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Resettlements
In most cases the implementation of hydro power plants leads to the resettlement of population. Ilisu is not exempted of that fact. However, it is substantial, that resettlements are performed according to high international standards as laid-down in the IFC-Handbook, which is based on World Bank guidelines. Moreover the relevant laws in Turkey have been adopted and advanced to the OECD standard. The Turkish system provides for fair compensations for all those who lose dwelling or land but also for unpropertied residents. In many cases these compensations even exceed those in some western countries. It's clear: people affected have a right of resettlement to new villages or existing towns which is funded by the government.
The number of approx. 78,000 of affected inhabitants has been often published in the past, but this figure is outdated and needs to be revised significantly. A Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) which is according to international standards has been prepared by an independent company in 2005. It is based on intensive residents-interviews and on comprehensive household surveys in the region.
You can find the full reports below:
- Updated Resettlement Action Plan (URAP)
- Revision 01
- Amendment RAP
- Terms of Reference (TORs Resettlement)
The results in brief: Altogether 11,000 inhabitants from parts of Hasankeyf and 59 small settlements need to be resettled. Another 4,000 persons will also be fully affected by the project, because they will loose all of their land (but are not living in the area anymore). There are therefore about 15,000 fully affected people, who will either be resettled or fully compensated in conformity with the Law.
Further 32,000 from 91 settlements are affected by the loss of land but do not have to be resettled. There are several possibilities of remunerations open to them. The entitlements of the unpropertied residents are specified by an analysis which is demanded from DSI (Turkish State Water Works), which means they will acquire a title for compensation.
Additionally 7,500 people who do not live in the region any more have claims. It can be expected that in these cases money will compensate the losses.
Activities were started already in 1999 to provide a basis for public consciousness with respect to the project. 100 percent of directly and 25% of indirectly concerned households were consulted. In the course of the RAP during the year 2005 surveys were held in 8,500 households, an information office was opened at Batman and a comprehensive information brochure was published. Furthermore 122 informative meetings with an average duration of one hour were held. Approximately 1,300 PAP's (Project Affected People) were attending these meetings. And: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports the GAP-administration with the implementation of the resettlement projects.
The offered compensation packages clearly exceed the value of the released property. They are determined by commissions which include technical professionals and local organisations (e.g. experts for the evaluation of real estate properties). It is estimated that 600 million USD will be spent for expropriation and further 200 million USD for resettlements and the building-up of new infrastructure. The means for it are made available by the Turkish government in the current budgets in parallel to the project financing.
The places, at which new settlements are established, are selected according to the requests of the concerned people and are determined through detailed interviews. The resettlement measures are coordinated by the Resettlement Commission of the State Planning Office in coordination with the GAP-administration. In general: There are two options of compensation to select:
1. to demand resettlement into a at least equal rural or urban area. In this case they agree that their compensations will be deposited into a resettlement fund and those entitled will be resettled to a determined place by the authority considering their preference.
2. to choose for financial compensation, which will be disbursed within 45 days to the beneficiary. This allows of course the free selection of the new settlement. In order to avoid witless spending of compensation monies, people selecting this option may make use of financial consultancy offered.
The consortium as well as the project owner is keen to solve existing social problems in course of the resettlements. A sustainable development of the new settlement communities shall be guaranteed in different respects:
In addition the development of new means of income for the population, this includes training and measures for further education, as well as a long-term observation of the development in the settlement communities.
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