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Social Monitoring Report

Project No.: 46543-002 November 2019

Tajikistan: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridors 3 and 5 Enhancement Project Prepared by: SMEC International (Pty) Ltd, Australia for the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of

Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank.

This social monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

Final Social Safeguard Monitoring Report for Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling Road October 2019

CAREC Corridors 3 &5 Enhancement Project SMEC International Pty. Ltd

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REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

ADB Grant: 0356-TAJ (SF)

CAREC Corridor 3&5 Enhancement Project

(Kangurt-Baljuvon_Khovaling Road section)

Final Social Safeguard Monitoring Report

October 2019

SMEC International Pty. Ltd.



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DOCUMENT CONTROL

This Social Safeguard Monitoring Report is produced in accordance with the requirements of the Contract for the Provision of Construction Supervision Services to the Ministry of Transport, Republic of Tajikistan for 42.50 km Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling Road under CAREC Corridor 3 & 5 Enhancement Project of the Asian Development Bank Grant 0356-Taj (SF).

The Project Management and Construction Supervision Consultant (PMSC) of these Contracts is SMEC International Pty. Ltd. This report reviews the actions that the PIURR and Contractors have undertaken in accordance with the Social Development Issues in the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road section. Prepared By Kh. Khairul Matin Social and Resettlement Safeguard Specialist SMEC International Pty. Ltd. Date: October, 2019



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... 6

DEFINITION OF SELECTED TERMS................................................................................. 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 8

A. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT ............................................................................................... 11

I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................11

II. Project Locations .........................................................................................................12

III. Description of the Kangurt-Baljuvon Road.....................................................................12

IV. Physical Progress of the Project Activities ....................................................................13

V. Project Impacts ..............................................................................................................14

B SOCIAL SAFEGUARD MONITORING................................................................................................. 15

I. Scope of Monitoring .....................................................................................................15

II. Methodologies adopted during monitoring ....................................................................15

III. Monitoring Results .......................................................................................................16

C. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM ......................................................................... 19

I. Process of Grievance Resolution ....................................................................................19

II. Observation on Grievances ............................................................................................20

D. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ................................................................... 21

I. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................21

II. Recommendation ...........................................................................................................21



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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Description of the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling Road …………..………………………13 Table 2: Steps and procedures of grievance resolution …………...………………………………19

FIGURES

Figure-1: Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling Road Section ……………………………….……………..12



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ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS

AH Affected Household AP ADB

Affected People Asian Development Bank

ADF Asian Development Fund AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome CAREC Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation CBA Collective Bargaining Authority CC Civil Code of The Republic of Tajikistan CPR Community Property Resources CROW Construction Right of Way DDR Due Diligence Report DP Displaced Person EA Executing Agency FGD Focus Group Discussion GOT Government of Tajikistan GRC Grievance Redress Committee GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism HH Household HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus LARP Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOT Ministry of Transport PIU RR Project Implementation Unit For Road Rehabilitation PMSC Project Management & Supervision Consultant RoW Right of Way RoT Republic of Tajikistan SF Special Fund SPS Safeguard Policy Statement STD Sexually Transmitted Diseases TJS Tajikistan Somoni (Currency) USD United States Dollar

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

1ha (Hectare) = 10000sq.m (square meter) 1 km (kilometer) = 1000 m (Meter) 1 Metric Ton = 1000 kg (kilogram)

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(As of September 2019)

Currency unit = Tajikistan Somoni (TJS) U S Dollar (US$)

US$1.00 = TJS 9.68



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DEFINITION OF SELECTED TERMS

Compensation means payment in cash or kind for an asset to be acquired or affected by a Project at replacement cost at current market value.

Displaced Persons In the context of involuntary resettlement, displaced persons are those who are physically displaced (relocation, loss of residential land, or loss of shelter) and/or economically displaced (loss of land, assets, access to assets, income sources, or means of livelihoods) as a result of i) involuntary acquisition of land or ii) involuntary restrictions on land use or on access to legally designated parks and protected areas.

Encroachers mean those people who move into the Project area after the cut-off date

and are therefore not eligible for compensation or other rehabilitation measures provided by the Project.

Entitlement means the range of measures comprising cash or kind compensation,

relocation cost, income rehabilitation assistance, transfer assistance, income substitution/business restoration, which are due to DPs, depending on the type, extent and nature of their losses, and which suffice to restore their social and economic base.

Hukumat This is the District administration in Tajikistan Jamoat This is the Sub-district administration under each District (Hukumat) Land Acquisition means the process whereby a person is compelled by a public agency to

alienate all or part of the land s/he owns or possesses, to the ownership and possession of that agency, for public purposes, in return for fair compensation.

Presidential Land means land for which use rights have been allocated by Presidential Decree but ownership remains with the state.



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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction to the Project: The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT) undertook a project to develop CAREC Corridors 3 and 5 and their associated sub-network under financing of the ADB worth USD 70 million ADF Grant: 0356-TAJ (SF) and contributing USD 19 million from its own Government budget, Objective of the project was to support sustainable transport and economic development to the region. Under the project improvement of the 89 km Sayron-Karamik road and rehabilitation of the 86.70km Vose to Khovaling road was completed and defect liability period was over on 30 November 2018 and 24.8.2018 respectively. Land acquisition and displacement was taken place in Vose-Khovaling road section only. Therefore, one Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP) was prepared and implemented by Project Implementation Unit (PIU) under Ministry of Transport (MOT) in Vose-Khovaling road. Compensation and other benefits to the affected people were paid following the policy of the LARP. Grievances were redressed and people were relocated after payment of compensation. Final Monitoring report on LARP implementation of Vose-Khovaling road was prepared in October 2018 and duly uploaded on ADB website in November 2018. From the allocated amount for CAREC Corridor 3&5 about 7.80 Million USD was saved and the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) decided to rehabilitate 42.50 km Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road including construction of two new bridges on this road section. Construction and rehabilitation work have been completed and the road was opened in August, 06 2019 for public use. This social safeguard monitoring report has been prepared for the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road section.

Location of the Project: The Kangurt-Baljuvon road is located in Baljuvon and Timur Malik Districts under Khatlon region that connects Dangara and Khovaling via Baljuvon with a shorter distance saving about 64 km. Total 17 villages are located along the project road under Baljuvon and Timur Malik districts. People of these villages will enjoy benefit of this project.

Physical Progress of Civil Works: Civil Contractor of the Kangurt-Baljuvon road section is China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Contract was signed on May 04, 2018 and work was commenced on July 09, 2018. The contractor was awarded for 540 days with a plan to complete the tasks on October 31, 2019 including construction of two new bridges. Later locations of two Bridges (Bridge No. 5 & 6) were changed and constructed new bridges. All of the civil construction has been completed and road has been inaugurated by the Honorable President of Tajikistan on August 06, 2019 for public use. Working Commission has checked the physical compliance issues on September 17, 2019. Upon issuing certificate by the Working Commission the road will be handed over by the contractor to the PIU by October 31, 2019. Defect liabilities period will be started on November 01, 2019. Project Impacts: Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road including two new bridges has been constructed on the MOT administered land and therefore private land acquisition was not required. There was no squatters or encroachers within the construction right of way (CROW). For this, resettlement plan was not prepared and compensation payment was not required. Some of the houses were found very closed to the CROW. Taking into account of other project experience PIU introduced non-vibrant roller and other equipment so that the structures would not get any crack due to movement of the construction equipment/machineries. Due Diligence Report (DDR) was initially prepared on social & environmental issues and finally a supplementary DDR was due to changing the locations of Bridge No. 5 & 6.



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Basis for Monitoring: The monitoring was conducted based on (i) the procedures and guidelines of ADB as set out in the SPS 2009; (ii) relevant laws, policies, and regulations of Republic of Tajikistan (iii) Due Diligence Report of this component; and (iv) the general principle that AP’s livelihood should be better or at least maintain their living condition as before the project.

Methods adopted for Monitoring: Various levels of the officials from PIU such as Deputy Executive Director, and ADB Social/Resettlement Specialist were consulted during preparation of this final monitoring report. The Team Leader of the Project Management and Construction Supervision Consultant (PMSC) and senior officials of the contractor (China Road and Bridge Corporation) were also consulted to get update about the social compliance issues lying with the contractor and level of compliance. The PMSC Social Resettlement Safeguard Specialist visited the total alignment on September 13, 2019 and talked to the local people. They expressed satisfaction about the project and shown no complaints over the project activities. Small group consultations were held with the local people along the road and Baljuvon Hukumat people and sought their opinion about the project performance and ultimate benefit of the project. Key findings of Monitoring: The people along the project road and the local administration were aware of the project activities including components and interventions. They were consulted at different levels of project design including preparation of Due Diligence report. Since the project activities didn’t displace people, shops or community properties, acquire private land and even no adverse impacts during construction, so the people expressed high satisfaction on the project performance. None of the houses alongside the project road experienced crack due to the construction. People has no grievance over the project activities. It has created opportunity for the people to move Dangara and Khovaling within short time. After improving of the Kangurt-Baljuvon road they can easily carry goods, sale with reasonable price, move to the health care center and other service providing institutions in Dangara and Khovaling.

Grievance Redress Mechanism: A four-tiered grievance redress mechanism was established in the CAREC Corridor 3&5. These were applicable for the Kangurt-Baljuvon road section. The people along the project road were consulted about the grievance redress mechanism of the project during preparation and implementation stage. No grievance has been placed by the local people during the project period.

Social Compliance Issues lying with Contractor: Civil Contractor (China Road and Bridge Corporation) had deployed international and local employees (skilled and unskilled) during the project construction period. According to the information provided by the senior officials of the contractor, they gave equal salary to male and female for similar type of work. The employees had health insurance and they enjoyed medical facilities during their illness, regular health checkup, freedom of association, etc. They were also trained about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS and prevention measures as well. The contractor used the government land for base camp, crushing plant and diversion road. The contractor paid remuneration to the local employees @ minimum TJS 1500/month which is more than average salary of Tajikistan. Meaning they have maintained core labore standard of Tajikistan.

Conclusion and Recommendation: Construction of the bridges and improvement of the 42.50 km Kangurt-Baljuvon road had no major impacts on the local community since private land acquisition and displacement were not taken place. Contractor used non-vibrant roller and other equipment so that adjacent houses got no crack. People have no grievance over the project



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activities. They didn’t face major trouble in terms of movement during construction since the contractor made alternative/diversion road to keep the vehicles running. Improvement of this road and construction of two new bridges has brought new ventures of business and communication for the local residents. Following the Kangurt Baluvon road, land acquisition and displacement would be avoided (as far as possible) and non-vibrant construction equipment should be ensured in the tender documents for future projects to minimize impacts on the structures in the adjacent area of the CROW.



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B. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

I. Introduction

1. The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT) received USD 70 million ADF Grant:

0356-TAJ (SF) financing from the ADB and contributing USD 19 million from its own

Government budget, in order to support sustainable transport and economic development

through improving the CAREC Corridors 3 and 5 and their associated sub-network including

feeder roads. Objective of the project was to support sustainable transport and economic

development to the region. Under the project improvement of the 89 km Sayron-Karamik road

and rehabilitation of the 86.70km Vose to Khovaling road was completed and defect liability

period was over on 30 November 2018 and 24.8.2018 respectively. Land acquisition and

displacement was taken place in Vose-Khovaling road section only. Therefore, a Land

Acquisition and Resettlement Pan (LARP) was prepared for the 86.700 km Vose to Khovaling

road section and implemented as well. Total 126 affected people were identified for

compensation from which 102 people in Vose district and 24 people in Khovaling district.

Compensation and other benefits to all of the affected people were paid following the policy of

the LARP. Grievances were redressed and people were relocated after payment of

compensation. Final Monitoring report on LARP implemented of Vose-Khovaling was prepared

in October 2018 and duly uploaded on ADB website in November 2018.

2. From the allocated amount for CAREC Corridor 3 & 5 about 7.80 Million USD was saved

and the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) decided to rehabilitate and reconstruct 42.50 km

Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road including construction of two new bridges on this road

section using the saved amount along with other available budget. The Kangurt–Baljuon road

and bridges have been rehabilitated/constructed on the MOT administered land and therefore

private land acquisition and displacement of the people were not required in this 42.50km road.

There was no squatters or encroachers within the construction right of way (CROW). Due

Diligence report on social and environmental issues was prepared at the initial stage of the

project design. After changing of the two bridge locations (Bridge No. 5&6) a supplementary

the Due Diligence Report was prepared. Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP) was

not required in this road section. Civil construction of the road and bridges have been

completed and the road was inaugurated by the Honorable President of the Republic of

Tajikistan on August 06, 2019 and opened for public use. The Working Commission

(comprising of 24 persons form various departments) has checked physical compliance of the

project on September 17, 2019. After certification of the Working Commission the road will be

handed over by the Contractor to the PIU by end of October. Defect liabilities period will be

started on November 01, 2019 for one year.

3. This social safeguard monitoring report has been prepared for the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road section taking into account of the people’s opinion, social issues addressed during construction, opportunities of the road users, grievances/concerns of the people, etc. due to construction of the road. Compensation and relocation was not required in this road section since land acquisition and displacement was not taken place. Compliance issues with



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the contactor regarding deployment of local people, equal salary for the male and female employees, forced or compulsory laborers, freedom of association, easy movement of the local residents during construction, training provided to the employees and local residents on STDs and HIV/AIDS, etc. have been taken into account during preparation of this final report.

II. Project Locations

4. Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road is located at Khatlon Region under the Baljuvon Hukumat. The 42.50 km road connected Dangara and Khovaling and reduced the distance to 108 km instead of 172 km. The Khatlon province is located in the south-western part of the country, between the Hissor Range in the north and the Pyanj River in the south, and borders with Afghanistan in the southeast and Uzbekistan in the west. Khatlon Province consists of 24 districts, of which the Project area falls in Baljuvon and Timur Malik districts. There are 17 villages along the Kangurt-Baljuvon road. The villagers are now enjoying all facilities of the new road.

Figure 1: Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling Road section

III. Description of the Kangurt-Baljuvon Road

5. The Kangurt-Baljuvon road is a local road that connects Dangara and Khovaling via Baljuvon. The road crosses the river ‘Obimazor’ on which Bridge No. 6 has been constructed, A total of Six bridges are on the project road of which four bridges were rehabilitated and two bridges (Bridge No 5 & 6) at km 23+000 and km 25+300 were reconstructed. Rehabilitation of road and four bridges and reconstruction of two bridges didn’t require private land acquisition of displacement of any houses, shops or community properties. A supplementary Due Diligence report was prepared in December 2018. The construction of the road was done within the MOT administered land. Around 19,000 trees (mostly firewood) were fell down during construction,



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Local Hukumats replanted around 50,000 trees of various species in the slope of the road and nearby hills. Description of the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road is as under- Table 1: description of the Kangurt-Baljuvon road [ Name/Location of the Feeder Roads Unit Quantity Land acquisition and

resettlement impacts Rehabilitation of road from Jangurt to Khovaling road (Police check post) via Baljuvan

km 42.50 Land acquisition and Resettlement was not required since the project activities were carried out within the MOT administered land. No squatters or encroachers were found affected.

Rehabilitation of culverts No 36 Rehabilitation of bridges No 04 Reconstruction of bridges No 02

IV. Physical Progress of the Project Activities

6. Rehabilitation of the road, 36 culverts and 04 bridges and reconstruction of two new bridges have been completed and the road has been opened for the public use by the Honorable President of the Republic of Tajikistan on August 06, 2019. Only river training works, slabs on the drain and some beautification works associated with the civil works are going on. Work Commission has checked physical compliance on September 17, 2019. The project is scheduled to be handed over by the Contractor to PIU on October 01, 2019. Defect liabilities period will be started on November 01, 2019 for one year.

Road and Bridge is opened for public use



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Earthen houses closed to the pavement but got no crack due to use of non-vibrant equipment

V. Project Impacts

7. Since there was no land acquisition and displacement in this project so no major impacts on the people and community was identified. During construction of the project the local people faced some temporary impacts on their daily movement, livelihood, transportation, etc. But these were very much nominal since the Contractor took necessary measures to keep the movement of the transport and people. There are some earthen structures closed to the road those might get experience of crack due to movement of equipment. But such impacts were mitigated by using non-vibrant roller and other construction equipment. So, all of the temporary impacts have been addressed in due course. 8. There was no loss of any agricultural or urban land for the road and approach or exit roads to new Bridge No 5 and for Bridge No 6, as such there was no requirement for land acquisition. No physical displacement of people, either on an individual household or through the acquisition of public properties such as schools, mosques or other community centers were occurred



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B SOCIAL SAFEGUARD MONITORING

9. Social monitoring has been done during construction of the project road and reported accordingly. Social monitoring includes people’s opinion about the project, movement of the people during construction, deployment of local people in the civil construction, use of land for the project, salary for male and female employees, equal work opportunity irrespective of gender, gender based violence, satisfaction of the people after the project road is opened for the public, etc.

I. Scope of Monitoring

10. The scope of the monitoring comprises the following:

i. Review and verify periodic reports prepared by the Contractor and Consultant ii. Review the initial and supplementary due diligence reports iii. Identify and select impact indicators; iv. Consult PIU, consultant (PMSC), contractors and PAPs and assess efficiency,

effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the social issues to draw lessons for future similar types of projects.

11. The monitoring was conducted based on (i) the procedures and guidelines of ADB as set out in the SPS 2009; (ii) relevant laws, policies, and regulations of Republic of Tajikistan (iii) the general principle that AP’s livelihood should be better or at least maintain their living condition as before the project.

II. Methodologies adopted during monitoring

12. During preparation of this final Social Monitoring Report the Deputy Executive Director, of the PIU, PMSC, Local Hukumat and local people along the project road were consulted about the project documents and other issues related to social and resettlement. Information on the social compliance issues lying with the contractor including temporary land use, deployment of local people particularly PAPs in the construction work, similarities of salaries among male and female workers, freedom of association of the employees, etc. were obtained from the senior officials of the Contractor.

Consultation with the local residents and engineers of Road Maintenance division of Baljuvon Hukumat



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13. Besides, the following methods were adopted during preparation of this document

Reviewed secondary sources available in connection with the project such as monthly and other periodic reports prepared by consultant and contractors.

Effectiveness of the grievances redress mechanism introduced in the CAREC Corridor 3 & 5 which was eventually applicable for the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road project.

Considered the opinion of the local people obtained on September 13 through small group consultation with the local people and Hukumat Engineers.

Compliance issues lying with the contactor with major focus on land use, deployment of people both male and female in construction works, payment of salary maintaining core labor standard, freedom of association of the workers, training on STD and HIV/AIDS, etc. were obtained from the Contractor.

III. Monitoring Results

14. Rehabilitation of the road and reconstruction of the two bridges have brought extraordinary opportunities to the local people and other road users. The road users expressed high satisfaction with the project. Results of monitoring are as follows-

i. During construction the contractor facilitated the local people with alternative road to move their vehicles. Therefore, they didn’t face any trouble during construction period.

ii. Contractor used non-vibrant roller and other equipment and therefore the structures, even earthen structures adjacent to the Construction Right of Way (CRoW), got no crack.

iii. Contractor used MOT administered land for rehabilitation of the road and construction of bridges. They also used the Government land for stake yard, crushing plant, batching plant, diversion road, etc. therefore private land was not occupied during construction.

iv. The Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road made the distance shorten by about 64 km from Dangara to Khovaling. It is to be noted that from Dangara to Khovaling via Vose is about 172 km while the distance from this two districts (Dangara to Khovaling) via Kangurt-Baljuvon is only 108 km.

v. People now can easily go to Khovaling and Dushanbe within short time. Before the project, people of Baljuvon used to go to Dushanbe via Kulob taking around 5 hourse time, but after opening of the project road they can directly go to Dushanbe via Dangara in 2.50-3.00 hours.

vi. Number and nature of vehicles on the project road has been increased remarkably after opening of the project road. Average daily traffic has been increased by 40% after project road is opened. Total vehicles counted as 1,817 per day in August 2019 while it was 1,296 in October 2018.

vii. Nature of vehicles has also been changed. Number of buses were only 11 in October 2018 whereas it was 57 in August 2019. Lots of new cars are moving on the road although it was hardly found before the project was opened. Increase of traffic is mainly for shorter distance from Dangara to Khovaling after the opening of the project.

viii. Travelling the 42.50km project road took 1.50 hours before the project whereas now it takes only 40minutes.

ix. The project has opened new venture of business for the local people including carrying goods to distant markets, new shops in inter sections, oil re-fueling stations, etc.



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IV. Temporary land use

15. For construction of the road and other facilities the contractor (China Road and Bridge Corporation) established main camp, crushing plant, stake yard, etc. by taking land from the local Hukumat. They didn’t use private land for any purpose. For using the GOT land the contractor was not asked for rent rather they used the land free of cost. After completion of the project the contractor will give back the land to the Hukumat in its original condition.

V. Other social compliance issues lying with the Contractor

16. The civil construction was commenced in July 2018 and completed in August 2019. Some additional work including covering the road side drain with slab, filling of road side ditches from where gravels were extracted, etc. are on progress. During the construction period the Contractor engaged officials and laborers from Tajikistan and China. A total of 311 personnel were working in the project from which 37 from China and 274 from Tajikistan. Among the employees of Tajikistan, around 70% were recruited from Timur Malik and Baljuvon districts and remaining 30% were from other regions. Among the total employees only four were female including two Chinese (Commercial Engineer and Financial Staff) and two Tajik (Cook and Cleaner). The employees worked under some particular terms and conditions and availed facilities/rights as per appointment letter. Some social compliance issues, lying with the contractor, were duly addressed as per clauses of the contract. These were mainly about temporary land use, differentiation of payment between male and female workers, child labor in the project activities, forced or compulsory labor, discrimination in respect of employment, preferential employment of the local people especially vulnerable group in project works, etc. The contractor didn’t have any data about the economic vulnerability of the local workers. The employees got medical facilities including primary health care and treatment in case of illness. They were also trained about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS and prevention measures as well.

a. Differentiation of payment between male & female workers

17. According to the contractor, the salary/wage of the male and female workers was equal in case of similar nature of work. Female workers were deployed for official works and light works (cleaner, cook) since the Tajikistan law doesn’t permit female for the hard work. Differentiation was not found by cross checking during monitoring survey among the ex-employees.

b. Maintaining of Core Labor Standard

18. The contractor had deployed the laborers under the contract duly signed by the workers and Contractor. They paid minimum monthly salary to the workers A@ TJS 1,500 which was higher than the Tajikistan national average monthly wage TJS 820/month1. All of the workers were covered under personal social insurance by the contractor (source: China Road and Bridge Corporation ).

c. Child labor in the project activities

19. As checked and verified the field condition including the age of the workers (as per document) were not below the age of 18. Therefore, it was established that no child labor was engaged in the civil work of the project throughout the project construction period.

1 ASIA-PLUS



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d. Forced or compulsory labor

20. The laborers/workers were deployed according to their eligibility and willingness. The female workers who were engaged for cooking and cleaning were also deployed based on their eligibility and willingness. So, forced labor or compulsory laborers were not found in the camp or work sites.

e. Discrimination in respect of employment

21. According to the ex-employees of the contractor and PMSC officials there was no discrimination in deploying the workers in terms of gender, locality or religion. The officials and workers were from different region of Tajikistan. Male and female were deployed according to eligibility for the required positions.

f. Freedom of association

22. Among the officials and workers, most of them were from the local people in the position of office assistants, laborers, guards, divers, cooks, cleaners, etc. and they enjoyed freedom of association. Although there were no any collective bargaining authority (CBA) among the employees but they had that right to form association. g. Preferential employment of local people in civil work 23. The ADB Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 requires deployment of the economically displaced persons for preferential employment opportunities in the project to help them improve, or at least restore their income-earning capacity. Although there was no affected people in the project but the contractor had deployed some local people in the project according to their eligibility. Although actual number of the local people, who got work opportunity in the civil work, was not known by contractor, but during monitoring survey it was found that some local people got job in civil works.



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C. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM

I. Process of Grievance Resolution

24. Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) was established in CAREC Corridor 3 & 5 which was applicable for the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road section. Four Tiered GRM was functional in the project. Process of GRM and people’s right to place grievance was disseminated to the people in the initial consultation meetings during preparation of Due Diligence Report. The mater was again discussed during implementation of the project. The local people were aware of the grievance mechanism but they found no reason to produce grievances over the project activities.

25. The grievance resolution steps and process adopted in CAREC Corridor 3&5 is presented in the table 2 below.

Table 2: Steps and procedure of grievance resolution

Steps Responsibility Time allocated

Process of resolution of grievances

First Grievance

Redress

Committee at

the District

offices of

Khovaling and

Vose

Two weeks GRC members including Hukumat’s and Jamoats’s officers, representatives of non-governmental /civil society organizations hear the grievances in presence of the aggrieved persons (informal mediators, such as representatives of civil society may also be involved to facilitate the process).

If the issue cannot be resolved (or the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution) within two weeks, the complaint will be passed to Ministry of transport.

Second Ministry of

Transport

(MOT)

Two Weeks GRC at MOT level will hear the cases in presence of the aggrieved persons and other relevant stakeholders (including valuator contractors, other relevant contractors), district authorities and informal mediators (such as representatives of civil society).

If the case remains unsolved a complaint can be lodged to the courts.

Third Court of law No time limit Cases will be forwarded by the MOT to the court of law after failing to resolve at MOT level although aggrieved persons may submit their grievances to court of law at any stage of grievance resolution process.

Fourth ADB No time limit The aggrieved person may appeal the decision and bring the case to the ADB Accountability Mechanism, or to a local court. The project level GRM does not in any way impede the access of the APs to the ADB Accountability Mechanism (AM) or the country’s judicial or administrative remedies.



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II. Observation on Grievances

26. The local people were consulted during preparation of the Due Diligence Report about the process of grievance mechanism. During project implementation, they were again consulted in various meetings about their right to produce grievances/concerns, if any. The local people were so happy with the project and they found no issues to bring into the notice of the GRC. There was no grievance from any corner on technical, social or environmental issues.



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D. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

I. Conclusion

27. The Kangurt-Baljuvon road has been rehabilitated and two new bridges have been constructed on the MOT administered land and therefore private land acquisition was not required. The contractor also used GOT land temporarily for main camp, crushing plant, diversion road, etc. This is why adverse impacts on the local people and community was not at all significant. The Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road section has opened new corridor and connected Dangara and Khovaling with shorter distance reducing about 64 km. Improvement of this road made the local people happy with good communication, new venture of business and eventually economic development of the region. There were some earthen structures alongside the CROW those might be cracked during construction, But necessary cautionary measures were taken including use of non-vibrant roller and other construction equipment to avoid any damage or crack on the structure. Therefore, none of the structures got crack due to the project. Around 19,000 trees (mostly firewood) were fell down during construction, The local Hukumat replanted around 50,000 trees of various species in the slope of the road and nearby hills. Average daily traffic has been increased by 40% in one month after project road is opened. New mode of transport (i.e. Mini Bus service) has been introduced from Dangara to Khovaling via Baljuvon. 28. Social compliance issues lying with the contractor were taken care of. The workers got equal salary irrespective of gender for similar category of work. They could take treatment in case of illness/injuries as there was a doctor in the camp. They had personal social insurance that covered injuries and death. 29. People had no grievances about any of the interventions although they were aware of their right to produce grievances/concerns on the project activities. Local Hukumat (Baljuvon and Timur Malik) provided all sorts of cooperation to the project. The local people including Hukumat treat the project as highly successful considering benefits they are enjoying after the project.

II. Recommendation

30. Rehabilitation of the Kangurt-Baljuvon-Khovaling road brought additional facilities to the local people in terms of transport and communication, business, employment opportunity, health care, education and so on. On the other hand, the project avoided private land acquisition and displacement of houses, shops and community properties, Following the Kangurt Baluvon-Khovaling road, land acquisition and displacement would be avoided (as far as possible) and non-vibrant construction equipment should be ensured in the tender documents for future projects to minimize impacts on the structures.

Date post:	27-Oct-2020
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