17/02/2016
In February Samarco started searching for possible areas to reconstruct the communities of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo, districts of Mariana (MG). The search is based on the criteria surveyed within the community members and classified according to their importance. Samarco will also develop a viability study in each plot of land before presenting them to the 340 families who have been impacted by the dam accident.
The criteria was defined by the residents in the last week of January. In Bento Rodrigues, there are 17 items, being the most important the soil quality for plantation and animal breeding. The residents of Paracatu de Baixo pointed out 7 items, considering the water supply as the most important one.
The study of viability of these areas includes a survey on the regulamentation of the land papers, other than inspection on issues that might hamper the environmental licensing, such as the presence of rupestrian fields and archeological sites. Samarco will also simulate some urbanistic projects to verify whether the lands can house the new districts.
The company has kept a close aproach to the affected communities through dialogues with their committees. Representatives chose to share the issues discussed in meetings with other community members in assemblies, so that all the decisions are made collectively, by voting. For instance, the decision to reconstruct the villages in different areas was made this way.
Samarco is committed to complete the reconstruction of the communities as soon as possible. The plots of land are expected to be chosen by April. Once they are chosen, the next step will be to design new urban sketches for each district. In this phase, the conceptual project will be drafted, defining the location of churches, schools, health centers, parks and football pitches. The criteria for defining the size of the plots and the constructive standards for the houses remain not defined yet.
Once the urban sketch for each locality is done, the next step will be the basic project and the individual dialogue with each family for choosing details such as place and structure for each house as well as finishing standards. As soon as the individual agreements are closed, the reconstruction can get started. The last phase will be the placement of the families into their new houses.
Check the criteria defined by each community
Bento Rodrigues
1º – Soil quality for plantation and animal breeding
2º – Water supply and proximity to the springs
3º – Easy acces to health facilities
4º – Appropriate land for implementing a sewage system
5º – Easy access to police routes
6º – Environmental quality and safety (far from areas with risk of floods,landslides and operations).
7º – Easy access (proximity to main roads)
8º – Appropriated topography (flat land)
9º – Easy acces to public transport de 24 Km)
11º – Local com potencial de desenvolvimento econômico
12º – Área distante de operações e processos industriais
13º – Aspectos ambientais ao redor da área (distância de aterros, poeira, etc)
14º – Avaliação imobiliária das áreas do entorno
15º – Ser uma área com possibilidade de expansão imobiliária e assim permitir o crescimento futuro do novo distrito
16º – Proximidade com a Rota da Estrada Real (considerando o apelo turístico)
17º – Proximidade do antigo distrito de Bento Rodrigues
Paracatu de Baixo
1º – Water supply
2º – Power supply
3º – Proximity to the area where Paracatu de Baixo was set before
4º – Easy access
5º – Access to public transport
6º – Maintenance of the surroundings of Paracatu
7º – Topography (flat land)
