The Request raises five main concerns specific to the design and route alignment of a new four-lane road to be constructed as part of the Project, the Southern Link Road (SLR). First, the Request raises concerns about the impact of the road alignment on land take and displacement, Project-affected people losing livelihoods, the determination of adequate compensation, and the prospect of delayed receipt of compensation payments based on previous experience with another project in the area. Second, it raises concerns that the road supported by the Project will heighten tensions, conflicts, and violence in the area considered for the Project. Third, it contends that the SLR’s design, particularly the indicated elevation levels of the road, will impact traditional, cultural practices and damage physical, cultural resources. Fourth, it claims that community members and elected members of local authorities were neither informed nor meaningfully consulted about the construction of the SLR, including the road’s proposed alignment, its viability, and its economic benefits. Fifth, the Requesters raise concerns about environmental and noise pollution worsening because of the SLR, and they claim the publicly disclosed Project documents lack feasible solutions to these concerns.
The Panel registered the Request on July 8, 2024, and Management submitted its response to the Request on August 9, 2024. A Panel team visited Pakistan August 18-23, 2024, to inform its eligibility assessment. During meetings with stakeholders in Pakistan, the Panel gathered additional information on the concerns raised by the Requesters regarding the heightened tensions and conflicts in the two of the Project-affected districts. The Project’s envisaged security arrangements warranted a further response from Management, which Management submitted as an addendum to the Management Response on September 17, 2024.
The Management Response expresses the view that no impacts have materialized to date, since the SLR is in the early stages of implementation and neither land acquisition nor road construction have started. Management adds that the potential risks and impacts raised in the Request have been identified and analyzed, and the concerns raised in the Request have been appropriately and adequately addressed through Project design and corresponding mitigation measures. The Response notes that the final SLR road alignment has not yet been determined, and that after its finalization, the Implementing Agency is required to update the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the draft Resettlement Action Plan. Management’s Addendum states the preliminary Security Management Plan is being revised.
The Panel submitted its Report and Recommendation to the Board on September 27, 2024, recommending an investigation. The Panel considers the alleged harms to be plausibly linked to the Project, and that the several allegations and concerns raised in the Request taken together may constitute potentially serious harm and policy non-compliance. The Panel states livelihoods impacts, lack of consultations with Project-affected communities, and conflict risk, as three broad areas of harm where a Panel investigation will review potential non-compliance with applicable World Bank policies and standards.
The Board approved the Panel’s recommendation on October 11, 2024. Under the Inspection Panel resolution and the resolution creating the World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM), the Requesters and the Borrower ("the parties") are offered the option of dispute resolution by the AM Secretary. On November 14, 2024, the AM Secretary informed the Board and the Inspection Panel the parties have voluntarily agreed to pursue dispute resolution. Given that both parties have agreed to engage in dispute resolution, the Panel will hold its investigation in abeyance until the process is concluded. The maximum length of the dispute resolution process is one year from when the AM Secretary reports on the parties’ willingness to pursue dispute resolution. If both parties agree, the process may be extended for up to an additional six months. If, at the end of the dispute resolution process, the parties reach an agreement on all eligible issues, and sign a dispute resolution agreement, the Panel will issue a memorandum closing the case and take no further action. However, if the parties do not reach an agreement, or reach a partial agreement, the AM Secretary will inform the Executive Directors and the Inspection Panel, upon which the Inspection Panel will commence its investigation on any unaddressed eligible issues.
