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A delegate to the National People’s Congress being held this month in Beijing has proposed that rules governing dam-related resettlement schemes in China should be given the force of law.

A bill to enact a “reservoir resettlement law” presented by Yang Caishou, an NPC delegate from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, sparked widespread interest at the meeting, the Three Gorges Project Daily (Sanxia gongcheng bao) reports.

Mr. Yang told the annual full session of the NPC, China’s top legislative body, that enshrining resettlement regulations in law would help protect migrants’ rights and interests, and improve their standard of living after displacement.

Resettlement schemes related to dams and other water-control projects have run into a variety of financial and other problems, with migrants experiencing difficulty rebuilding livelihoods and integrating into new communities, he said.

Taking past experience into account, the State Council has drawn up special regulations pertaining to the mammoth Three Gorges resettlement operation. But these rules should now be generalized to cover water projects of all sizes that require people to move to make way for a reservoir, Mr. Yang said.

Delegates greeted the idea enthusiastically, and agreed that giving a reasonable compensation mechanism the force of law would improve future resettlement schemes. Officials from the Ministry of Water Resources also supported the call for such a law, the newspaper reported.