The Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) is a document prepared by the project owner or the responsible state agency to set out how impacts on people who lose land, houses, assets or income because of the project will be addressed.
The RAP identifies all project-affected persons (PAPs), the eligibility criteria, the compensation rates, and the assistance for relocation and livelihood restoration, and clearly sets out the budget, the implementation schedule and the responsible parties.
The RAP is the project's commitment to the people and the lenders, and it also protects the project from claims submitted after the cut-off date and from unfounded claims. The minimum objective is to ensure that people's livelihoods are no worse than before, and preferably better.