HUMAN COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Q.2. Explain the resettlement and rehabilitation plan of people affected by a project.

Ans. Introduction: Lakhs of people displaced by the 300 dams of the Sardar Sarovar Project are victims of an infrastructural project. Tribals were affected by Sardar Sarovar dam under construction at Vadgam village in Gujarat in western part of India. The dam alone displaces more than 41,000 families Le, over 200,000 people in the three states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. Over 56 percent of the people affected by the dam are tribals Victims together protested for rehabilitation and resettlement under the banner of Narmada Bachao Andolan."

Resettlement Plan:

(i) Land Allocation: In accordance with the land acquisition act, people displaced because of the dam are to get compensation in the form of land elsewhere. The Narmada Bachao Committee has surveyed the victitas and taken account of land to be disbursed. 

(ii) Cash Compensation: To those whom the government cannot provide any land, cash compensation is offered Though cash compensation tends to be much lower than the actual value. 

(iii) Community Centres: Community centres like hospitals, schools, places of worship etc., are to be built.

(iv) Common place: People from the same village are to be relocated to the same place to avoid conflicts among local communities

(v) Representatives: Representatives are to be elected who will be involved in the decision making for resettlement plans.

Drawbacks/Problems with implementation:

(i) Dispersal of land: A progressive policy was set up, but policy only remained on paper. There was a lack of planning, a minimum of five acres was guaranteed but never given. A lot of families were left homeless and land wasn't redistributed. 

(ii) Monetary Compensation: Tribals need land for their daily survival. When cash is offered as against land, it tends to be a huge problem as the value paid is much lower than actual rates. 

(iii) Resettlement Problems: People from the same village were placed in different locations causing problems of trust and leading to multiple conflicts. 

(iv) Facilities: Even though the government provided people with homes, it failed in providing community facilities like schools, hospitals, toilets etc.

(v) Rehabilitation issues: With rehabilitation came problems of lack of knowledge about rights, processes, authority in charge etc. 

(vi) Corruption: The huge corruption in various aspects of rehabilitation of the displaced in Madhya Pradesh was investigated by the Madhya Pradesh High Court Justice Jha Commission.

The governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat resettled more than 14000 families with land, while Madhya Pradesh has allotted land to hardly 53 famili in its own state. 

As per the Tribunal, Gujarat had to give land to 5,500 families from Madhya Pradesh, and 777 families from Maharashtra while the rest of the ousters chose resettle in their own state.