Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Transcription

1 1.1. DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils Pura Neguma Local Government Enhancement Sector Project Grievance Redressal Mechanism (An arrangement to resolve problems (if any) of the stakeholders in the Project) Contents Sl. Particulars Page No. No. A. Need for Grievance Redressal Mechanism 1 B Project Stakeholders 1 C Objectives of Grievance Redressal 2 D Key Staff Coordinating Grievance Redressal 2 E Grievance Redressal Mechanism Structure 3 F General 7 Attachment 1: GRM Structure 8 Attachment 2; GRM Handout 9 Annexure (1 6) 10 Project Management Unit Pura Neguma Local Government Enhancement Sector Project 27/1, Rosmead Place Colombo 07

2 Democratic Socialist Republic of Government of Sri Lanka Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils Pura Neguma - Local Government Enhancement Sector Project Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) A. Need of Grievance Redress Mechanism 1. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has planned to implement a Project, titled Pura Neguma Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (LGESP), in seven Provinces out of nine (excluding Northern and Eastern Provinces) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank. A total of 108 Pradeshiya Sabhas (PSs) have been selected to be the beneficiaries of the Project. 2. The project will improve the effective delivery of local infrastructure and services by local authorities in less-developed areas of Sri Lanka. Under the Project the selected Pradeshiya Sabhas will implement subprojects for roads and bridges, water supply and sanitation, drainage, solid waste management, and other basic facilities, including building or enhancing health-care centers and public markets. The project will support the institutional strengthening of the local authorities for improved and sustainable service delivery through business process reengineering and the development of their information technology (IT) system. 3. In order to ensure smooth implementation of the Project and timely and effectively addressing of the problems that would be encountered during implementation, it would be better to have a robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) which will enable to the Project Authorities to address the Grievances of the stakeholders of the Project. B. Project Stake Holders: 4. The following are the main stake holders of the Sub-Project. Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils People of the Identified towns / Pradeshiya Sabha. Pradeshiya Sabha Management (108 Pradeshiya Sabhas) Sub Project Coordination Units at Provincial Level Project Management Unit at National Level Related Government Departments 5. Many activities of the Projects may affect the stakeholders especially the People living in the Pradeshiya Sabhas for whom the facilities are being provided.

3 Various decisions and activities of the project, resettlement issues, Issues related to Indigenous people, environmental issues and issues during construction activities may affect to the people and other stakeholders of the Project. 6. It would be responsibility of the Executing Agency to solve these issues on priority through a sound / robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) specifically spelt out and notified at prominent places for the information of the key stakeholders. C. Objectives of Grievance Redressal Mechanism 7. Following are the objectives of establishing a Grievance Redressal Mechanism. Ensure better safeguards mechanisms for implementation of subprojects. Resolve environmental and social grievances in the Project areas. Build up a relationship of trust amongst the project staff and the affected parties. Ensure transparency in dealings amongst stakeholders including affected parties through a proper communication system. D. Key staff coordinating Grievance Redressal 8. The Social Safeguards and Gender Officer in the PMU and Safeguards Manager (Social and Gender) in the SPCUs would be designated as the key officers in charge of Grievance Redressal. 9. Their Terms of Reference could be amended to add the following responsibilities (i) PMU Social Safeguards and Gender Officer: Coordinate formation of Grievance Redressal Committees (GRCs) before the commencement of constructions at LAs level to resolve issues. Act as the Focal Point at PMU on Grievance Redressal issues and facilitate the PD of PMU. Create awareness of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) amongst all the stakeholders through public awareness campaigns. Assist in Redressal of all Grievances by coordinating with the concerned parties. Maintain information of grievances and Redressal. Monitor the activities of SPCUs on Redressal of Grievances. Prepare the progress for monthly/quarterly reports. 2

4 (ii) SPCU Social Safeguards and Gender Manager: Coordinate formation of Grievance Redressal Committees (GRCs) before the commencement of constructions at LAs level to resolve issues. Act as the Focal Point at SPCUs on Grievance Redressal issues and facilitate the PD of PMU. Create awareness of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) amongst all the stakeholders through public awareness campaigns. Regularly contact all points of receipt of complaints, receive the complaints made and assist in Redressal of all Grievances by coordinating with the concerned parties. Maintain information of grievances and Redressal. Prepare the progress for monthly/quarterly reports. E. Grievance Redressal Mechanism Structure 10. A three tier Redressal structure is planned to address all complaints in the Project. E.1 First tier of Redressal: 11. The complaints are received at various points at Provincial Level. The stakeholders are informed of various points of making complaints (if any) and SPCUs collect the complaints from these points on a regular basis and record them. This is followed by coordinating with the concerned people to redress the Grievances. The Social Safeguards and Gender Manager of SPCU will coordinate the activities at the respective Provincial level to address the Grievances and would act as the focal point in this regard. The Community Development Officer (CDO) of the Local Authority or in the absence of the CDO, any officer given the responsibility of this would coordinate with the Safeguards and Gender Manager of SPCU in redressing the Grievances. The designated officer of the Local Authorities is provided with sufficient training in the procedure of Redressal to continue such systems in future. E.1.1 Points of receipt of complaints. 12. The various points of receiving complaints at the provincial level would be as follows: (i) Respective Local Authority; (ii) Concerned Grama Niladhari; (iii) Divisional Secretary in-charge; (iv) Commissioner of Local Government of Province / Provincial Project Director SPCU. (v) Social safeguards and gender manager, SPCU office of LGESP 3

5 (vi) Chief Secretary of the respective Province E.1.2 Mode of receipt and recording of Complaints. 13. The complaints can be made in writing, verbally, over the phone, by fax, s or any other media. As soon as the officer receives a complaint he /she would issue an acknowledgement in the format as given in Annexure 1. The officer receiving the complaints should try to obtain relevant basic information regarding the grievance and the complainant and will immediately inform the respective SPCU (to Social and Safeguards Gender Manager) in the format Grievance Information Form (GIF) as given in Annexure The SPCU maintains a Complaint / Grievance and Redressal register at the Provincial Level in each SPCU as shown in Annexure 3. Keeping records collected from relevant bodies are the responsibility of SPCU. 15. After registering the complaint in the Grievance Redressal Registration and Monitoring Sheet, the social safeguard and gender manager of SPCU would study the complaint made in detail and forward the complaint to the concerned officer with specific dates for replying and redressing the same. He would hold meetings with the affected persons / complainant and then attempt to find a solution to the complaint received. If necessary meetings have to be held with the concerned affected persons / complainant and the concerned officers to find a solution to the problem and fix up plans to redress the grievance. The deliberations of the meetings and decisions taken are recorded in the format as in Annexure 4 (Meeting Record Format). All meetings in connection with Redressal of Grievance including the meetings of the Grievance Redressal Committee to be recorded in the given format. The Community Development Officer / Officer designated for Redressal of Grievances will be actively involved in Redressal activities. 16. The resolution at the first tier will be normally be done within 14 working days and notified to the concerned through a disclosure form as given vide Annexure 5. Should the Grievance be not solved within this period, this would be referred to the next level of Grievance Redressal. However, if the social safeguard and gender manager feels that adequate solutions are worked out the problem and it would require a few more days for actions to be taken, he can decide on retaining the issue at the first level by informing the complainant accordingly. However, if the complainant requests for an immediate transfer of the issue to the next level, it would be accepted and the issue would be taken to the next tier. But in any case if the issue is not addressed within 21 days, it needs to be taken to the next level. E.2 Second tier of Redressal: 17. The Grievance Redressal Committee formed at every Pradeshiya Sabha level would be the one which would address the grievance in the next leve,l in case the problem is not solved at the first tier. 4

6 18. A Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) is constituted for every Pradeshiya Sabha by the circulars issued by the Commissioner of Local Government who would also be the Chairman of the Committee. 19. The recommended Structure of the committee would be: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Commissioner of Local Government of the Province Chairman Divisional Secretary of the area Chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha Representative of the NGO/CBO working in the area as nominated by the Commissioner of Local Government. Member of a clergy of a Pradeshiya Sabha area Chairman of Samatha Mandal Grama Niladhari of the area Social Safeguard and Gender Manager Secretary of the Committee 20. The Social Safeguard and Gender Manager of the SPCU will coordinate with the respective Commissioner of Local Government in getting these Committees constituted for each Project Local Authority and get the necessary circulars issued in this regard so that they can be convened whenever required. E.2.1 Terms of Functioning of GRC: 21. The terms of Functioning of GRC are as follows: a) Providing support to the affected persons in solving their problems; b) Prioritize grievances and resolve them at the earliest; c) Provide information to PMU on serious cases at the earliest; d) Coordinate on the Affected Person getting proper and timely information on the solution worked out for his/her grievance. e) Study the normally occurring grievances and advise PMU, National and Provincial Steering Committee on remedial actions to avoid further occurrences. 22. The Social Safeguard and Gender Manager of SPCU will coordinate the convening of the meetings of the GRC. He / She is also responsible for briefing the GRC on the deliberations of the first level of Redressal and on the views of both the parties. (Complainant and the SPCU). 23. The GRC will hold the necessary meetings with the affected party / complainant and the concerned officers and attempt to find a solution acceptable at all levels. GRC would record the minutes of the meeting in the format as shown in Annexure The decisions of the GRC are communicated to the complainant formally and if he accepts the resolutions, the complainant s acceptance is obtained on the disclosure format as in Annexure 5. 5

7 25. If the complainant is does not accept the solution offered by the GRC, then the complaint is passed on to the next level / or the complainant can reach the next level. The Chairman of the GRC would require to forward the issue to the next level through the Chief Secretary to facilitate the Chief Secretary of the province in exploring a solution to this at the provincial level before transferring it to the central level. In any case the case should be forwarded to the next level if no solution is reached within 14 days of the case reaching the second level and in a cases nearing the required solution, it can be retained to an extent of 21 days. E.3 Third tier of Redressal: 26. If the affected party / complainant does not agree for the resolution at the 2nd level, or there is a time delay of more than a month in solving the issue, the complainant can opt to consider taking it to the third level 27. A Central Grievance Redressal Committee (CGRC) will be constituted as the 3rd Tier of Redressal to look into the problems not solved in the 2nd tier. 28. The Central Grievance Redressal Committee would be formulated with the following Members. 1) Project Director, LGESP Chairman 2) Legal Officer, MLGPC Member 3) Social Safeguards and Gender Officer, PMU Member Secretary 29. The Chairman of the respective Pradeshiya Sabha and the Commissioner of Local Government of the Respective Province will be the invitees to the Committee meetings to enable the CGRC to understand the deliberations of the GRC. 30. The Social Safeguard and the Gender Officer of the PMU will collect all the details of the Grievance including the deliberations of first tier efforts and of the GRC and present it to the CGRC. 31. The CRGC will deliberate upon the issue and give suitable recommendations. The meetings are recorded in the format as in Annexure The decisions of the CGRC are communicated to the complainant formally and if he accepts the resolutions, the complainant s acceptance is obtained on the disclosure format as in Annexure The decisions of the CGRC would be final from the Project side and the Complainant may decide to take a legal or any other recourse if he /she is not satisfied with the resolutions due to the deliberations of the three tiers of GRM. 34. The Complainant has also the option of approaching the ADB, if they find the established GRM cannot resolve the issue. ADB Accounting Mechanism requires 6

8 the complainant to express their grievances in writing to ADB office in the respective country or Manila. The complaint can be submitted in any of the official language of the complainant's country. Details of the ADB s Accountability Mechanism can be had from The Mechanism of the Grievance Redressal is pictorially represented in Attachment 1. F. General: F.1 Building Awareness on GRM Structure: The Social Safeguards and Gender Officer of the PMU will initially brief all the staff of SPCU, the concerned officers in the office of the Commissioner of Local Government and Office of the Chief Secretary, on the Grievance Redressal Mechanism of the Project and explain them the procedures and formats to be used including the reporting procedures. The Social Safeguards and the Gender Manager of the SPCUs will further brief the concerned Local Authorities, Grama Niladharis and Divisional Secretaries on the Grievance Redressal Mechanism of the Project and explain them the procedures and formats to be used including the reporting procedures. Handouts would be got done as shown in Attachment 2 and displayed at prominent places like Local Authority notice boards, sub-project sites, office of the Commissioner of Local Government etc. Awareness campaigns would be conducted in the surroundings of the sub-project location to educate the people on the availability of the mechanism. The Grievance Redressal Mechanism document would be posted on the Project website. F.2 Reporting: The Social Safeguard and the Gender Officer of the PMU would prepare the Quarterly Report on the Grievance Redressal issues of the Project for addition into the quarterly report. The format is given in Annexure 6 of this report. F.3 Periodic review by the CGRC: The Central Grievance Redressal Committee will review the nature of grievances that have been represented and if similar grievances are reported many a times, suitable changes in implementation procedures / suitable policies would be worked out and recommended to National Level Steering Committee for consideration and needful. 7

9 F.4 GRM Jurisdiction: This is a project specific GRM and applicable to solve the concerns of the stakeholders of the Project. This is however not intended to bypass Governments own redress process; rather intended to address affected people s concerns and complaints promptly, making it readily accessible to all segments of the affected people and is scaled to the risks and impacts of the Project. The Government Redress mechanism takes priority over this one. 8

10 Attachment 1 Pura Neguma Local Government Enhancement Sector Project 9

11 Attachment 2 Pura Neguma Local government Enhancement Sector Project Grievance Redressal Mechanism Who can complain? Any person affected by the implementation of Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (Pura Neguma) can complain What can you complain about? On any Grievance caused to you due to the implementation of Local government Enhancement Sector (Pura Neguma) Project What is the mode of complaining? Complaints can be made in writing, verbally, on the phone, by fax, or any other media. When can you complain? At any time during the implementation of project until completion How to approach? Step 1 Register your Grievance/ Complaint at any of the following points a) Your Pradeshiya Sabha ; or b) Your Grama Niladari ; or c) Your Divisional Secretary ; or d) Your Commission of Local Government ; or e) Your Chief Secretary s Office; or f) Sub Project Coordination Unit Office of Local Government Enhancement Sector Project Step 2 If not resolved first level represent to Grievance Redressal Committee at province level (Attend meetings when invited) Step 3 If not resolved at second level, represent Central Grievance Redressal Committee (CGRC) at national level (Attend meetings when invited) (Attend meetings when invited) Approaching ADB: If not resolved by the above mechanism, the complainant can express their grievances in writing to ADB office in the respective country or Manila. The complaint can be submitted in any of the official language of the complainant's country. Details on Accountability Mechanism of ADB can be had from For details contact: Social Safeguards and Gender Manager Sub Project Coordination Unit, Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (Pura Neguma) (Address of Sub Project Coordination Unit Office to be given) 10

12 Acknowledgement Receipt Annexure 1 Registration No.. Subproject: LA: District: Province: Name and Address of Complainant: Date of Complaint:. (dd/mm/yyyy) Documents comprising the complaint: (petition, supporting documents etc.) 1) 2) Summary of Complaint: Name and Signature of the Complainant: Name and Signature of Officer receiving the complaint: 11

13 Annexure 2 PuraNeguma Local Government Enhancement Sector Project (LGESP) Grievance Information Form (GIF) Subproject:. LA:.. District: Province: Date: (yyyy/mm/dd) Place of Registration: Registration No.: Contact details of the complainant: Name:.. Age:. Gender:.. Address:.... Phone No.. Address:. Location related to the complaint / issue: Village/Town:.. DS Division GramaNiladhari Division: District:. Category of complainant: Affected person Mediator for affected person Civil organization / Service Organization Other (specify) Summary of grievance: (Attach letter or a petition / documents as submitted) Category of Complaint: Sl. No. Category Tick Sl. No. Category 1 Damage to Property 8 Safety Issues 2 Damage to Crop 9 Problems during Material Transport 3 Block access roads 10 Flooding 4 Land acquisitions 11 Noise 5 Blasting 12 Vibration 6 Water quality & quantity 13 Soil Erosion 7 Dust 14 Smell 15 Others (Specify) - Tick Source of complaint: (To be ticked): Letter Telephone Fax Verbal Complaint box Other (specify) Attachments: 1) 2) 3) Prepared by:. Date: (dd/mm/yyyy) 12

14 Province: Pura Neguma - Local Government Enhancement Sector Project Grievance Redressal Registration and Monitoring Sheet Report as on Annexure 3 S. No Regn No. Sub Project/ LA Details of Complaint Received Name and address of complainant Date of complaint Grievance Summary Categ ory Details of Redressal Activities Details of Redressal Activities Not Commenced Rectification of Issues In Progress Completed AP Agreed /Not Agreed Remarks First tier Second tier Third tier First tier Second tier Third tier First tier Second tier Third tier First tier Second tier Third tier First tier Second tier Third tier AP=Affected Party, GRC=Grievance Redress Committee, PC=Provincial Council, Regd No. =Registered Number, S.No. = Serial Number 13

15 Annexure 4 Meeting Record Format (Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) and Other Meetings) Subproject:.. LA:. District: Province: Date of the Meeting: ; Complaint Register No. ; Venue of meeting. Details of Participants: Complainant Side 1) 2) Government / Project Side/GRC members 1) 2) 3) Summary of Grievance: Record Note on discussions held: Decisions taken in the meeting / Recommendations of GRC: Issue Solved / Unsolved Signature of Chair Person of the meeting: Name of Chair Person: Date: DD/MM/YYYY 14

16 Disclosure Form Annexure 5 Subproject:. LA:. District:.. Province:. Result of Grievance Redressal 1. Registration No. 2. Name of Complainant: 3. Date of Complaint: 4. Summary of the Complaint: 5. Summary of Resolution: 6. Resolved at First Tier/Second Tear/Third Tier (Use appropriately) 7. Date of Redressal of the Grievance: (dd mm yyyy) Signature of the Complainant in acceptance of the Solution to his /her Grievance Name: National ID number: Signature of Social safeguards and Gender manager/spcu: Name: Place (SPCU): Date:(dd mm yyyy) (Note: copies to be sent to complainant and PMU) 15

17 Annexure 6 Quarterly Progress Report Grievance Redressal Issues Pura Neguma (LGESP) SPCU:.; Period (Quarter ending) ; Date: During the Reporting Period, following are the details of complaints received and complaints redressed. (i) Details of Complaints Received during the reporting Period Sl. No. Project / LA Summary of Grievances Name and address of complainant Date of Receipt Register Number (ii) Details of Meetings (GRC and other meetings) held to solve the Grievances: Sl. No. Date and Venue of the Meeting Details of Participants Outcome of meetings (iii) Details Grievances addressed fully during the reporting Period Sl. No. Details of the Grievances Date Received Date Redressed completely The details of the cumulative record of the Grievance Registration and Redressal is given vide Annexure 1 (Annexure 3 of the report could be used) 16