Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project

10 Public Consultation and Information Disclosure10.1 Overview of Consultation Processes10.1.1 Background1. The EA process included public participation, consultation and focus group discussions to helpBBA achieve public acceptance of the Project. The consultation process followed the harmonizedenvironmental safeguard requirements developed for Padma Multi-purpose Bridge Design Project(Figure 10-1). The following are the harmonized operational framework for the consultations:Free, prior and informed consultation with affected people and informed participation as earlyas possible and throughout the project implementation.Disclosure in local language with understandable content during public consultation. Community engagement free of external manipulation, interference, or coercion, andintimidation, and conducted on the basis of timely, relevant, understandable and accessibleinformation.A grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of the affected communities’concerns and grievances about the borrower’s environmental performance.Expert consultation, focus group discussion and two stage formal public consultation.2. Extensive consultations and public participations have been conducted during the projectpreparation since 2000. Awareness about the project within the affected community is wellestablished. During the detailed design phase, three tiered consultation meetings were conductedwith the following objectives:Expert Consultation: Experts were consulted through individual and group meetings, includingthe Project Panel of Experts, selected individuals and organizations with professionalknowledge of EIA processes. The meetings were conducted at a very early stage (EIAScoping Stage) of the EA with the objective to identify people to be consulted, to briefstakeholders about the project components, and to discuss potential environmental impacts ofthe Project. The outcomes of those consultations were used to finalize the scoping frameworkand prepare the draft TOR for the EIA study.Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): FGDs were conducted at various stages (EIA Scoping tothe draft EIA disclosure) with the affected communities at all resettlement sites, service areas,construction yards, Charland and ferry ghats. The purpose was to discuss specific issues,such as ferry ghat displacement during construction, access to district and local roads fromthe bridge and approach roads, livelihood restoration, land acquisition, compensation andresettlement, civic amenities at resettlement sites, community involvement and sustainableenvironmental management. The outcome of those discussions was used to prioritize impactsand risks, and to structure the CEMP.Public consultations: As per harmonized safeguard requirements, two public consultationswere conducted for the Project as part of the environmental assessment procedure. The firstpublic consultation was conducted at three locations during EIA scoping and the secondpublic consultation was conducted at 5 locations to disclose draft EIA (Figure 10-2). Thepublic consultations were conducted by the Detailed Design Team and BBA, involving a widerange of participants representing affected persons, union and upazila leaders, NGOs, andnational and local government representatives. The public consultations were meant toachieve the following objective:o to make the public aware of the Project;o to ensure that the public was provided with opportunities to participate in the decisionmakingprocess and to influence decisions that would affect them;o to identify the widest range of potential issues about the Project as early as possibleand in some cases, have those resolved;o to ensure that government departments were notified and consulted early in theprocess; and10-3