The case of the implementation of the Itá hydroelectric power plant between the States of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, demonstrates the feasibility of the agreement between the involved parties to define resettlement and financial indemnity criteria by removal necessity.
The construction of the hydroelectric power plant implied the displacement of several agriculture workers, of several cities, out of which the main was Itá, the municipal seat closed to the dam and the single city to be fully affected. By means of people’s reaction, which counted on the support of the society in general, of churches and of the World Bank, the affected families were able to stop the displacement process, which normally follows property principles, only allowing for direct water impact-that is, it indemnifies only owners affected directly by the dam.
The result of this action was an agreement executed between the company that was building the dam, the government and the affected families. Such agreement determined important parameters for the resettlement, the indemnity conditions and the performance of the works.
The families had the possibility of choice between resettlement or fair financial indemnity. The families that chose resettlement could choose between collective or individual solutions, located at the banks or river, in compliance with the established agreement. For the case of financial settlement, the agreement required the determination of the unit prices of the land and of the existing improvements.
The information on this example were achieved through the document “Directives and criteria for plans and projects of rural resettlement of populations affected by the Itá and Machadinho hydroelectric power plants” elaborated by the Work Group established between ELETROSUL and CRAB, in 1987. To read the document, click here (in Portuguese, only).
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