in urban informal settlements will, in the first instance, be solved through Dispute Resolution By Locality (Guzar) Council, unresolved dispute to be settled by Dispute Resolution, and lastly through Court OP - Appropriate and accessible grievance mechanisms are established for these groups. Gaps and Risks – In the absence of mechanism complaints that may arise during the course of delivering the service, may not be registered, resolved nor tracked.


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4 Mitigation and Relocation and Rehabilitation 4.1 Impacts and Mitigation The following mitigation is proposed for the impacts identified: Table 21: Relocation and Rehabilitation Matrix

S.No. Impact Category Mitigation Proposed

1 Occupancy Certificate not granted

All eligible occupants will be granted with Occupancy Certificates, provided they deposit the fee stipulated under the regulation.

Those unable to meet the cost or the eligibility criteria, will receive concession for payment within specified time period and develop appropriate procedures to address the risks of exclusion.

2 Loss of Land For those who lost part of land will be paid just compensation at market rates for the land lost.

For those who lost all land are eligible for a) compensation at market rates for the land lost and b) a plot of 300 Sq.m. for every adult member of the household.

3 Loss of Assets All assets lost will be paid at replacement cost.

The occupants will be allowed to take away the

All common and community/ communal assets lost will be built/ provided in due consultation with and engagement of the community.

4 Loss of Livelihoods Those who lost livelihoods will be provided a) subsistence allowance at a rate of Afs 2500/- per person per month for each adult member of the household for six months and b) Income Generation Asset of Afs. 100,000/-.

5 No permission for renting leasing and mortgaging properties

All affected Tenants will be eligible for six months rental allowance and shifting allowance.

6 Evacuation for public development/ infrastructure

When such evacuation takes place the for public development/ infrastructure purposes, the affected people will be paid just compensation and other benefits, as per the Law on Land Acquisition and as per the principles of this RPF,

7 Displaced people not considered

The displaced and Returnees will be rehabilitated under Decree 305. They are entitled to house.

8 No Definitions The required definitions are given in this RPF.

9 Land for zonal Registration Offices

All land required for this project will be acquired as per the Law on Land Acquisition and as per the principles of this RPF,

10 Women and other Vulnerables affected people

Women and other vulnerables impacted will be paid an additional 25% over and above their eligible compensation and allowances.

11 Other impacts Mitigation measures to be decided suitably as per actual impacts.

12 Disbursement of entitlements Affected Occupants are eligible for compensation and entitlements under multiple categories mentioned above.


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4.2 Resettlement Principles and Definitions 4.2.1 Resettlement Principles Where it is not feasible to avoid resettlement in situations where the households are unable to receive OC for the entire area under their possession and are expected to surrender the area above the threshold limits then the, resettlement activities will be developed and implemented as sustainable development programs. This will translate into providing adequate resources to enable them to share project benefits. Displaced persons will be meaningfully consulted and will have the opportunities to participate in planning and implementing resettlement programs. They will be assisted to improve their livelihoods and standards of living. A Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) will be prepared, if required following the preliminary assessment of the likely adverse impacts (see Annex 1 for the scope of RAP) The following guidelines will be followed during implementation:

1. All Eligible Affected Occupants (AOs) are considered as Project Affected Families (PAFs).

2. Workers, artisans, tenants, squatters and encroachers, etc. dependent on the affected area or on the AOs shall also be entitled for the benefits as per the mitigations proposed.

3. No Occupancy Certificates will be issued unless compensation for land, assets, access and livelihoods lost, and rehabilitation assistance is provided to all eligible PAFs.

4. Payment of compensation and resettlement assistance prior to taking physical possession of the land by government (MUDL) and prior to the commencement of any construction activities.

5. Payment of compensation to AOs for lost assets will be at the current replacement rates.

6. AOs can salvage materials from their lost assets at free of cost, i.e., the cost of salvaged materials will not be deducted from compensation or other allowances.

7. Subsistence Allowance (Afs. 2500/- per person per month for each adult member of household for six months), Shifting Allowance (Afs. 10,000/- and Rental Allowance (Afs. 5000/- per month for six months) for physically displaced households.

8. Livelihood assistance will be given in form of Income Generation Assets (IGA) to be chosen by the PAFs.

9. Assistance in lieu of the loss of business / wage income and income restoration assistance.

10. MUDL will provide information to the PAFs on alternative income generation activities suitable for the area and help them in making choices.

11. The MUDL will monitor the provision of the IGA monitor through appointed Consultants/ staff.


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12. The Consultants/ staff will monitor the performance of the IGA and report to MUDL.

13. Where unavoidable, time-bound resettlement action plans (RAPs) will be prepared and Affected Occupants (AOs) will be assisted in improving or at least regaining their pre-program standard of living.

14. Consultations with AOs on compensation, disclosure of resettlement information to AOs, and participation of AOs in planning and implementing the RAP will be ensured.

15. Vulnerable Groups will be provided special assistance, 16. Assistance for shifting and provision for the relocation site (if required). 17. Rebuilding and / or restoration of community resources / facilities.

4.2.2 Definitions 1. Below poverty line or BPL Family means below poverty line families whose

monthly income is below Afn. 2064/- per month per person. (at 2016-17 price levels; to be adjusted to inflation on yearly basis)

2. Compensation refers to the amount paid for loss of land, structures and other assets.

3. Cut-off Date: cut-off date is any date as fixed by MUDL, after duly creating comprehensive awareness among the affected occupants about the RRUIP and LML

4. Encroachers are those persons who have extended their building, business premises or work places into public/ state lands.

5. Family includes a person, his or her spouse, minor sons, unmarried minor daughters, minor brothers, unmarried minor sisters, father, mother and other relatives residing with him or her and dependent on him or her for their livelihood; and includes “nuclear family” consisting of a person, his or her spouse and minor children;

6. Project Affected Family (PAFs) means- (i) a family whose primary place of residence or other property or source of livelihood is adversely affected by RRUIP or due to any other reason; (ii) any tenure holder, tenant, lessee or owner of other property, who on account of RRUIP in the affected area or otherwise, has been affected from such land or other property; (iii) any labourer, worker, landless person (not having homestead land), artisan, trader or self-employed person; who has been residing or engaged in any trade, business, occupation or vocation continuously for a period of not less than three years in the affected area, and who has been deprived of earning his livelihood or alienated wholly or substantially from the main source of his trade, business, occupation or vocation because of the RRUIP in the affected area or for any other reason.

7. Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), any persons who have economic interests or residence within the project impact corridor and who may be adversely affected directly by the project. Project-affected persons include those displaced, those losing commercial or residential structures in whole or part, those losing agricultural land or homesteads in whole or part, and those losing income sources as a result of project action.


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8. Replacement Cost of the lost assets and property is the amount required for the affected household to replace/reconstruct the lost assets through purchase in the open market. Replacement cost will be calculated at Market Rates without depreciation.

9. Squatter means those persons who have illegally occupied public/ state lands for residential, business and or other purposes.

10. Tenants are those persons having tenancy agreements, written or unwritten, with a private property owner, to occupy a structure or land for residence, business or other purposes.

11. Vulnerable groups: affected occupants such as differently abled, women, widows, divorced, destitutes, persons of third gender, chronically ill, minorities (religious/ linguistic), orphans, persons above sixty years of age, who are not provided or cannot immediately be provided with alternative livelihood and who are not otherwise covered as part of a family.

12. Women Headed Household: A household that is headed by a woman and does not have a male earning member is a Woman Headed Household. This woman may be a widowed, separated or deserted person.


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5 Gender strategy 5.1 Introduction The Afghan Government has made over 2,300 explicit commitments to the women of Afghanistan on gender equality in laws, treaties and agreements, policies, and strategic documents14. Access to economic rights is a crucial aspect of women’s rights and has significant impact on women’s social and economic well-being. Numerous studies indicate that almost all land is registered in the name of the male head of household and that less than 2 percent of women own land, most of whom are widows. As the National Land Policy (2017) mentions, Sharia law and the Civil Code guarantee comprehensive rights (ownership and inheritance) to land for both men and women. However, two factors prevent women’s attainment of their legal rights: the lack of knowledge about such laws and regulations and strongly embedded male-dominated social norms. Women traditionally rely on their husbands or brothers to take care of them and as a result they are often reluctant to pursue land inheritance claims that would reduce men’s ability to play the role of breadwinner. Most men and women who were interviewed in the gender assessment were aware of the Sharia Law regarding Mahr and inheritance rights of women but reported that it is not socially acceptable for women to claim these rights. To help promote normative change, the project will support comprehensive public awareness campaigns about women’s land rights in Islam to gradually shift the traditions and customary laws. Recent regulatory land framework offers limited affirmative actions such as joint titles/deeds for (Internally Displaced Persons) IDPs and returnees, as stipulated in Presidential Decree 305, announced in 2018. Thus, the major challenge appears to be the implementation of women’s legal rights due to patriarchal norms and traditions. 5.2 ALASP Gender Study A Gender analysis was carried out to take stock of legal provisions for women’s rights to land, examine and assess the existing procedures and practices at both the institutional and beneficiary levels, and finally highlight the gender gap and make recommendations on how to close the gap and how MUDL and the Afghanistan Land Administration System Project (ALASP) can contribute to solutions. The scope included the following: a. Review the literature, policy and laws on with focus on gender. The government

has undertaken obligations on realization of a policy of non-discrimination against women to increase of their status in the state and public life. Legal review of laws and policy with the aim to deliver secured rights over land that is aligned with the vision. Identify gaps and recommend specific policy guidelines/procedures in consultation with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) supported by Women’s Economic Empowerment National Priority Program (WEE NPP).

b. Analyze of practices and barriers to land entitlement, leasing land by women.

14 Afghanistan Gender Equality Report Card, 2015


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c. Review the traditional laws and practices to understand the main obstacles to rural/tribal women’s access to land and other resource.

d. Identify/assess barriers to access to information linked to land resources by women and other marginalized groups.

e. Identify/assess barriers to lodge complaints linked to land disputes. f. Assess procedures for registration of land and the work environment to access

services for registration to identify gaps and recommend an action plan. g. Review the incentives and learning from international experiences to promote

registration of property for women to enhance access to secured titles and recommend an action plan.

h. Assess the current employment of women in MUDL and grievance management systems for addressing complaints at the workplace and recommend action plan.

i. Assess gender responsiveness in delivering services and recommend an action plan for capacity building.

j. Identify specific topics, e.g., inheritance rights, to prepare legal literacy material by the communication expert.

k. Review MUDL’s Gender Equity Policy and Action Plan, update the current gender policy or if needed develop comprehensive gender policy and strategic action plan for MUDL.

The secondary research was combined with focus Group Discussion (FGD)s, direct observations, key informant interviews of policy making and implementer organizations and government institutions. Interviews and FGDs with stakeholders in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif for qualitative data collection. Overall, 48 interviews were conducted with, government officials, gender specialists, civil society activists, lawyers, businesswomen, court staff and MUDL staff. In total, seven FGDs were conducted in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif in which 147 men and women participated. Two of the FGDs were conducted with MUDL female staff in the Kabul and Herat offices (54 women) to collect their feedback for the revision of ARAZI gender policy. In Herat, three FGDs (19 men and 33 women) were conducted with rights activists, legal advisors, government officials and businesswomen. Since business women in Mazar-e-Sharif were not identified, two FGDs (21 men and 20 women) with lawyers, advocates, government officials and school teachers were conducted. 5.3 Key Actions MUDL plays a key role as a major government institution to manage land administration, and to enforce the laws, and regulations. MUDL has begun to remedy the practical and institutional obstacles to recognize and mitigate the official and hidden costs or registering land by way of issuance of OC that can now include up to three wives. Further progress is needed to: strengthen legal aid by hosting legal aid centers; raise awareness on the existing land laws helpful to women; decreasing logistical obstacles to registration; promote land registration in all spouses’ names; expand statutory justice coverage; and provide appropriate mechanisms to encourage


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women to approach formal and informal justice systems while sensitizing the rest of the community about the rights of women to equal access to land15. Furthermore, MUDL is committed to close the existing gender disparities by providing affirmative actions in the upcoming guidelines and procedures. For example, MUDL has agreed to provide a one percent discount on property-related transactions as well as waive any required fee/s on transactions related to land registration for female title owners. Considering the social norms and to improve women’s access to land related services. The project will establish a special desk at MUDL provincial offices, staffed by women, to process the Occupancy Certificate and facilitate property/land leasing, renting and acquisition/registration. To address this issue, the project will develop and disseminate informational material on laws, regulations, policies and procedures, and make them accessible both for men and women in all MUDL provincial offices across the country. MUDL is expected to follow the new government policy (IARCSC 2018) on increasing women’s participation in Civil Service by increasing the number of female staff by 2% every year. Thus, the project will support an internship program for women to learn the needed technical competencies to meet the job requirements at MUDL.

Collection of appropriate gender-disaggregated data is a concern for all land administration projects, and should be a priority, given the sizable investment in this sector. Due to lack of gender-disaggregated data, it is challenging to identify a baseline to measure the progress of the project on gender-related issues. ALASP will provide the technical knowledge to ensure databases in MUDL will document gender-disaggregated data.

15 Support Women’s De facto and Legal Land ownership, Access and Use Rights, Land Links, USAID


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6 Relocation of Housing and Settlements

6.1 Basic Provision for Relocation

The MUDL regional office, in consultation with concerned city municipality, will provide adequate and appropriate replacement land and structures or cash compensation for lost land and structures, adequate compensation for partially damaged structures, and relocation assistance, according to the Table AAA: Relocation and Rehabilitation Matrix. The MUDL will compensate to the PAPs/ PAFs for the loss of land and assets, such as dwellings, and also for other improvements to the land. For Encroachers and Squatters, the entitlements will be given only if they occupied the land or structures in the project area prior to the cut-off date established by the present project. 6.2 Need for Relocation The project will make efforts to minimize the resettlement. There could be possibilities where households might lose their land and assets, in such cases there is a need for relocation. For those who lost part of land will be paid just compensation at market rates for the land lost. For those who lost all land are eligible for a) compensation at market rates for the land lost and b) a plot of 300 Sq.m. for every adult member of the household. All efforts will be made by the project through various provisions in this RPF to mitigate negative social impacts on displaced persons and communities by supporting relocation of affected households and by restoration of pre-project levels of income. The MUDL in consultation with the concerned city municipality will identify suitable land for relocation. 6.3 Development of Relocation Sites Housing units with an area of about 300 sq. m will be constructed if more than 20 families are affected in a CTU. The following principles will be followed in developing these sites:

Lands owned by the vulnerable communities should be avoided for resettlement sites

PAFs/ PAPs and host community should be consulted for mutual acceptance of the presence of each other.

Preference will be given to land-based resettlement strategies for displaced persons whose livelihoods are land-based.

These strategies may include resettlement on public land, or on private land acquired or purchased for resettlement.

Whenever replacement land is offered, displaced persons are provided with land for which a combination of productive potential, locational advantages, and other factors is at least equivalent to the advantages of the land taken.


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If land is not the preferred option of the displaced persons, or sufficient land is not available at a reasonable price, non-land-based options built around opportunities for employment or self-employment should be provided in addition to cash compensation for land and other assets lost.

Lands notified, as water body should be avoided Irrigated agriculture lands should be avoided Lands notified, as forest should be avoided Resettlement sites nearer to the water bodies (including ponds and canals) are

to be avoided to prevent water borne diseases Lands under plantation are to be avoided The resettlement sites should be at least 10 km away from ecologically sensitive

areas. 6.4 Reconstruction of affected community structures The MUDL and project authorities will replace and reconstruct all community assets before demolition. For shifting of community assets the concerned MUDL regional office will: Consult with the community along with the city municipality and identify

alternative land; the land identified has to be government land wherever possible

The reconstruction will be carried out by the local contractors The MUDL regional office will be responsible for monitoring the work

The cost for the relocation and reconstruction will be paid by the project


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7 Livelihoods Restoration and Rehabilitation

7.1 Livelihoods Restoration Measures The basic objective of Livelihoods Restoration is that no project-affected person shall be worse off than before the project. Restoration of pre-project levels of income is an important part of rehabilitating individuals, households, and socioeconomic and cultural systems in affected communities. Livelihoods restoration schemes will be designed in consultation with affected persons so as to benefit them. Based on the information collected from the socio-economic census surveys, the concerned MUDL regional office along with the concerned city municipality will identify suitable Livelihoods Restoration program for the affected persons/ families. 7.2 Impact Categories and Livelihoods Restoration Schemes Project-induced displacement may lead to loss of livelihoods or diminished income for PAPs/ PAFs. The main categories of impacts expected as a result of project land titling OC issuance include:

Loss of commercial establishments (including artisans) Loss of livelihood as employees and Loss of livelihoods of tenants

7.3 Principles of Livelihoods Restoration

The Livelihoods Restoration will be in accordance with the Relocation and Rehabilitation Matrix.

The economic rehabilitation assistance money will be deposited in bank accounts to be released only for the purchase of income generating assets.

Women-headed households will be assisted in identifying alternative space in adjacent areas for continuing their trade or vocations. These households will have to be given preference in disbursement of assistance. The MUDL will use its good offices with local authorities to facilitate early rehabilitation of these women-headed households.

PAPs/ PAFS losing their livelihood as employees will be provided only subsistence assistance.

7.4 Livelihoods Restoration Activities There are two types of Livelihoods Restoration activities, i.e. short term and long term. Short-term Livelihoods Restoration activities mean restoring PAPs’ income during periods immediately before and after relocation. For this, the MUDL regional office should ensure that compensation and R&R assistance as provided in the Relocation and Rehabilitation Matrix is provided.


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Long Term Livelihoods Restoration Activities include provision of shops/ work sheds for those losing their total livelihoods, to re-establish their commercial activities. Shopping units/ Work sheds with an area of 100-200 sq. ft. will be constructed, at a suitable location agreeable to PAPs/ PAFs, if more than 20 shops/ sheds are affected in a CTU and if the PAPs/ PAFs opt for these. It also includes purchase of income generating assets up to Afn. 100,000. In case the amount used is less than this, the beneficiary will get the remaining amount after one year of successful completion of the activity, which will be monitored by the MUDL regional office. 7.5 Livelihoods Restoration Procedures Step 1 - Identification of Target Groups MUDL needs to identify the PAPs/ PAFs Step 2 - Identification of Livelihoods Restoration Activities MUDL to prepare a list of possible and feasible income restoration options. While identifying Livelihoods Restoration options, the following factors shall also be considered:

1. Education level of PAPs 2. Skill possession 3. Likely economic activities in the post displacement period 4. Suitability of economic activity to supplement the income 5. Market potential and marketing facilities

Based on socio-economic characteristics and options preferred by PAPs, the MUDL regional office may have to re-assign trades to PAPs. Options include:

(i) petty trade (ii) skill related schemes (iii) activities in line with the ongoing schemes offered by government

The MUDL will assist PAPs in identifying appropriate alternative economic rehabilitation schemes through counselling and consultation. Step 3: Training Option for training for skill enhancement for those losing their livelihood will be provided. Step 4: Identification of Trainers / Training Institutes Based on trades selected, MUDL shall have to identify master trainer and/or training institute for different trades/ activities who can provide on the job training. Step 5: Training Arrangement MUDL shall make different groups of PAPs as per trades selected and make all the arrangements such as fixing the venue etc.


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Step 6: Monitoring of PAPs After training the MUDL shall monitor the PAPs in order to take mid-term correction measures, if required.


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8 Stakeholder Engagement

8.1 Introduction The Social assessment was based on secondary research which was complemented with focus group discussions and Key Informed Interviews and primary data. In each sampled Herat, Jalabad, Kandhar and Mazar-e-Sharif city where about 6 FGDs with different stakeholder groups, who comprised of owners of formal/ informal properties, urban poor settlements (slums), occupation diversity, gender, faith/ social status, etc. were conducted. The FGDs were geographically spread to cover the entire city. In each of the city 6 Key Informant Interviews were conducted; 1 each with a household in possession of OC (where applicable), household yet to receive OC, City administrative staff involved in the land survey and OC process, local MUDL staff involved in the land survey and OC process, local people representative who is involved in land survey and OC process and any other informed person, based on the availability. At least one of them was a women, where possible. See Annex 2 on the methodology for consultation. 8.2 Citizen Engagement Strategy Citizen Engagement, through a two-way communication, values the right of citizens to have an informed say in the decisions that affect their lives. It is a means of dialogue between citizens and their Governments that emphasizes the importance of sharing of power and information and building mutual trust. Citizen Engagement is a prerequisite for an effective Transparency and Accountability Framework. The system developed for citizen’s engagement will provide project beneficiaries, as well as concerned citizens and civil society space to provide feedback on the project. As an accountability measure, offline and online mechanisms will be created for receiving citizen’s feedback. This feedback will be systematically analyzing and used to inform the overall project implementation strategy. The awareness generation effort of the project will also include informing people about ways of providing feedback; like consultation, web portals, toll-free helplines, GRM, independent third party monitoring, etc. Key elements of this strategy are: 8.2.1 Communications Strategy

The Communications Strategy for a program of this scale and profile, will need to have an effective mix of mass communications, advocacy (general and targeted), community mobilization and social messaging. The tools will range from mass media, social advertising, direct interaction, media engagement and development of platforms and champions, especially at the local levels. The communication strategy will need to be flexible enough to be adapted when and where necessary. It should be monitored and evaluated regularly for making modifications according to the political and economic circumstances that arise.


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The communication strategy for this program has to be specific and fit for purpose. Hence the communication strategy that needs to be developed should aim at a) informing the occupants about the OC program and its provisions, b) making the occupants aware of the provisions of RRUIP, LML and this RPF, c) creating awareness about the document requirements for granting the OCs and d) creating awareness on the Grievance Redress mechanism. This strategy needs to be operationalized by preparing Communication Plans for implementation, effectively following the steps given below:

1. Stakeholder Analysis

2. Communication Needs Assessment 3. Communication Strategy design

4. Communication Plan preparation with budget 5. Communication Materials preparation on pilot basis

6. Communication Plan piloting 7. Feedback from the occupants

8. Communication Strategy, Communication Plan and Materials fine-tuning

9. Communication Plan implementation

10. Monitoring and Evaluation 8.2.2 Stakeholder Consultations: Participatory Planning, Implementation and

Monitoring Some of the project interventions such as a) surveys, b) ground-truthing of references/ boundaries, c) drafting of laws and codes, and their design, and planning and implementation would involve all stakeholders. In such exercises, inclusion and involvement of all social groups at all stages of planning, implementation and monitoring would be made mandatory. For this purpose, MUDL and its field offices would convene community meetings to ensure representation of all such groups besides recording their attendance by category/ group and get their feedback. Continuous process monitoring of these exercises by Social Specialist at MUDL and Communications Experts at MUDL field offices would lay emphasis on quality of interactions during such meetings. It is intended that initial stakeholder consultations during the planning of ALASP, which will continue through implementation, would facilitate feedback and learning, and transference to design and implementation. Emphasis will be on seeking the views of poor, vulnerables and women. Their feedback will inform final design of potential investments. 8.2.3 Citizen Feedback Model - ICT Feedback from stakeholders, complaints or grievances would be recorded through innovative use of ICT systems. Such information would be collated at the MUDL field offices level for usage in planning and implementing and further reporting to MUDL


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head office. For this purpose MUDL will make arrangements on its web portals and provide dedicated toll-free helplines. 8.2.4 Support from Grievance Redress Mechanism The GRM process is designed to have interactions between MUDL and stakeholders. The MUDL field offices will interact with the aggrieved to solve any grievances as they come to their notice. This GRM can be used for providing feedback by the stakeholders. MUDL and its field offices will have regular interactions with the communities for their feedback on project interventions and impact mitigation/ management measures which is considered as a valued feedback. 8.2.5 Independent External Third Party Monitoring The proposed independent third party monitoring will also seek feedback from the communities and key stakeholders and include this in the report for MUDL’s use. 8.2.6 Information, Education and Communication Strategy The IEC is the key element in getting appropriate feedback from the key stakeholders. If the IEC can a) convey the right information, b) provide clarifications sought and c) answer the questions lingering in the minds of the stakeholders, then is enables receipt of right feedback. For receiving the feedback, the channels mentioned above are to be made use of by the stakeholders. MUDL will send quarterly reports of such feedback and transference to the World Bank.


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9 Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM)

9.1 Objective of the GRM

MUDL will establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for ALASP, which will be implemented with the aim to respond to queries or clarifications about the project, resolve problems with implementation and addressing complaints and grievances. The GRM will focus on corrective actions that can be implemented quickly and at a relatively low cost to resolve identified implementation concerns, before they escalate to the point of harm or conflict. GRM will serve as a channel for early warning, helping to target supervision to where it is most needed and identify systemic issues. The GRM will directly focus on and seek to resolve complaints (and requests for information or clarification) that pertain to outputs, activities and processes undertaken by the Project, i.e., those which (i) are described in the Project Implementation Manual; (ii) are funded through the Project (including counterpart funds); and (iii) are carried out by staff or consultants of the organization, or by their partners and sub-contractors, directly or indirectly supporting the project. It is envisaged that such cases would fall under (but are not limited to) the following categories:

request for information, comment or suggestion, e.g., request for clarification as to the delay in issuing the OC or Title Deed or in reimbursing expenses of participants in a given training event;

violation of rights or non-performance of obligations, e.g., complaint by consultant or firm whose contract is suspended as a result of presumed poor performance or non-delivery of agreed-upon outputs;

grievances or offenses involving a violation of law, e.g., allegations of corruption; and

complaints against project staff, members of project committees, consultants, and sub-contractors involved in project implementation

This section deals with the two levels at which the Grievance Redress Mechanism will be established, a) the Grievance Redress Committee at the Provincial Level and b) Project Grievance Redressal Committee at national level. Moreover, the legal options will be available to all the stakeholders. These arrangements are described below: 9.1.1 Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) The Grievance Redress Committee will be established at the provincial level under the chairmanship of the Head of MUDL Field Office for redressal of grievances of the stakeholders with the Communications Expert of the MUDL Field Office as the convener of this committees and provincial level heads of related departments (such as head of municipalities) as members (maximum 5) along with a community representative and a prominent Social Worker of the Province.


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It is proposed that the stakeholders first registers the grievances with the GRC, which will be directed to the concerned MUDL Field Office for taking redressal measures. The GRC should review status of all matters/ grievances received during the next immediate meeting and initiate measures for redress of unresolved complaints. No grievance can be kept pending for more than a month which means the committee has to meet every month. Implementation of the redress rests with the GRC with due support provided by the MUDL field office. In case the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the proposed redress measures by the GRC, then the party can approach the MUDL Head Office for redressal. If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the proposed redressal measures suggested by MUDL Head Office, then the party can approach the court of law or the larger nation-wide grievance redress systems in place. 9.1.2 Project Grievance Redress Committee (PGRC) In order to address grievances related to ALASP activities, which are escalated to MUDL Head Office, the PGRC is formed with the CEO, MUDL as chairman and Social Specialist at MUDL Head Office as the convener. The PGRC will also monitor and review the grievances filed at MUDL Field Offices. The composition of the committee will be with the following members:-

1. 4 representatives, one each from selected municipalities (to be rotated among the municipalities on yearly basis)

2. A prominent academician (Social Scientist) 3. A prominent woman development professional 4. A representative of a prominent voluntary organization

This committee should meet every quarter to review the progress made in resolving grievances. This committee will also provide policy related direction to the Grievance Redress Committee and the participating departments with regard to project activities.

Table 22: Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Level Agency Time period for redress of grievances

Issues likely to emerge

Functions/ Responsibility

Province Grievance Redress Committee

Maximum of one month

Delay in issuance of OCs and Title Deeds

Encroachment

Land Loss

Livelihood Loss

Compensation of losses

Land use change

Employment related

MUDL Field Office Head as Chairman and Communications Expert as the Convener.

National Project Grievance Redressal Committee

Maximum of three months

CEO, MUDL as Chairman and Social Specialist, MUDL as Convener.


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Each MUDL Field Office will maintain Grievances Registers and document/ log all the grievances and their redress. The Social Specialist at MUDL will consolidate this information at project level and forward quarterly reports to The World Bank. 9.1.3 Documentation of the GRM Processes The GRCs at each level will maintain the following three Grievance Registers that would, among others, help with monitoring and evaluation of the functioning of GRCs but also to document the processes of GRCs. The Grievance Register will have the following details:

Serial Number Case Number Name of Complainant Gender Name of Parent/Spouse Full Address of the Complainant Main complaint/grievance List of documents attached History of Previous complaint/grievance, if any Date of receipt of complaint/grievance Date of acknowledgement of complaint/grievance Date of field investigation, if any Date of hearing Decision of GRC at that level Progress – redressed, pending or rejected Key agreements/commitments Decision/Response of the complainant/grieved person Date, Mode and Medium of communication to complainant/grieved person Date of closing of complaint/grievance Whether appealing to next level – yes or no Whether or not seeking legal redress.

The grievance redress process will be a continuous, transparent and participatory process that would be an integral part of the project’s accountability and governance agenda. The GRC at each level will maintain the above mentioned Registers. The MUDL will also prepare quarterly reports on the grievance redress on the basis of reports received from the GRCs and send summaries to the World Bank. 9.1.4 Other Options Apart from the above, MUDL will commission a web-enabled grievance system through its website. It will provide for a Grievance Redress button on the home page of its website, where the aggrieved can file complaints. This button will be prominent and flashing without being tucked away in the labyrinth drop down menus. MUDL will receive anonymous complaints and will take up investigation, when warranted,


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upon preliminary enquiry. MUDL and its field offices will keep the identification details of the complainants as confidential, when requested by the complainants. 9.1.5 Legal Options to PAFs The aggrieved will have two kinds of options for addressing their grievance s relating to ALASP operations. One is the grievance redress mechanism incorporated in this framework, as above. The other is the general legal environment consisting of courts of law to address their grievance. These options will be disclosed to the aggrieved during the public consultation process.


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10 Institutional and Implementation arrangements

10.1 Overall Institutional Arrangements The Project will be implemented by MUDL, Afghanistan’s prime independent land administration and management authority providing land-related services and information to citizens, institutions and investors. In line with IDPL implementation arrangements, the CEO of MUDL would provide general implementation and coordination oversight, while Project management would be delegated to one of the Deputies. Specifically, MUDL will implement the Project through a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) under the direct guidance and supervision of MUDL management. The PIU will be responsible for administrative and fiduciary functions, and for ensuring social and environmental compliance, as well as coordination and oversight of activities across the components, monitoring and providing all required progress reports on a regular and timely manner to ensure effective implementation. The PIU will be led by a Project Coordinator, and its core team will include a Senior Technical Advisor, an Information and Communication Officer, a Monitoring and Reporting Officer, a Social and Environmental Officer, and Finance and Procurement officers. The Project coordinator will supervise the PIU team, keep MUDL management informed, and will coordinate implementation while ensuring that all aspects of implementation adhere to financial, procurement and other fiduciary aspects. The Project Operations Manual includes the PIU’s organizational structure and describes the duties and responsibilities of PIU personnel along with the Project’s technical, administrative, financial, procurement, safeguards, and M&E procedures. The Project will be overseen and coordinated by the following committees: The Project Steering Committee, which will include the three CEO Deputies and heads of departments. The Chairman (MUDL CEO) may also decide on inviting members from other relevant institutions for some or all the steering committee meetings. The High Council for Land Water and Environment, which also functions as the Steering Committee for the IDPL, will provide overall guidance, providing an enabling environment and addressing higher level conflicts and implementation impediments. The PIU under the guidance of the CEO-MUDL and one of the deputies will report to the Steering Committee on a regular basis and will bring up any major issues affecting project implementation. The Steering Committee will also ensure coordination and liaison among national institutions. In the Project area, MUDL through the PIU and provincial offices, will work in collaboration with local governments to ensure adequate Implementation of field


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activities, including specific processes of the systematic land survey and registration, and the potential access to relevant project outputs. 10.1.1 Social Safeguards Implementation Arrangements The following implementation arrangements are proposed to be in place for social aspects implementation and monitoring. It is proposed that the Table 23: Implementation Arrangements

Level Social Implementation and Monitoring Arrangements

Responsibility

National Social Specialist – 1 Overall responsibility for the entire project on social safeguards and social development issues and RPF Implementation.

Provincial Communications Expert (1 per MUDL Field Office)

Community Engagement, Participation, Grievances, Communications, Gender, RPF Implementation, etc.


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11 Monitoring and Evaluation 11.1 Monitoring and Evaluation The RPF and preparation of RAP and its implementation (if required requires detailed monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the project on social aspects. In order to carry out this, ALASP will have specific arrangements made at provincial and national level. This includes appointment of a Social Specialist (at MUDL), a gender specialist for the project period at national level and Communication Experts at Provision level (MUDL Field Offices). Further the MUDL will guide its field offices on the implementation of this RPF, preparation of RAP and its implementation. Several orientations and trainings are proposed to build the capacity of the staff. The Social Specialist MUDL will be in charge of implementing the RPF and preparation of RAP and its implementation (if required). The Social Specialist will guide and oversee its implementation and will be supported at field level by Communication Experts. Further MUDL will incorporate the provisions of this RPF and RAP as actionable points in the Project Operations Manual or other similar document prepared for the project. The Social Specialist will oversee the application of these provisions and guide the process, while at the same time building the capacity of the field units. The following provisions include the arrangements made for the effective implementation of the RPF: 11.1.1 RPF and RAP All the provinces where ALASP is being implemented will be visited at regular intervals by Social Specialist to check if all social safeguard requirements are met and to identify any issues that need to be addressed. MUDL would submit quarterly progress reports to The World Bank on social safeguards implementation. 11.1.2 Social Indicators Once every year, the MUDL will prepare a report of the social safeguards status in the project districts including data and analysis of relevant parameters as given below:

Social Indicators

o Area of land surveyed by category

o Number of properties surveyed (Disaggregated by gender)

o Number of OCs issued (Disaggregated by gender)

o Number of Title Deeds Issued (Disaggregated by gender)

o Number of grievances registered and resolved (Disaggregated by gender)

o Number of court cases (Disaggregated by gender)

o Number of Staff Employed (Disaggregated by gender)


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o Number of trainings held

o Number of women trained

o Land or Livelihoods Restored, if any

o Housing status

o Registration of properties Sale/Purchase

o Ownership of household assets

o Number of HH adversely affected

o Number of HH lost livelihood, shelter (less than 10% and above)

o Number of HH displaced

o Number HH relocated and received entitlement to restore their livelihood.

This report also should give a listing of relevant new legislation and regulations that have a bearing on the social performance of the project and will be submitted to The World Bank. The RPF will be suitably revised as and when required by the MUDL with the concurrence of the World Bank. 11.1.3 Half-Yearly Independent External Third Party MEAL (IETP MEAL) The concurrent internal social monitoring will be done as part of the regular monitoring by the MUDL and its field offices. However, Independent External Third Party Monitoring Evaluation Audit and Learning (MEAL) consultants appointed by MUDL, will do the half-yearly social monitoring and audit of sub-projects, on a sample basis, for social safeguards compliance. 11.1.4 Monitoring Plan

Given in the table below are indicators for project interventions, for which monitoring need to be taken up by MUDL and the field offices in a regular manner.

Table 24: Monitoring Indicators

Monitoring Indicators Frequency Agency Area of land surveyed by category

Number of properties surveyed (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of OCs issued (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of Title Deeds Issued (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of grievances registered and resolved (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of court cases (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of Staff Employed (Disaggregated by gender)

Number of trainings held

Number of women trained

Land or Livelihoods Restored, if any

Housing status

Registration of properties Sale/Purchase

Concurrent Monitoring by MUDL and its field offices

Half yearly IETP MEAL

Annually Reports by MUDL

MUDL guiding the collection of information on indicators

Field offices collecting information at field level

IETP MEAL consultants site visits and documents/ data review


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Ownership of household assets Other

No. of training programs conducted

No. of personnel trained

Achievement of learning objectives

Extent of application of methods, tools and techniques learnt during training


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12 Capacity Building and Training Plan

12.1 Capacity Building Strategy MUDL will give its ALASP staff and the participating communities some exposure to the social safeguards issues. But the interactions with them reveal that, this mere exposure is not enough for preparing and implementing social management plans. They need to have awareness, sensitivity, skills and hands-on experience regarding the social aspects of project planning and implementation. For seamless adaption of the social principles and safeguards by project staff, awareness creation and capacity building becomes necessary. This capacity building and IEC strategy has been outlined as part of the RPF developed for the project aims at building social awareness and social management capacity in the project administration structure as well as in the intended target communities. Capacity building for social management will be integrated with overall capacity building component of the project. 12.1.1 Objectives The objectives of the capacity building initiatives are:

To build and strengthen the capability of MUDL, participating agencies, to integrate sound social management into sub-project implementation.

To orient the MUDL and ALASP staff, participating agencies and communities to the requirements of the project’s and RPF.

12.1.2 Approach Systematic capacity building initiatives need to be introduced only after completion of training needs assessment. All the trained staff and master trainers developed for different training components will in turn conduct onsite or offsite trainings (at provincial level) depending on training requirement. However, since capacity building goes beyond mere imparting training, institutionalization of best practices becomes a prerequisite for improved project social management. The training outcomes like trainees’ understanding of the training content, achievement of learning objectives, application of methods, tools and techniques learnt during training, etc. will need to be monitored. This will be done through periodic tracking of learning outcomes. 12.1.3 Training Providers In view of the specialized training and capacity building envisaged under the RPF of the project, it is necessary to identify training resources that will work closely with MUDL for conceptualizing, designing and conducting training programs on the RPF. MUDL will identify national and international experts to conduct these training.


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12.1.4 Details of Training Programs 12.1.5 T1. Orientation/ Learning Training Programs Purpose of the training:

To orient the project staff at the project launch towards the social issues of the project

To orient the project staff about the RPF and its importance, provision and

implications. There after annual orientation cum experience sharing and learning

training programs will be conducted.

To re-orient the project staff on the RPF and to share their experiences in implementing

the RPF

To draw lessons learnt during the implementing the RPF and to incorporate them into

the RPF revision.

Participants: All Key officials of the project, participating agencies such as municipalities, NGOs and members of community institutions. MUDL will be responsible for selection of suitable candidates for the training, and the expense will be borne from the overall project capacity building budget and will be completed in the first year of the project. 12.1.6 T2. Training on the RPF and Management Plans Purpose of the training:

To equip with knowledge and skills necessary for undertaking social appraisal as per the requirements of the RPF and preparation of mitigation plans

To prepare for undertaking periodic supervision of implementation of environmental and social mitigation plans and performance of sub-projects

To apply community led system for Social Monitoring Participants: Key officials of the project, participating agencies (municipalities), NGOs and members of community institutions. MUDL will be responsible for selection of suitable candidates for the training, and the expense will be borne by the overall project capacity building budget and will be conducting as and when required in the first 3 years of the project. 12.1.7 T3. Training on Social Management Purpose of the training:

To equip with knowledge and skills necessary for meaningful participation in the social appraisal as per the requirements of the RPF

To prepare for planning and monitoring implementation of social mitigation measures identified through the appraisal process

To equip with skills necessary for Community Based Social Monitoring Participants: Key MUDL Staff, Key Participating Agencies Staff, etc. MUDL will be responsible for selection of suitable candidates for the training, and the expense will


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be borne by the overall project capacity building budget and will be conducting as and when required in the first 3 years of the project. The MUDL field offices will be responsible for selection of suitable candidates for the training, and the expense will be borne by the overall project capacity building budget.

Table 25: List of Training Programs S. No. Topics Number of Trainings

1 T1 – Orientation and Learning Training 5

1 T2 -Social Management Framework 5

2 T3 - Social Management 5

Total 15

About 20 to 30 trainees would participate in each of the training programs. It is intended that these trained persons will in turn provide onsite training to Participating Agencies ’ Staff, NGOs, resource persons, etc. onsite at provincial level. 12.1.8 Training Budget The total estimated cost of training on social management for staff of MUDL, Participating Agencies’ Staff, NGOs, etc. under the proposed ALASP is presented in the table below: Table 26: Training Budget

S. No. Training No. of Programs

Estimated Unit Cost in Afn.

Total Cost In Afn.

1 T1 5 2,00,000 10,00,000 2 T2 5 5,00,000 25,00,000 3 T3 5 5,00,000 25,00,000 4 Workshops (National) 5 5,00,000 25,00,000 5 Workshops (Provincial) 5 2,00,000 10,00,000 6 Provision for other

Training, Expenses, etc. 5,00,000

7 Total 1,00,00,000


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13 Implementation Schedule 13.1 Coordination with Project Activities The resettlement program will be co-coordinated with the timing of project activities and issuance of OCs. All the resettlement activities will be completed before displacement and issuance of OCs. The project will provide adequate notification, counseling and assistance to affected people so that they are able to move or give up their assets without undue hardship before commencement project activities and after receiving the compensation. The implementation schedule provides the key benchmarks of implementing the RAP. Actions to be completed before and prior to project activities such as the process of issuance of OCs will include:

(i) Resettlement Action Plan should have been approved by the DUDL and Bank

(ii) RAP should have been disclosed on the web site and other public places accessible to the local people

(iii) the issue of identity cards to eligible project affected families should have been completed

(iv) The community assets should have been replaced (v) All compensation and R&R assistance paid to PAPs/ PAFs

It is the responsibility of the DUDL to ensure that the RAP is successfully implemented in a timely manner. The implementation schedule needs to be updated periodically and monitored judiciously. The completion of R&R activities will need to be certified by the M&E consultants. Resettlement and Rehabilitation is complete only when the following criteria are met:

a. All compensation both for land and structures must be paid b. All PAPs have received compensation c. All eligible PAPs must have alternative houses and economic rehabilitation

must be complete; d. All the eligible PAPs must have started their new economic activity; e. All project affected common property resources must be replaced and

reestablished; and f. Implementation of the remedial measures arising out of impact evaluations

must be complete. The time taken for the implementation for the RAP will be two years. Resettlement planning and updating of studies will be a continuous process throughout the project. The DUDL will coordinate these efforts to assure that RAP implementation and phasing is appropriately sequenced with project activities.


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14 Budget 14.1 Cost of Implementation of RPF The total administrative budget for RPF implementation under the proposed ALASP has been worked out as Afn. 66.1 Million (USD 860,000). The cost of implementing the proposed mitigation measures is given only for a sample population for one CTU at 10 PAPs for land loss, asset loss and livelihoods loss. The actuals need to be worked out for each CTU and RAP prepared accordingly, as these are not included in this costing. The actual cost of managing social impacts need to be worked out before the start of implementation and included in the respective sub-projects’ budgets. The detailed breakup of the RPF indicative budget is presented in the table below.

Table 27: Total indicative budget for mitigating/ managing social impacts S No. Activity Amount in Afn.

A R&R Costs{ Relocation and Livelihoods Support

1 Land loss and asset loss for 10 PAPs 300 Sq., Land (Govt. land) and house for 10 PAPs = 10 X 10,00,000

1,00,00,000

2 Asset loss for 10 PAPs – 10 X 5,00,000 50,00,000

3 Livelihoods loss for 10 PAPs (IGA) = 10 X 5,00,000 50,00,000

4 Training for 10 PAPs = 10 X 10,000 1,00,000

5 Subsistence allowance for 10 PAPs = 10 X 2500 X 6 1,50,000

6 Shifting Allowance for 10 PAPs = 10 X 15000 1,50,000

7 Other allowances 6,00,000

Sub-Total 2,10,00,000

B Staff Costs

1 Social Development Specialist at MUDL for 5 Years @ Afn. 150,000 per month for 5 years - Cost borne by overall project budget.

0

2 Communication Experts at provincial level @ Afn. 100,000 per month for 5 years - Cost borne by overall project budget.

0

Sub-total 0

C Training, M&E Audit, GRM and Other Costs

1 Training and workshops (as estimated) 1,00,00,000

2 External Independent Half-Yearly Social M&E Audit from 2nd year for 3 years

2,50,00,000

3 Preparation of specific social related community awareness materials @ 500,000 per province for 5 provinces and 5,000,000 at national level. GRM cost

75,00,000

Sub Total 4,00,00,000

D Contingencies @ 10% 61,00,000

E TOTAL Afn. 66.1 Million (USD 860,000) 6,61,00,000

14.2 Means of Disclosure This Final RPF, are disclosed on the project website along with the local language translation of the executive summaries. The documents along with the executive summaries in local languages, will be kept at the MUDL Office and MUDL Field Offices. These will be made available at the participating Municipal Offices for interested persons to read and copy. Apart from this MUDL will place these


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documents on its website inviting feedback from the interested persons. MUDL will have no objection to place these documents on The World Bank’s website as well.


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15 Annexures 15.1 Annexure 1: Content of RAP The content of RAP will follow the provisions of laid down in the RPF to cover the following: The scope and level of detail of the resettlement plan vary with the magnitude and complexity of resettlement. 1. Description of the project. 2. Potential impacts. Identification of (a) the project component or activities that give rise to resettlement; (b) the zone of impact of such component or activities; (c) the alternatives considered to avoid or minimize resettlement; and (d) the mechanisms established to minimize resettlement, to the extent possible, during project implementation. 3. Objectives. The main objectives of the resettlement program. 4. Socioeconomic studies. The findings of socioeconomic studies to be conducted after establishing the eligibility of the Household for OC and if they will be adversely affected. 5. Legal framework. As included in the RPF 6. Institutional Framework. As included in the RPF. (a) an assessment of the institutional capacity of such agencies and NGOs; and (b) any steps that are proposed to enhance the institutional capacity of agencies and NGOs responsible for resettlement implementation. 7. Eligibility. Definition of displaced persons and criteria for determining their eligibility for compensation and other resettlement assistance, including relevant cut-off dates included in the RPF. 8. Valuation of and compensation for losses. The methodology to be used in valuing losses to determine their replacement cost; and a description of the proposed types and levels of compensation under local law and such supplementary measures as are necessary to achieve replacement cost for lost assets. 9. Resettlement measures. A description of the packages of compensation and other resettlement measures that will assist each category of eligible displaced persons to achieve the objectives of the policy. In addition to being technically and economically feasible, the resettlement packages should be compatible with the cultural preferences of the displaced persons and prepared in consultation with them. 10. Community participation. Involvement of resettlers and host communities, 11. Grievance Affordable and accessible procedures for third-party settlement of disputes arising from resettlement; such grievance mechanisms should take into account the availability of judicial recourse and community and traditional dispute settlement mechanisms. 12. Implementation schedule. An implementation schedule covering all resettlement activities from preparation through implementation, including target dates for the


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achievement of expected benefits to resettlers and hosts and terminating the various forms of assistance. The schedule should indicate how the resettlement activities are linked to the implementation of the overall project. 13. Costs and budget. Tables showing itemized cost estimates for all resettlement activities, including allowances for inflation, population growth, and other contingencies; timetables for expenditures; sources of funds; and arrangements for timely flow of funds, and funding for resettlement, if any, in areas outside the jurisdiction of the implementing agencies. 14. Monitoring and evaluation.


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15.2 Annexure 2: Household Survey Questionnaire Questionnaire No.____________ Date: ____________

A. Identification

House No Name of the Street

Name of the Area Block/Area No.

Name of the City Type of Settlement

1- Informal /2- Formal/ 3-Other (Specify)

B. Socio-economic Details

1. Name of the Household Head

2. Education Qualification of HH Head

3. Occupation of HH Head

4. Ethnic Category

5. Religious Category

1. Muslim Sunni 2. Muslim Shia 3. Hindu 4. Sikh 5. Buddhism 6. Other (specify)…………

6. Native Language

7. Size of Family 1. Small (2-4) 2. Medium (5-7) 3. Large (Above 7)

8. Total Male members in family

Men: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Boys (< 15 Years): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9. Total Female members in family

Women: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Girls (< 15 Years): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10. Number of working member in family

Specify 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11. Household Assets (Please Record Numbers)

TV Refrigerator

Two wheeler

Four Wheeler

Telephone/Mob. Phone

Washing Machine

Food Processor/ Mixer/ Grinder

Computer/ Laptop

Air Conditioner

Microwave oven

Others

12. What is the average monthly income of Household? Please Specify

13. What are the sources of above income?

S No Source In AFN (specify per month)

1. Service


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2. Business/Trade

3. Agriculture

4. Horticulture

5. Livestock

6. Pension

7. Wages

8. Remittances

9. Other (Specify)

C. Land Details

S No

Description Option Response

1. Do you possess/hold any land?

1-Yes/2-No

2. What is the extent of land you have in your possession/ hold?

Type Sq.M

1- Residential

2- Commercial

3-Residential cum Commercial

4- Industrial

5-Agriculture

6- Orchid or Gardens

7- Others(Specify)

3. Since when are you in possession of this property/land?

Approx. no of years

4. Do you have any documents to prove this?

1- Yes/2-No

5. What are these documents? Please List

6. Did you ever have any boundary disputes with your neighbours?

1- Yes/2-No

7. If YES, what are those? Please list

8. Did anyone conduct any survey of your land?

1- Yes/2-No

9. If YES, who has conducted this survey?

Specify the authority/agency

10. Do know what kind of technical survey is this?

1 . Just Measurements with tapes 2. Total Station Survey 3. GPS Survey 4. Other (Specify)

11. Were there any issues/ difficulties in conducting this land measurement/ Survey?

1. Improper Measurement 2. Wrong entries 3. Did not survey whole property 4. Survey in absentia of HH


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5. Our objections not heard 6. Others (Specify)

12. Have you paid anything for the land survey Team/ Person?

1-Yes/2-No

13. If YES, what is the amount paid?

In AFN

14. Are you satisfied with this survey?

1- Yes/2-No

15. Reasons for satisfaction/ Dissatisfaction

Please specify

16. Have you applied for the Occupancy Certificate (OC)?

1-Yes/2-No If NO go to Q. 47

17. What is the use of OC? Please list

18. What are the documents required to apply for OC?

1 . Traditional Ownership Document 2. Other (Please specify) List

19. Before applying for OC, did you have these documents ready with you?

1-Yes/2-No

20. If NO, which documents you did not have?

Please list

21. From where did you procure these documents?


22. What is the cost of procuring these documents?

Specify in AFN

23. What is time taken to get these documents?

Specify in Days/ Weeks/ Months

24. Did you sign a contract with ARAZI?

1-Yes/2-No

25. If NO, Why? Please list reasons.

26. How long did it take to get this OC?

27. Did you pay any fee to get this OC?

1- Yes/2-No

28. If YES, how much? Specify in AFN

29. Do you possess the OC now?

1- Yes/2-No

30. If YES, who has issued the OC?


31. Did you find the OC application process cumbersome?

1-Yes/2-No


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32. If YES, Please give reasons Please list

33. What are your suggestions to simplify the application process for OC?

Please list

34. Have you paid SAFAI Fees after getting the OC?

1-Yes/ 2-No

35. If NO, please give reasons? Please list

36. Can you use the OC for making land transactions (Sale)?

1-Yes/2-No

37. If YES, Did you sell land after receiving OC for it?

1-Yes/2-No

38. If YES, did you register the land?

1-Yes/2-No

39. If YES, with which agency? Please name the agency

40. Did the transaction involve any fees?

1-Yes/2-No

41. What are the benefits of having OC?

Specify

42. Are you satisfied with the OC?

1- Yes/2-No

43. Do you know about Title Deed?

1-Yes/2-No

44. Where to you get it from? Please name the agency

45. Do you have to pay for the Title Deed?

1-Yes/2-No

46. How long will it take to get the Title Deed?

Please specify Years/ Months/ Weeks/ Days

47. If NO, what are the reasons for not applying for OC?

Please List

48. What are your perceptions on benefits of OC?

Please list

D. Suggestions

49. Any other suggestions on the following topics.

Aspects Response

Land Survey/measurement

Documentation required for getting OC

Process of getting OC

Fees levied for OC

Any Other (specify)

Name of the respondent: Age: Relationship with HH


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15.3 Annexure 3: Focus Group Discussions & Key Informant Interviews Check List

(To be used for Key Informant Interviews as well)

a) Property Boundaries b) Disputes related to boundaries with neighbours c) Perceptions on property boundaries d) Generally agreed boundary definitions e) Boundary considerations during sale/ purchase, etc. f) Mutually accepted terms during land transactions g) Land transactions without OCs h) Perceptions on property rights i) Pre-requisites for issuing OCs – Documents, Fees, etc. j) Problems/ issues during measurement/ survey, k) Cost of collecting the required documents for OC l) Perceptions on enhanced security with OC m) Perceptions on Taxes after issuance of OCs and Relevance of these Taxes n) Satisfaction with OCs o) Alternatives/ changes/ etc., to the process of issuing OCs – Making it simple p) Timing for issuance of Title Deeds q) Considerations/ issues in OC holders applying for Title Deeds r) Reasons for not applying for OCs s) Need for more precise surveys t) Willingness to pay for more accurate (precise) measurements/ surveys, u) Capacity to pay for more accurate (precise) measurements/ surveys – payment

of actual (real) costs v) Perceptions on land markets/ costs – before after OCs w) Any alternatives/ changes/ etc., to OCs


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1.5 Annexure 4: Public Consultation and Disclosure Workshop Subject: Meeting Minutes

Agenda: Consultation and disclosure of Environmental Management Framework (EMF)

and Social Management Framework (SMF) for Afghanistan Land Administration System

Project (ALASP)

Venue: MUDL Main Conference Hall

Date: 03rd December, 2018

Participants:

No. Name Organization Designation Phone

Number

1 Gul Rahman Totakhail MUDL Deputy CEO 0799237432

2 Sultan.M.Sultani MUDL- PPG Project Director 0797659797

3 Zahir Sultani MUDL Director- Cadastre 0705168815

4

Jamshed Ahmadzai MUDL-PPG Environmental and

Social Safeguards

Specialist

0786119333

5

Muhammad Reza Ministry of Urban

Development and

Housing

0772418854

6 Mohammad Ali Ministry of Finance 0779904175

7

Eng. Malalai Barekzai Ministry of Energy

and Water

Director- Energy

Policy

0744181213

0799827738

8 Zuahl Talash CoAR Program Officer 0797152084

9 Gul Agha Hemat MUDL Civil Engineer 0787006758

10 Khalid Noori MUDL Procurement Officer 0700247532

11 Rahimullah Sayeq MUDL Snr. Civil Engineer 0771815454

12

Shapoor Jabarkhail MUDL Snr. Procurement

Specialist

0789441242

13 Abdul Samad Abid NEPA ESIA- Engineer 0783123254

14 Nasir Ayoubi MUDL 0790602222

15 M. Ibrahim MUDL Sr. S/W Tech 07848805018

16 Said Shah Hamid MUDL- PPG Sr. IT Specialist 0788181816

17 Afifa Sadaat MUDL- PPG Gender Specialist 0790611559

18

Alif Khan Ministry of Public

Works (MoPW)

0798254100

19 M. Rafi PEASO CEO 0777347777

20 Sayed Yahya MUDL M&E Officer 0707070600

21 Awista Saba MUDL HR Officer 0703059280

22 Sadaf MUDL Executive Officer 0731035112

23 Shogofa MUDL HR Officer 0786707004

24 Tamanna Wira MUDL Database Officer 0706178542

25

Atefa Noory Ministry of Women

Affairs

Program Officer 0700800345

26

Hafeez.M Ministry of

Agriculture,

Extension Officer 0776912054


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Irrigation and

Livestock

27 Sima Bayat MUDL Gender Specialist 0794050219

28 Abdul Ghaffar Mateen MUDL- PPG P. Officer 0749407238

29 Waheedullah MUDL- PPG Admin Officer 0700244066

30 Nadia Toofan MUDL- PPG HR Specialist 0788951655

Minutes:

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM, as it started with 30 minutes delay in order to

receive more participants. The participants self-introduced themselves at the start of the

meeting. In his opening remarks Mr. Sultani welcomed the participants and explained the

overall objectives of the meeting. He explained the meeting agenda and the project related

information. He added that the main objectives of the meeting are to disclose EMF, SMF and

RPF prepared for the ALASP project and to consult the concerned stakeholders. He explained

the project development objectives of the ALASP project and added that the project is funded

by the World Bank Group and MUDL will implement the project within the planned timeframe.

He added that this project is designed to build and promote trust in land administration through

a series of measures and will support the development of the Afghanistan land administration

system. He also added that the ALASP project will provide the population in the Project area

with improved cadastre and property registry services. He stated that the project has three

components with sub- components under each component. The objectives and implementation

strategy of each component; 1) Land Policy and Institutional Strengthening, 2) Developing

Technological Capacity, Information and Systems for Land Administration and 3) Project

Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, was explained in details. He requested the

participants to note their questions with regard to the project which will be answered at the end

of the meeting. He informed that the Environmental and Social Safeguards specialist will

deliver the presentation on EMF, SMF and RPF and after this the questions and suggestions of

the participants will be answered and taken into consideration, respectively.

Mr. Jamshed Ahmadzai, the project Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist informed

that in compliance with the NEPA guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessment and the

World Bank Safeguards regulations, the environmental and social assessments and

management frameworks of developmental projects need to be disclosed and the concerned

stakeholders be consulted in the planning stage of the projects before the major decisions are

made. He added that the Environmental and Social Management Frameworks and Resettlement

Policy Framework for ALASP project are being disclosed to the public in this consultation

meeting. He informed that the executive summaries of these reports, in local language, are

already shared with concerned stakeholders and also published through the MUDL website. He

informed that three separate presentations on EMF, SMF and RPF will be made during the

session.

He explained about the project outcome indicators, project area and the beneficiaries of

ALASP. He informed that initially the project will be implemented in two priority provinces of

Kabul and Herat in urban and semi urban areas and upon successful implementation, the project

will be extended to other provinces throughout Afghanistan. He added that in order to achieve

the project objectives and adhere to the safeguard regulations, MUDL initiated the preparation

of EMF for ALASP. The EMF is prepared taking into consideration the applicable laws and

policies of the GoIRA and the safeguards of the World Bank. He added that the EMF comprises


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of environmental management plan, grievance redressal mechanism, implementation

arrangements, monitoring, capacity building and budget allocated for EMF implementation

throughout the project cycle. He explained in detail the approach and methodology adapted for

preparation of EMF and added that after disclosing the report it will be finalized and would

become an integral part of the project documents. Information on land categories, tenure and

rights was also explained in terms of private, public and state lands.

Mr. Ahmadzai added that ALASP interventions are soft activities which will not have any

significant impacts which are adverse in nature or unprecedented. The project is categorized as

category “B” in compliance with the World Bank Safeguard guidelines. He explained the

project’s positive and negative impacts. The project will provide land security to titleholders,

pave way to title deeds and as well provide ease in obtaining the title deeds and land transfer.

The other major positive impact of the project will be creation of the better ways for resolution

of the land related disputes. He added that the project may have some likely adverse impacts

which will be temporary and site specific. He informed that these will be mitigated through

proper mitigation measures. He explained some of the likely adverse environmental impacts

due to the project during the implementation stage. He explained the proposed mitigation

measures through proper environmental management and monitoring.

During the presentation on SMF, Mr. Ahmadzai mentioned the overall objectives of preparation

of SMF for ALASP and its importance throughout the project. He added that the same approach

anb methodology that was adopted for EMF was adopted for preparation of SMF. The baseline

and primary data was collected through sampling surveys. He explained the sampling strategy

for data collection. A total of 23 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with different stakeholder

groups (owners of formal/ informal properties, urban poor settlements (slums), occupational

diversity, gender, faith/ social status, etc.), 21 Key Informant interviews (KII) with persons with

the knowledge of Land Survey and Occupancy Certificates Process and 80 households surveys

20 in each city based on the questionnaire developed were carried out in the selected cities of

Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Herat and Kandahar. Profile of the sampled communities in terms

of average family size, sex ratio, literacy rate, occupation, average income and sources, duration

of ownership of land were also captured in detail. He explained the responses of the people on

the satisfaction of the land surveys and their suggestions for improvement of Occupancy

Certificate process were also captured.

At this point, Mr. Zahir Sultani, Director of Cadastre, has explained the key features of the OC

regulations. He added that the OC process is currently underway in six different cities which

will be extended to other cities in near future. He also explained the risk associated with the

process which may lead to the exclusion and also explained the management of those risks.

Mr. Ahmadzai added that the proper management of those risks is explained in the project

Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF), Social Management Framework (SMF) and Gender

Strategy and Action Plan. Further, he explained the broad principles of the Resettlement Policy

Framework (RFP). He provided information on the citizen engagement strategy and Grievance

Redress Mechanism for ALASP. He added that two Grievance Redress Committees (GRC),

one each at provincial and national level will be established to redress the grievances. The role

and responsibilities of both the committees was explained in details.

Ms. Afifa Sadaat, the project gender specialist explained that a gender assessment was carried

out for ALASP. The assessment was carried through conducting Focus Group Discussions

(FGDs), direct observations and Key Informant Interviews in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat


87

cities. To obtain comprehensive perspectives of communities, she added that they invited male

and female participants from a variety of backgrounds and educational levels to participate in

the FGDs.

Mr. Ahmadzai also presented information on project Citizen Engagement strategy. He said that,

this strategy will be achieved through stakeholder’s consultation, participatory planning and

monitoring. MUDL will develop an ICT citizen feedback model which will also be a support

to the project grievance redress mechanism, while this process will be monitored through an

independent third party monitoring throughout the project. The information on project capacity

building strategy was also discussed. He added that in accordance with the project component

2, the project will enhance the capacity of MUDL and participating agencies through

orientation, learning programs, training programs on SMF, RPF and SMP, gender and

grievance management.

Towards the end of the session, Mr. Ahmadzai provided information that the implementation

of the EMF and SMF will be properly monitored through internal monitoring of social and

environmental indicators and a third party monitoring and evaluation audit. At the end of the

presentation the estimated budget for implementation of SMF and EMF was also discussed and

presented to the participants.

The participants were requested to seek clarifications and make suggestions on the frameworks

and the information provided during the consultation meeting.

Clarifications and Suggestions Session:

Questions Responses

1. Mr. Akram Salam- UN- Habitat

Why the people are insisting on reducing the

length of the issuance of OCs?

Mr. Zahir Sultani- Director- Cadaster

All of the features of this program are

designed with specific procedures, during

these five years span all the information

pertaining to background of ownership of

land will be identified. And MUDL has a

social contract with the property tenures

where during this time period all the issues

would be resolved through legal procedures

as mandated. And during the period people

should cooperate with the survey teams in

order to enable us to distribute the title deeds

within five years. We have many problems

with the land grabbing in Afghanistan and

the land administration cannot alone solve

these conflicts, so security organs and other

agencies are working together to tackle the

issues. This system is a valid system taken

from the model of Turkey, because both

countries are similar in terms of culture and

religion, and this system is better suited.

2. Eng. Malalai Barekzai – MoEW Mr. Zahir Sultani- Director- Cadaster

If the land is identified as government land,

the property certificate will be given to the

woman and the man in a joint form. In other


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Please explain information on joint OC of husband and wife

areas, people are free to choose to receive the

OC in whatever name they wish to, and this

matter is explained in the presidential decree

No. 305. But people do not want to give the

woman a document of ownership due to

customary rules and this is a traditional issue

in Afghanistan, which requires awareness

among the people. On issue of Wasseqa (a

legal document), agreement with the

Supreme Court have been signed to process

the legal cases.

Mr. Gul Rahman Totakhail- Deputy CEO

A private company “Al Madinah” has

invested around $ 16 million in this process

and developed a new technology that will be

implemented over the next 15 years with a

fair fee, and the IDPL-ALASP program will

be implemented using this technology in

which the land is recorded to the new system.

Segregation of land is carried out by a survey

and recorded in databases.

3. M. Rafi- PEASO

We have recorded the land of 14 provinces in our office database with a reliable back up system, and we are able to share this with MUDL


MUDL through technical surveys, uploads

all the coordinates and land related

information to the database system of land

bank automatically which cannot be used

inappropriately. This land system is new and

very reliable. We would also receive your

information if it could be of any assistance to

us in future.

Mr. Gul Rahman Totakhail- Deputy CEO

All the legal and technical issues are solved

by MUDL in coordination with supreme

court and Data protection measures are taken

to ensure that all information is protected.

4. Eng. Malalai Barekzai – MoEW

In the project procedure and

implementation plans, the rehabilitation

procedures should also be considered,

since some areas are under the threat of

environmental hazards and people should

be made aware of the issues and MUDL

should take action in preventing of

distribution of OCs in hazardous areas.

For instance, in Khwaja bughra area of

Kabul city, there are plenty of houses

below the overhead power lines with high


All plans have been made in coordination

with the municipalities and ministry of Urban

Development and housing. The people will

be benefited from the municipality services

and further infrastructures.


89

voltage as the impact of which is very

dangerous to the people residing there.

Also MUDL should present a clear policy on

distribution of OCs in areas and houses which

has contributed in ruining the landscape and

beauty of the cities.

5. Abdul Samad Abid- NEPA

MUDL should have share the SMF and EMF with NEPA and seek their approval before it is proceeds for implementation.

Jamshed Ahmadzai – Environmental and

Social Safeguards Specialist

ALASP project is categorized as category

“B” in compliance with World Bank

Safeguards regulations, which have minor

and temporary impacts as they can be

mitigated through proper mitigation

measures. At the same time all the donor

agencies who are funding the government

project are exempted to seek the NEPA’s

approval for category “B” projects. However

we will share the documents which are

accessible through MUDL’s website and a

soft copy would be send to all the concerned

stakeholders.

6. Reza Haqjo- MUDH

As you have presented challenges in your presentation ahead of this project, but you did not recommend a solution and a joint mechanism to put in place with stakeholders and to better coordinate the program.

Jamshed Ahmadzai - Environmental and

Social Safeguards Specialist The likely impacts in terms of both

environmental and social are presented and

some of the proposed mitigation measures

were also explained. As they are likely

impacts and we are sure that it will be

mitigated through proper management. Also

it will make sure that the project will be

implemented in close coordination and

monitoring of sectoral ministries.

Mr. Sultani the project Director once again thanked the participants for attending meeting

session. The meeting ended at 12:20 PM.

Photos of the meeting:


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