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The millions of displaced people do not exist anymore. When history is written they would not be in it, not even as statistics. Some of them have subsequently been displaced three and four times. True, they are not being annihilated or taken to gas chambers, but I can warrant that the quality of their accommodation is worse than in any concentration camp of the Third Reich. They are not captive, but they re-define the meaning of liberty and still the nightmare does not end. They continue to be uprooted even from their hellish hovels by government bulldozers. The millions of displaced people in India are nothing but refugees of an unacknowledged war. Arundhati Roy, The Greater Common Good
power and irrigation purposes but also appears due to many other activities, such as mining and the creation of military installations, airports, industrial plants, weapon testing grounds, railways, road developments, urbanization, conservation projects, forestry, etc. Development-induced displacement is a social problem affecting multiple levels of human organization, from tribal and village communities to well-developed urban areas. Development-induced displacement or the forced migration in the name of development is affecting more and more people as countries move from developing to developed nations. The people that face such migration are often helpless, suppressed by the power and laws of nations. The lack of rehabilitation policies for migrants means that they are often compensated only monetarily without proper mechanisms for addressing their grievances or political support to improve their livelihoods. Displaced people often internalize a sense of helplessness and powerlessness because of their encounter with the powerful external world, although there are also several examples of active resistance movements against development-induced displacement. In every category, particularly among marginalized groups, women are the worst hit and pay the highest price of development. A study carried out by the national commission for women in India (NCW) on the impact of displacement on women reveals that violence against women is increased. An increase in alcoholism due to displacement has led to a marked rise in domestic violence in India.
R&R policy 2006, Jharkhand R&R Policy 2008, Arunachal Pradesh R&R Policy 2008, and so on). Displacement, resettlement, and rehabilitation are however more than a question of sheer numbers (or the lack thereof). Other critical issues involved in the process of displacement include empowerment post rehabilitation, human rights of project affected, participation and self-determination in development, the complexities of resettlement goals, options and strategies, and relevant legal and policy instruments.
Objectives of Study:
The objective of the paper is to identify the issues and challenges in the industrial displacement of affected inhabitants and suggest measures for adequate resettlement, rehabilitation and empowerment post rehabilitation. The suggestions will be formulated based on the learnings from past industrial displacement, which will form an effective basis for reflecting into future.
diseases associated with deteriorating water quality can result in increased morbidity and mortality. Another major issue is the loss of identity for most of the tribal people as displacement has a negative effect on livelihood, culture and their spiritual existence in the form of breakup of families, erosion of inter community marriages, cultural functions and hence ignorance of communal character. Further, the tribal people are not familiar with market trends, prices of commodities and policies, which eventually leads them to be exploited and alienated in the modern era. Most industrial projects have long planning horizons and the actual physical relocation comes a long time after the initial notifications. The interim period is one full of uncertainties and enormous psychosocial anxieties for the to-be-relocated communities. Numerous examples exist of communities being subjected to multiple displacements by successive development projects. The costs of the resettlement programme have invariably been underestimated and under financed. Institutional weaknesses, marked by confusions between various departments and the lack of capacity as well as continuity, have been major problems in ensuring effective resettlement. Generally, participation of the affected people has been superficial. In the absence of policy and legal instruments and an effective mechanism to monitor compliance, even well-structured institutions with trained staff have failed in consistent implementation of effective resettlement. Indigenous/tribal peoples displaced by big projects the experience has been extremely negative in cultural, economic, and health terms. Resettlement sites are invariably selected without reference to availability of livelihood opportunities, or the preferences of displaced persons themselves. Sometimes even temporary shelters are unavailable. The question of livelihoods is a major issue in resettlement and rehabilitation policy. There is reluctance on the part of Governments and lending agencies to adopt and make operational policies requiring that the loss of agricultural land be compensated with alternative land, especially in the face of increasing pressure on land and the limited availability of arable land as well as its high price. This is despite the fact that most nonland-for-land programmes have failed to foster successful self-employment and other non-land-based livelihood strategies, especially in the critical areas of employment, skills, and capacity building. Forced relocation usually results in people being transplanted from a social ecology in which they were primary actors to one in which they are aliens; they are not only very vulnerable but also end up in most cases as an underclass in their new socio-cultural milieu. Communities of displaced people are invariably fragmented and randomly atomised, tearing as under kinship and social networks and traditional support systems. Communities and often even large families are broken up and resettled over a wide area. The outcomes are psychological pathologies and alcoholism, etc. common among displaced populations. It has been documented that this greatly enhanced psychological and psycho-social stress caused by involuntary resettlement heightens morbidity and immorality. The special vulnerabilities and specific needs of indigenous and tribal peoples have been inadequately addressed. Resettlement sites have been under-prepared in terms of basic amenities and essential infrastructure such as
health, schooling, and credit. Generally, displacement as result of acquisition is legally sanctioned while, with few exceptions, there is no legal framework that governs the process of displacement itself.
Compensation Issues:
Compensation has largely been understood to refer to specific measures intended to make good the losses suffered by people displaced and/or negatively affected. Compensation usually takes the form of a one-off payment, either in cash or kind and is principally about awards to negatively affected persons (Bartolome et al 1999). Compensation is most often awarded only to persons in possession of undisputed legal title. Tenants, sharecroppers, wage-labourers, artisans and encroachers are rarely considered eligible for compensation, whereas they are paradoxically the most vulnerable and in need of support. Community assets and common resources like grazing grounds and forests, which again may be critical for the livelihood of the poorest, are not compensated for under the acquisition process. The losses incurred by people affected by the creation of infrastructure such as project offices and township, canals, transmission lines, and other activities are not usually properly accounted for and so these losses have not been adequately compensated. The limited provisions in law to challenge the rate of compensation are, in practice, inaccessible to the negatively affected persons, because they may not be aware of the legal nuances or else cannot afford the expensive remedy of courts. Even those that are able to access Courts fritter away a substantial proportion of the gains that they achieve in legal costs. Many studies have recorded how cash compensation is depleted by negatively affected persons in short periods, by fraud, for repayment of old debts, in liquor and conspicuous consumption. A lifetime of livelihood security or shelter is squandered in months, sometimes weeks, condemning displaced persons to assured and irrevocable destitution.
Rehabilitation is only possible where development takes place. Thus resettlement must be planned as an integral part of the comprehensive development project (Jain, L.C. 2000). In this sense rehabilitation is really an outcome of resettlement that is conceived not as physical relocation or mere restoration of incomes but as development. This brings us to the question of development in the context of resettlement and rehabilitation. A resettlement programme in order to qualify as development must therefore centre around: (i) enhancement of capabilities; and (ii) the expansion of social opportunities by addressing the social and personal constraints that restrict peoples choices. This would mean that resettlement with development entails questions of resources and rights that would affect the quality of life of the people.
People have to participate in the decision-making process not as negatively project-affected but as primary actors who contribute to the socioeconomic value of the project through their acceptance of its costs and benefits.
Increasing difficulties in arranging marriage for Daughters - Women oustees now face great difficulty in getting married because of the demand for more dowry. Use of cash compensation on the marriages leave the family pauperized.
Focus-shift:
Leasing the Land - Another option is for the farmer to not sell the land but to lease it to the company or SEZ. Thus, the land remains the farmers and he draws a regular income in the form of lease rent which, if made out in the name of husband and wife, can overcome some of the concerns indicated earlier. The difficulty with this solution, of course, is that it does not take care of the interests of the landless who, as we know, are perhaps the worst off economically and socially. Some additional ties need to be factored in, like reskilling and alternative enterprises, to make this work for the landless. Landless person - A landless person should be provided with a livelihood which he has the skills to pursue. If this is not possible, then he must be reskilled to pursue what is possible. Cash compensation simply does not make any sense in the complete form and must be coupled with given situations where the person is a part of inclusive growth. Reskilling and Facilitation - Since technology provides limited opportunities for people skilled in agriculture (calling them unskilled is a disservice), there is clearly a case to invest in reskilling them so that they can either be employed or be a supplier of goods and services to the companies again an opportunity unique to industrial displacement.
Political Standpoint: Land Acquisition Bill and Rehabilitation Policy Overview: The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 7, 2011 protects the interests of farmers/land owners and not bar purchase of land by the private companies, corporates among others. It would enable acquisition of land for industries, industrialization and some form of urbanization. It also makes it mandatory that Gram Sabhas are consulted and the R&R package is executed before the acquired land is transferred. Under the proposed law, the R&R package would necessarily have to be executed for land acquisitions in excess of 100 acres by private companies. It also prohibits private companies from purchasing any multi-cropped irrigated land for public purposes. Definition of Public Purpose: The proposed Bill makes public purpose clearer: it includes laying and developing of infrastructure such as highways, roads, bridges and railway establishments, and not malls and shopping complexes. While the State government would not have any role in acquisition of land, it would come into the picture if the private companies petitioned for such an intervention. The government would do so only if the acquisition would benefit the general public.
A Role for the Gram Sabhas: For the first time, the law has acknowledged the role of the Gram Sabha in the process of land acquisition, stressing that they would have to be consulted.
Time limit for utilization of land: If the acquired land was not put to use for within five years of the acquisition, it would be returned to the original owner and the benefit of increase in the market price should go to the owner.
Compensation to both the land and livelihood losers: Both the land owners and livelihood losers will have to be paid compensation. In rural areas, the compensation will amount to six times the market value of the land while in urban areas it would be at least twice the market value. Apart from this, the landowners will be entitled to a subsistence allowance of Rs.3,000 per month for 12 years and Rs.2,000 as annuity for 20 years, with an appropriate index for inflation.
Land for urbanization: In the cases of land acquired for urbanization, 20 per cent of the developed land would be reserved and offered to the land owners in proportion to the acquired land. In addition, every affected family would be entitled to one job, else Rs.2 lakh.
Loss of housing: Those who lost their house in the land acquisition process would be provided a constructed house with, in rural areas, plinth area of 150 sq. m, and 50 sq. m in urban areas, as well as a one-time resettlement allowance of Rs.50,000. If the land acquired is for an irrigation project, one acre of land would be provided to each affected family in the command area. Livelihood losers would get a subsistence
allowance of Rs.3,000 per month per family for 12 months and Rs.2,000 per month for 20 years as annuity, factoring in inflation.
Special package for SC/ST: Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes would get a special package wherein each family was entitled to one acre of land in every project. Those settled outside the district would be entitled to an additional 25 per cent of R&R benefits. They will also have preference in relocation and resettlement in an area in the same compact block and free land for community and social gatherings.
Tribal Displacement Plan: If 100 or more ST families are displaced, a Tribal Displacement Plan would be put in place. It would include settling land rights and restoring titles on alienated land and development of alternate fuel, fodder and non-timber forest produce. STs and SCs would also get, in the resettlement area, the reservation and other benefits they were entitled to in the displaced area. Besides, the resettlement area should provide at least 25 infrastructural amenities including schools and playgrounds, health centres, roads and electric connections, assured sources of safe drinking water for each family, Panchayat Ghars, fair-price shops and seed-cum-fertilizer storage facilities, places of worship and burial and cremation grounds.
Sources Referred:
Infrastructure Sector India Brand Equity Foundation January 2013 India Infrastructure Summit 2013 Ernst & Young (FICCI Report) Development Induced Displacement and Resettlement Bogumil Terminski, Geneva, May 2013 Wikipedia.com Google.com