Vol. I Issue -2 March 2009

For details, contact:

Directorate of Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R),Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Orissa Secretariat, Bhubaneswar-751001, Orissa

Telefax : (0674) 2390705. e-mail: dirrnr@gmail.com

1. Message from the Editor 1

2. Upper Indravati HydroelectricProject - A Success Story inParticipatory R&R– Mr. Sam Thangaraj 2

3. R&R Directorate Update 6

4. Consent Award: Its Legality,Context, Significance & Scopefor Innovation– Dr. S. M. Jaamdar 8

5. R&R Events 15

6. Indigenous People,Displacement & Development:– Mr. Bishnupada Sethi 17

7. Land for Public Purpose 20

8. District Follow-up 21

9. Impact of UNDP-DFID-Govt.of Orissa R&R Project 23

10. R&R Information 24

11. R&R Success Stories 27

12. Ama Prathama Lekha 28

13. News & Views 29

14. Letters & Opinions 30

15. R&R as Viewed by the Media 31

Content

From the Desk of the Director, R&R

Compulsory acquisition of land for large scale developmental projects andconservation projects such as wildlife sanctuary impacts people living on, workingon or otherwise benefiting from land and its related resources. The displaced aremore seriously impacted.

Kipling’s following verse remains a valuable standby for R&R policy makers,stakeholders, practitioners and researchers:

“I keep six honest serving men(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and WhenAnd How and Where and Who.”

Government has adopted the Orissa Resettlement & Rehabilitation Policy 2006 tocomprehensively address the complex “resettlement effect” associated with lossof physical and non-physical assets such as house, income earning assets, culturalproperty and identity, and also mutual help mechanism. The Policy prescribes theminimum and the projects are at liberty to provide higher level of benefits basedon specific needs of the impacted population. While the project is responsible toprovide R&R assistance, the role of government is to monitor and ensure that therehabilitation plan is inclusive and is implemented in a participatory manner.

It is necessary to keep people informed on the vital aspects of R&R to enablethem to form an informed opinion on the possibilities and performance of theOrissa R&R Policy 2006. “Punarbasa” the Newsletter on R&R, is an attempt in this

direction. We are delighted that the response to the previousissue has been highly encouraging.

We hope that the Newsletter will continue to provide usefulinformation on contemporary philosophy and practice on R&Rto its useful readers and thereby serve the purpose behind itspublication.

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The Upper Indravati Hydroelectric Project (UIHP)financed by the World Bank is one of the success storiesof participatory process of Resettlement andRehabilitation (R&R) in Orissa. There are many toolsto measure the success of an R&R process and I havechosen to use Impoverishment Risks Analysis Modelformulated by Michael Cernea, my colleague in theWorld Bank, as a methodological tool.

This is particularlyso as this Model is basedon “the analysis of thevast evidence comingfrom numerousdisplacement andresettlement processes”that have revealedpatterns of recurrentcharacteristics. Whileeach one of thesecharacteristics is distinctand irreducible to others,they have a commondenominator: all aredimensions of amultifaceted process of impoverishment.” According toCernea, there are eight dimensions of impoverishmentrisks and they are: (1) Landlessness; (2) Loss ofaccess to common property; (3) Joblessness;(4) Homelessness; (5) Marginalisation; (6) FoodInsecurity; (7) Morbidity and (8) Social Disarticulation.

When these risks are reversed in a developmentinduced displacement, one could assume that thoseinvoluntarily displaced had been properly resettled andrehabilitated. And, this is my view about the R&Rprocess of UIHP and my conclusions are based on thebasis of the findings of the Socio-Economic ImpactStudy conducted by the Centre for Education, Researchand Training (CENDERT) of Xavier Institute ofManagement, Bhubaneswar.

LandlessnessThe Study covered 4,119 Displaced Persons

(DPs) out of whom only 559 (14%) had land. Ofthese, 373 (67%) had patta land in their name, 154

(28%) had joint patta while 32 (6%) had individualand joint patta land. Many of the DPs also had accessto forest land for podu (shifting) cultivation. Theaverage land holdings were rather small: the averageland holding of a patta holder was less than 2.5 acresand the average forest land holding were less than2 acres.

Government of Orissa’s (GoO) initial plan wasto resettle the DPs in a way that they could be providedwith land based rehabilitation in the command area ofthe Project. This was rather difficult to implement asthe DPs were not keen to move to the command areaand to enjoy land based rehabilitation because it wouldmean resettling in areas away from their social relationsand networks.

In as much as GoO was keen to facilitateparticipative process of R&R and as the DPs were willingto move to the command area of the project, it wasdecided to finance the purchase of 1.225 acres ofirrigated land or 2.5 acres of un-irrigated land foreach DP. When the Study was completed, 4,351 out of5,344 DPs had either 1.25 acres of irrigated land or2.5 acres of un-irrigated land. The remaining DPs hadmoney in their bank accounts to purchase land.

Considering that most of the DPs were landless,it was possible for GoO to provide them with someland as the basic resource on which efforts for therestoration of their livelihood could be built byproviding them further economic rehabilitationassistance so that their standards of living could befurther improved. This would mean that GoO was notonly able to reverse the risk of landlessness; it wasalso able to demonstrate that land-based rehabilitationis a viable option in a particular context.

Loss of Access to Common PropertyThe risk of landlessness would have been more

if the DPs’ loss of access to common property governedby land under podu cultivation was also taken intoconsideration to assess the loss of landlessness asalmost all families in tribal areas have access to forestland not only for podu but also for Non-Timber ForestProduce (NTFP). The forest land were occupied or

used by the DPs on the basis of usufruct or similaroccupation-based tenure. The extent, therefore, oflandlessness went far beyond for the DPs. The DPswho depended on forest land, because of their needfor access to forest and other such common properties,had formu-lated their own coping mechanism.

T h i sm e c h a n i s mwas their owndecision toreject GoO’sland basede c o n o m i crehabilitationin the

command area and to resettle in clusters closer to theforest so that they could continue to have access toNTFP and also fuel wood and fodder. Of the 4,110 DPsstudied, 3,711 (91) had access to fuel wood, 2,913(715) to fodder, 2,596 (63) to timber and 3,553 (56%)to NTFP. In order to further complement this, theResettlement and Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) of theProject had planned to undertake social forestryprogrammes closer to resettlement clusters where landswere available.

JoblessnessAs far as joblessness was concerned, there was

not much of a change in the number of wage earnersbefore and after displacement. There were 2,457 wageearners before displacement and the number camedown to 2,336 after displacement. There were 34 DPswho had regular employment and 190 DPs had been

employed by the Project. The RRU was planning toprovide productive assets and training to improve the

productive skills for self-employment in orderto further address joblessness as a risk.

HomelessnessHomelessness, as a risk is a very critical factor

in development induced displacement as it not onlycauses involuntary displacement but also loss of accessto sources of livelihood, social and community relations.There were 5,344 DPs of whom a vast majority weremajor sons. Of the 4,119 studied, 3,433 were majorsons and 658 were widows. Of the 4,119, 1,124 (27.3%)lived in their own houses. 1,571 (38.1%) in their ownhouses but built on encroached land, 954 (23.2%) intheir own houses built on the land of relatives while347 (8.4) lived in the house of their relatives.

While some built houses on land that belongedto temples and others, only 19 (0.5%) live in a rentedhouse. The houses had not been provided withelectricity connection at the time of Study but had all

civic amenities and access to social infrastructure. It isimportant to note, as pointed out by the Study, thequality of construction of the houses that the DPs hadbuilt was “by far much better than those found in theirhost villages.”

MarginalisationMarginalisation, in the context of development

induced displacement, is severe erosion in the economiccondition of displaced households and often overlapswith landlessness, joblessness and homelessness. InUpper Indravati Project, though a very large numberof DPs had been provided with land as a basic resourcebase, a large number of them were marginalised becausethe land provided as a basic resource base was sufficientto enable them to maintain their subsistence level.The RRU had planned to help the DPs with furtherproductive assets, sources of income and training toimprove their productive skills, particularly of womenin accordance with “Cluster Based and Family OrientedRehabilitation Action Plan (CBFORAP).

Upper Indravati Hydroelectric ProjectA Success Story in Participatory R&R

2 3

Food InsecurityGoO had planned to address, among others,

the risk of food insecurity of DPs by providing themwith land based economic rehabilitation. This was alsobecause of the World Bank’s Operational Directive onInvoluntary Resettlement that required those affectedby a Bank financed project to be resettled andrehabilitated in a way that they enjoy the benefits ofthe project that displaced them.

Since the DPs did not want to have land basedeconomic rehabilitation at the cost of their social andcultural relations andnetwork, GoO asdescribed earlier, hadprovided the DPs withbasic resource base. Inas much as this enabledthe DPs only to havesubsistence level ofliving, RRU sought thehelp of Agragamee (A NGO based in Orissa) thatorganised Participatory Public Distribution Centres in anumber of resettlement clusters through which DPs wereprovided essential commodities such as rice, sugar andkerosene. Agragamee also enabled DPs in some clustersto organise Grain Bank to meet their needs when theirneed for food security and energy were higher andwhen the availability of food was lower. The childrenand pregnant mothers also had the benefits of nutritionthrough Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).All these contributed towards reducing the risk of foodinsecurity.

MorbidityInvoluntary resettlement, particularly in transit

and temporary shelters, lack of adequate food andunhygienic living and environmental conditions generallyhave adverse impacts on the health of the displaced –particularly women and children. RRU had undertakena study to assess health implications of involuntaryresettlement and found morbidity and mortality werehigh due to diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory illness andmalaria. Malnutrition was another factor among thechildren in the age group of 1-3 years.

In order to minimise morbidity and also to meetthe health care needs of the community of displacedpersons, the RRU organised health and immunisationcamps and also mobile health services in cooperationwith Primary Health Centres and Agragamee.

Social DisarticulationSocial and kinship relations enable a group of

people to remain a community, because they providethe bond that helps to tide over many economic andsocial problems. They also provide, among others,mutual help arrangements, labour exchangerelationships, production oriented informalorganisation. All these are severely affected and lostduring involuntary resettlement. Such a loss also affectsthe ability of the community to manage its socio-economic and cultural affairs due to weakening oftraditional authority, leadership and social networks.

It was interesting to note that socialdisarticulation; a very common risk of displacementwas not a problem in Upper Indravati because of theparticipative process of R&R.

There were 560 resettlement clusters spread over19 blocks of five newly-created districts: Kalahandi,Koraput, Nowrangpur, Malkangiri and Rayagada. Thesites of these clusters were actually chosen by the DPswith a view to have continued access to forest resourcesand also the presence of relatives and friends. Thefindings of the Study confirmed that the displacedwanted to have social relations and economic resourcebase in the place of their resettlement rather thanhaving access to land and irrigation in the commandarea. This would mean that the R&R in Upper Indravatiwas a participatory one in which the DPs took theirdecisions mostly as a group that resettled in aparticular cluster.

Of the DPs studied, 1,489 (36.1%) DPs chosetheir place of resettlement because of the availabilityof resources and the presence of their relations while1,010 (24.52%) chose the sites because of availabilityof land and forest. A total of 386 (9.4%) DPs chosetheir sites because of the presence of relatives andfriends in the area.

All these meant that the community of displacedmade deliberate choices, both as individuals and as

groups, with regard to resettlement clusters and thesechoices had reduced and almost eliminated socialdisarticulation.

In as much as social disarticulation is a veryimportant aspect of the displaced person’s ability to

actively participate in their process of rehabilitation,the RRU with the help of Agragamee had planned toorganise community groups in all large resettlementclusters and host villages with a view to enable themto regain their sense of community, leadership andmutual help arrangements so that they were fullyresponsible for planning and implementation ofUpdated Rehabilitation Action Plan (URAP).

Successful Completion of R&R Process

I have used the term “successful” to denote thatthe RRU had paid the entire amount of entitlements thatwere due to the DPs which by itself is a great achievementby many standards. The other two reasons are the reversalof impoverishment risks and RRU’s Plan for participativeplanning and implementation of URAP to furthercomplement the reversal of impoverishment risks.

The GoO had asked the World Bank to includethe URAP as a component in the Orissa Power SectorProgramme that was later financed by the World Bank.The World Bank had agreed to this proposal with aview to support the Government’s plan to complete theR&R of Upper Indravati to ensure that the DPs notonly regained their standards of living but furtherimproved it. However, the Government of India did notwant to add a social safeguard issue to power sectorreform project that was the first of its kind in India.

The Influencing FactorsThere were certain factors that were largely

responsible for what the RRU could do to ensure thatR&R process was completed. They were: (i) political

will and commitment of the Government atthe highest level; (ii) committed bureaucracyparticularly at the level of RRU; (iii) civic engagementinvolving Agragamee and (iv) the partnership betweenthe Government, its RRU and the World Bank throughregular supervision missions.

I still remember the breakfast meeting that Mr.Kari Nyman, the Task Team Leader of the Project andI had with Mr. Biju Patnaik, the then Chief Minister atthe Jeypore Airstrip in which the Chief Ministerpersonally reviewed the progress of R&R in the Projectand the constant support that I received from Mr.Pyarimohan Mohapatra, IAS, who was in Chief Minister’sOffice as his Principal Secretary, Mr. Pradeep Jena, IAS,who headed the RRU in the early years of R&R process

and Mr. Saurabh Garg, IAS, who took over from Mr.Jena.

It is my firm belief that without the politicalwill and the commitment at the highest level of theGovernment, and dedicated bureaucracy it would nothave been possible for the success that the RRU couldachieve. The other important aspect was theinvolvement of Agragamee to facilitate participatoryprocess and to complement and strengthen the effortsof RRU.

Sam Thangaraj

(Mr. Sam Thangaraj was the R&R Specialist of the WorldBank who worked on the Project. After retiring fromWorld Bank, Mr.Thangaraj worked as a consultant withAsian Development Bank. He is currently Advisor, SocialDevelopment, Managing Director’s Office, Tata Steel)

4 5

R&R, Shri B.N. Das were among the officials present.R&R implementation of Arcelor Mittal India Limited,Sterlite Iron & Steel Company Limited, Crackers IndiaLimited, Arya Iron & Steel Co (P) Ltd, Jindal Steel& Power Limited industries was reviewed during themeeting.

The Collector said that the industries have to takea holistic approach and convince people that thequality of their lives will be definitely better. TheRDC said that the administration was pro-industrybut not at the cost of people. It was emphasisedthat the training programmes for persons residing inand around the industrial area should be undertakenat the earliest. The gap between payments ofcompensation and land acquisition has to be minimal.The participants were also told that with regard toPeriphery Development Fund (PDF) emphasis shouldbe given to human resource development.

Review of R&R Implementation for AdityaAluminum Limited, Sambalpur

20th January, 2009Collectorate, Sambalpur

The R&R review meeting for Aditya Aluminum Limited(AAL), Sambalpur was held on 20th January 2009.The Company was told to complete the model housesin the proposed resettlement colony as soon aspossible. AAL was also directed to conduct mobilehealth camps in the displaced villages. RDC (NorthernDivision), Shri Jamil Ahmmed Khan; Collector, ShriP. K. Patnaik and former R&R Director, Shri B. N. Dasand senior officials from Aditya Aluminum Ltd wereamong those present during the review meeting.

Creation of Grievance Redressal CellGrievance Redressal Cells for addressing grievancesrelated to LA and R&R have been set up in threedistricts of the State. The cells have been establishedat: RDC office Berhampur; Collectorate, Sambalpur

and Collectorate,Jajpur. The cellshave beenfacilitated within f ras t ruc tu resupport.

Creation of PD,R&R posts

The Government has created posts of Project Director(PD), R&R in nine districts (Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur,Angul, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Rayagada, Keonjhar,Nuapada and Bolangir). The PD, R&R will exclusivelydeal with cases related to R&R in the respectivedistricts.

Impact Assessment StudyAn Impact Assessment Study commissionedfor eight completed projects (MCL Jharsugudaand Angul; NINL and Jindal Stainless Ltd.,Kalinga Nagar;Bhusan Powerand Steel Ltd.,S a m b a l p u r ;V e d a n t aA l u m i n a ,Jharsuguda andL a n j i g a r h ;Badanala and Harbhangi Irrigation Projects,Rayagada and Gajapati respectively) is beingconducted by the Administrative Staff Collegeof India (ASCI), Hyderabad. Primary datacollection has been completed.

Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) Directorate Update

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Review of R&R Implementation ofSelect Industries

24th October, 2008Durbar Hall, Collectorate, Keonjhar.

A n o t h e rr e v i e wmeeting onR&R imple-men t a t i o no f s e l e c tindustries washeld at theCollectorate,

Keonjhar. Collector, Shri Pramod Chandra Patnaik;RDC (Northern Division), Shri Jamil Ahmmed Khan;SP, Shri Soumendra Priyadarshi, and former Director,

Capacity Building Training ProgrammesCapacity building training programmes for PRImembers, CBOs/NGOs, community volunteers andrevenue inspectors/aminsat the district level hasbeen completed. Trainingprogrammes for PRImembers were held inSambalpur, Angul,Mayurbhanj, Rayagada,Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Balangir districts. Similarly,R&R Training programmes were organised for NGOs/CBOs/women SHG representatives in Sambalpur,Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Balangir, Anguland Rayagada districts. R&R Training programmeswere also held for community volunteers and RIs,

Amins and otherrevenue officials inAngul, Jharsuguda,Rayagada, Balangir,Keonjhar, Sambalpurand Mayurbhanjdistricts.

Review of R&R Implementationof

Select Industries12th November, 2008

NALCO Training Hall, Angul.

A review meeting on R&Rimplementation of select industries ofAngul was held at the NALCO TrainingHall in the district. Six industries(NALCO, MCL, NTPC, Kalinga Coal Mines,Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd and JindalSteel & Power Ltd.) RDC, CentralDivision, Shri Jamil Ahmmed Khan; SP,Shri Prateek Mohanty and Collector &District Magistrate, Shri S.N. Girish andformer R&R Director, Shri B. N. Daswere present during the meeting.Employment, periphery development,upgradation of facilities in theresettlement colonies, gap in landacquisition and payment ofcompensation, training for displacedpopulation were among the main issuesdiscussed during the review meeting.

Exposure Visits for StakeholdersTo enhance understanding of R&R issues & observe bestp r a c t i c e s ,g o v e r n m e n tofficials, PRI & NGOrepresentat iveswere taken forexposure visits toUpper KrishnaIrrigation Project(UKIP), Karnataka,Tehri IrrigationProject, Uttarakhand & Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP),

Gujarat. The exposure visitof SC/ST DevelopmentOfficers was organised toSSP, Gujarat and theexposure visit of ProjectDirector, R&R and officialsfrom Department of WaterResources was organisedto UKIP, Karnataka.

Another exposure visit of senior government officials wasorganised at Mysore, Karnataka to observe the MIS packageof UKIP.

The institution of private property and the right toown, enjoy, and dispose of any immoveable propertyhave been subjects of great political ideology over thecenturies in many countries. To what extent the stateshould grant this right to private citizens and protectthat right against intrusion, encroachment, forcibleeviction by others and its succession from onegeneration to the next — have been matters of legaldebate and political battles.

On the one end of the extreme, Communist countriesby and large do not grant unlimited and absolute rightto property to their citizens. In those countries alllands and immoveable property belong to the state andit can use it for any purpose and take it away whenevernecessary for any public purpose from the persons ororganisations allowed to hold it. Payment of price orcompensation to such persons is generally not an issueat all. On the other end of the extreme, liberaldemocracies grant right to citizens to own, enjoy, disposeoff, or bequeath any property. In such countries,dispossession of citizens from theirproperty is a serious legal issuefraught with complicatedprocedures, delays, intervention bycourts, and involves payment ofcompensation or market price evenwhen the land or buildings arerequired for genuine publicpurposes.

In India, we follow the lattersystem where all Indians enjoy the right to privateproperty. For more than two decades, Right to Propertywas a Fundamental Right under the Indian Constitution,which after a long turmoil and debate was reduced toa simple right in the 44th Amendment and it continuesto be so.

Once the state grants the right to private property, anyone who owns a property can enjoy it, bequeath it toanybody, sell, mortgage, lease, gift or otherwise disposeit as one likes. In the normal circumstances a buyercannot force the seller to sell his/her property whenhe/she does not want to sell it at all. Willingness to

sell the property is the first precondition for any saleof property in the free market. Given the willingness tosell, the price at which the seller agrees to sell to awilling buyer is a point of next importance althoughthe price level itself could be a major factor affectingthe decision to sell or not to sell. But in the case ofcompulsory acquisition of properties, the willingnessof the owners to part with their property is not apoint of consideration at all since the property of anon-willing owner can also be taken over even whenhe refuses to hand it over. It is this compulsory natureof acquisition of private property by the state whichintroduces all the complications, namely — organisedprotests against acquisition, litigation in courts of law,demands for alternate lands, bigger compensation, andcostly rehabilitation programmes and so on.

Compulsory acquisition of land or building is anexclusive prerogative of the state only. No privateorganisation or person has such right or power to forceowners of property to compulsorily part with it. When

the government takes awayprivate property, it payscompensation to its owners fortheir loss. But compensation isdifferent from price in that theprice is a value of the propertyarrived at through a free exerciseof choice and discretion by theparties involved in thetransaction. Such freedom is notavailable to owners of property

when it is compulsorily acquired by the government.

Poor Quantum of CompensationAnother disturbing factor is the unilateral process ofdetermining the quantum of compensation for theacquired properties. Determination of compensation isdone strictly according to the procedure establishedby law. The legal procedures and prescriptions are notoften sensitive to the fast changing circumstancesaffecting the property values, nor can they alwaysaccommodate all the demands and claims, reasons andjustifications of the land owners to determinecompensation levels which would satisfy them. The only

remedy left for the land owners is to approach thecourts of law seeking enhancement of compensationfor their lands covered under compulsory acquisition.

The Constitutional and Legal BasisSince the deletion of Article 19(1) (f) of theConstitution of India (in 1979), the Right to Propertyis no longer a Fundamental Right for the protection ofwhich the land owners can knock at the doors of theSupreme Court. The insertion of a new Article 300-A, inthe 44th Amendment to the Constitution has madeit only a legal right. It simply says that “Noperson shall be deprived of his property saveby authority of law”. The land owners can atthe most approach the High Courts under thegeneral writ jurisdiction. Further, the deletionof Article 31 as it originally stood and as it was amendedin the First and Twenty Fifth Amendments (in 1955 and1971 respectively) does not exactly make the right tocompensation a uniformly enforceable right in all casesof land acquisition.

The 44th Amendment has however, retained the Secondproviso to Article 31A (1) which lays down that “..itshall not be lawful for the State to acquire…….unlessthe law relating to the acquisition of such land, buildingor structure, provides for payment of compensation ata rate which shall not be less than market valuethereof. This provision relates exclusively to theowners of lands cultivating itpersonally the extent of whichis within the limit of ceilingapplicable to them. Anotherprovision for compensation inthe Constitution is in Article 30(1-A) which stipulatesthat “In making anylaw providing for theacquisition of anyproperty of aneducational institutionestablished andadministered by aminority referred toClause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixedby or determined under such law for the acquisition ofsuch property is such as would not restrict or abrogatethe right guaranteed under that clause”. This provisionis relevant only when the State acquires properties ofminority educational institutions.

The provision for compensation can onlybe found in the law providing for land acquisition.These laws lay down specific dos and don’ts indetermining the compensation. For instance, Section23 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 prescribes sixconditions which should be taken into account whilesection 24 specifies eight conditions which should notbe considered while determining compensation to bepaid for the acquired property. Four of the eight

forbidden conditions are seriously questionedby the land losers in almost every case ofland acquisition. Efforts to make the law moreliberal and practical so that it takes intoaccount the prevailing market conditions andgeneral circumstances under which lands areacquired have assumed Herculean proportions.

The Court DecisionsNotwithstanding the shaky provisions relating to claimsof compensation under the Constitution of India as itstands today, the Honorable Supreme Court in MinervaMill’s case has upheld the land owners’ right to fair andreasonable compensation on par with market value. Butthere is no single definite and satisfactory methodto calculate “the market value” which can satisfy ownersof property in all cases of acquisition. Almost everymethod suffers from some major defect or the other inarriving at the “fair and reasonable” market value sincewhat is ‘fair’ and what is ‘reasonable’ are subject to

highly personal and subjectiveinterpretations and no single setof criteria can adequately coverenormously varying factual andsituational conditions in eachcase of acquisition of privateproperty.

No wonder therefore, most of thecases of compulsory landacquisition invariably land up in

civil courts claiming enhancement of compensation. Theincreasing burden of land acquisition cases in the civilcourts has virtually defeated the very purpose becauseof the enormous delay in obtaining the judicial decisions.This delay causes multiple negative impacts.

First of all, for no fault of the acquiring authority thegovernment is forced to pay interest at 15 per cent perannum on every day of the delay in the courts. Secondly,the capitalisation method used by the courts to calculate

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CONSENT AWARD

ITS LEGALITY, CONTEXT, SIGNIFICANCE & SCOPE FOR INNOVATION

the compensation can be easilymanipulated in respect of assessing values of factors

such as input costs, output quantities, prevailing marketprices of commodities, and highly fluctuating prices ofurban real estate and so on.

Thirdly, the multipliers used are highly arbitrary andcan be questioned on several counts. Fourthly, thecost of court fee, the burden of lawyers’ fees, the timeand money spent on attending the court hearings takeaway a considerable chunk of the enhancedcompensation, if it is enhanced. Finally, the time gapbetween receiving the original compensation and theamount enhanced by the courts is so long that duringthe pendency of the case in the court the originalcompensation is generally spent away, and out ofwhatever remains in the enhanced amount, it would bevery difficult, if not impossible, to buy any equivalentreplacement asset. The persons thus losing theirproperty in the compulsory acquisition end up site less,landless, or houseless as the case may be.

The Amendment to LA ActKnowing the negative consequences of the unilateralfixing of the compensation by the land acquiringauthority, the law makers while amending the LandAcquisition Act in 1984 have provided for negotiatedsettlement of compensation for the acquired properties.The Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is the law (a savedlegislation amended from time to time), whichestablishes the authority of law as provided underArticle 300-A of the Constitution for compulsoryacquisition of private property for public purposes.

Several other laws providing, among other things, forthe acquisition of private lands enacted by the statelegislatures and the Parliament have also more or lessfollowed the basic framework laid down in the LA Act,1894 though they differ in respect of

(i) Time intervals at various stages allowed forfiling of objections and claims by the persons having

interest in theproperty;

( i i )Designation ofc o m p e t e n tauthority toacquire lands;

property in the compulsory acquisition process can bemitigated to some extent by the satisfaction of freediscussion and the resulting fair price for the lands.It thus empowers the land owners to bargain the pricethey should get in the form of compensation withgreater confidence and bargaining power.

Secondly, it also prevents avoidable and prolongedlitigation leading to waste of time and cost over runsin the acquisition process. This is good both to governmentand the land losers. The development projects can becompleted without much of cost over runs.

Thirdly, it saves the burden of interest payment bythe government for the long waiting periods duringwhich the enhancement cases would be pending inthe courts. Often the interest amount far exceeds theamount of enhanced compensation.

Fourthly, it also helpsthe land losers to savea good amount whichthey would be payingas court fee, lawyers’fees, and cost ofattending the courthearing several times.The leakages in the oldsystem would thus beplugged through consent award.

Fifthly, the role of the middlemen, agents andtouts in the general acquisition procedurewould disappear. It thus makes the system muchmore transparent and open compared to thesomewhat secretive manner the middlemen used toexploit the land owners.

Sixthly, the land losers would be able to buyreplacement assets since they get entirecompensation in one single installment withouthaving to incur other expenses like court fee, lawyers’fee etc., at the earliest.

Seventhly, the peaceful manner in which thecompensation is negotiated creates considerable goodwill between the land losers and the projectauthorities which will help greatly in a cooperativemanner while implementing the R&R programmes forthe affected people.

Finally, a good amount of compensationpaid in one single sum without any hassles anddelay would be an excellent antidote to all kinds ofmotivated agitations commonly seen in many places.It will help the affected people to a large extent intheir efforts at resettlement and rehabilitation.

The ContextIn the era of globalised world, privatised infrastructuredevelopment, and fast expanding private industrialsector projects the need for land is increasingenormously. The proliferation of Special EconomicZones (SEZs) in hundreds all over the country, the influxof foreign and local Multi-National Corporationsparticularly in the steel, coal, bauxite, and other miningsectors in the mineral rich areas such as Orissa,Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have been themajor causes of concern for the farmers fearing loss of

their lands.

In the urban real estate boom visible inmetropolitan areas such as Bangalore, Mumbai,Chennai, Delhi, and Hyderabad and Class II citieslike Pune, Vizag, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Bhopal,Coimbatore the fears of land owners in the urban

and peripheral areas aregenuine and seriousabout losing theirprecious lands undercompulsory acquisitionfor a number of urbaninfrastructure projects.Suddenly the Indiancities seem to have

woken up to the needs to develop airports, nationalhighways, power projects, solid waste management,water treatment projects, power transmission lines,railways, metros, super bazaars, and public housingprojects through private-public partnershiparrangements.

Farmers agitations against compulsory acquisition oftheir lands are not only getting better organised butthey are also forming networks regionally and nationally.The violent agitations and political overtones ofincidents like Kalinga Nagar in Orissa and Singur andNandigram in West Bengal are influencing farmers andtheir organisations almost all over India. It is in thiscontext that the old and outdated colonial systems,

10 11

(iii) Arbitrationauthority in cases ofdisputes over

quantum andapportionment ofcompensation etc.

CONSENT AWARDIn respect of determining the compensation in general,sections 23 and 24 of the LA Act clearly prescribeconditions which must be taken into consideration andthe conditions which should not be considered whiledetermining the compensation. But Sub Section (2) ofSection 11 of that Act makes a major exception fornegotiated settlement of compensation. It states that“Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section(1), if at any stage of the proceedings, the Collectoris satisfied that all the persons interested in the landwho appeared before him have agreed in writing onthe matters to be included in the award of theCollector in the form prescribed by rules made by theappropriate government, he may without makingfurther enquiry, make an award according to the termsof such agreement.” Sub section (3) further statesthat “The determination of compensation for any landunder subsection (2) shall not in any way affect thedetermination of compensation in respect of otherlands in the same locality or elsewhere in accordancewith the other provisions of this Act.”

The Merits of LawThe above cited provision in the LA Act is very broadin scope. It does not prescribe any rigid conditions fornegotiations between the Collector and the land owners.The contents of the agreement, the manner ofconducting the consultations, the principles on thebasis of which compensation should be determinedare left open which give enormous freedom to theCollector and the land owners to determinecompensation in free, fair and reasonable mannerwhich satisfy both the Collector and the personshaving interest in the land. It thus provides enoughscope for innovative methods of arriving at a fair andreasonable compensation. The pain of parting with the

concepts and laws of land acquisition haveto change keeping in tune with the changing ethos

of the times if they have to be successful.

Major Initiatives in KarnatakaIn Karnataka, a variety of innovative methods ofacquiring lands with the use of negotiatedsettlement of compensation have been developedand used over the last few years. The KarnatakaHousing Board for instance has been able to directlynegotiate and purchase more than 17000 acres of landfor the housing projects. The Karnataka Industrial AreaDevelopment Board likewise has successfully acquiredmore than 40000 acres of lands for the industries. InUpper Krishna Irrigation Project more than 140,000acres of land and about 50000 houses and otherstructures have been acquired using consent awards.The Bangalore Development Authority, and some SEZunits are also resorting to different types of innovativeconsent awards.

Amendment to Land Reforms LawKeeping in tune with the general trends in the state,the Revenue Department in Karnataka amended theKarnataka Land Reforms Act 1961 (Section 109) toallow the investors in housing, industries, horticulturalresearch farming, educational and religious institutionsbuying agricultural lands for these non agriculturalpurposes upto specified limits. This action has avoidedthe unpleasant process of compulsory land acquisition.

Encouragement to Direct PurchasesFurther, the Revenue Department has also issued certainguidelines to fix prices for direct purchase of lands for

c e r t a i np u r p o s e ssuch asestablishmentof electricstations andsubstationsfor powertransmission,r o a d

expansion, housing societies and Housing Board.Generally, any price twice the amount determined byway of sale statistics method using the statistics ofsales in the relevant place during the preceding threeyears is allowed as a reasonable price of a givenland. Beyond that limit the purchasing body

each. A total of 12 acquisition proposals were for bigconstruction projects and 22 proposals were for variousother purposes like constructing new tanks, powerstations, canals, house sites, etc

The Extent of Land Acquired under ConsentIn respect of the data furnished above, the extent ofland acquired through consent awards and the extentacquired by resorting to sale statistics based awardsreveal very interesting trends. Of the 2271 acres acquiredtotally over the last four years, 941 acres were coveredunder consent system whereas 1330 acres were paidcompensation as per sale statistics, the formerconstituting about 42 per cent and the latter 58 percent. This is surprising since 68 per cent of allacquisition proposals were coveredunder consent awards.

The detailed analysis shows thatjust seven proposals covered undersales statistics method comprisedof 1245 acres of land all of whichwere in urban areas and theremaining area was only 85 acresin 24 projects of small size mostof which was also in urban area.It is our common observation that: (i) wherever theland acquisition covers huge chunks of land runninginto hundreds of acres, the negotiation process becomesmore difficult since the number of farmers is generallymore. Larger number of farmers means greaterbargaining strength and they tend to take tough standsin the negotiations which would fail. Further, somelawyers also strike deals with farmers by paying someadvance amount promising the farmers to obtain theircompensation enhanced in the civil court several timesmore than the consent price.

Wherever large extent of land is involved in compulsoryacquisition, the lawyers’ presence and conspiracy ofsorts is frequently noticed. Moreover, urban land pricesbeing highly volatile and sensitive to many factorswhich cannot be easily predicted make the negotiationprocess for moderate price levels difficult. LandAcquisition officers would not like to take heavy risksin raising the level of compensation lest their superiorofficers suspect them of dishonesty in the process.Besides, the negotiation skills of Collectors and SLAOs(Special Land Acquisition Officers) need to be fine-tuned to deal with the difficult situations of persuading

reluctant parties to agree to the compulsoryacquisition at moderate price lines. Another generalobservation is that in highway projects, railway projects,and other linear acquisition the extent of lands involvedis generally small and people do not take it seriously.Consequently the consent award works better there.

Amount of Compensation under Consent SystemIn the small data examined here, it is also observedthat the difference between the amount of compensationdetermined by negotiation and that decided on thebasis of sale statistics is not really striking. The consentbased compensation is higher by 3 per cent to 97 percent. It has been made clear that the government wouldconsider favorably any addition of upto double the

amount in consent awardscompared to the sale statisticsbased system. However, the DeputyCommissioners and SLAOs stillseem to be quite conservative andhesitant to concede to pay higheramounts of compensation in thenegotiation process.

It has been fairly established thatin most cases of general awards

based on sale statistics the land owners either on theirown initiative or at the behest of greedy lawyers applyfor enhancement of compensation in the courts. Theaverage waiting period for obtaining decrees from civilcourts varies from three to five years. The interestburden on the government at 15 per cent per annumitself would be 45 to 75 per cent of the compensationthat may be enhanced. General trend is that the courtsenhance compensation from 3 to 5 times the originalcompensation decided by the Collector/SLAO. In thisview of the things,the governmenteventually ends uppaying nearly fiveto six times morecompensation inthe litigationprocess.

Further, aconsiderable part of the enhanced amount indeed isknocked off by the lawyers and middlemen leaving abouta half to the harassed land owners. It is therefore in

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should seek priorapproval of thegovernment. This

has helped theHousing Board,Karnataka PowerT r a n s m i s s i o n

Corporation, and the Karnataka Road DevelopmentCorporation.

General TrendsFor several other purposes, the Revenue Departmenthas been consistently insisting upon and largelysuccessfully implementing the general system ofconsent awards while acquiring private lands. In thelast four years the progress achieved in this approachis shown in the table below. These cases pertain tothose acquisition proposals where the total value ofacquisition exceeds Rupees one crore or more whichrequire approval of the government. Awards costingless than one crore of Rupees are approved by theRegional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners inKarnataka at the present.

Progress in the Consent Award Systems in RevenueDepartment(Excluding UKIP, Housing Board, KIADB, urbandevelopment cases)

Year General Consent Total Percen-Awards Awards tage

2004 01 04 05 802005 06 19 25 762006 07 16 23 742007 17 35 52 70Total 31 74 105 68

The Purposes of Acquisition In the above given data the purposes for which thecompulsory acquisition was started were highly varied.Railway projects were 25 followed by road projects 24,whereas drinking water supply and undergrounddrainage systems in urban areas as well as shifting ofseepage affected and flood affected villages were 16

the interest of the government and theland losers that the initial compensation level

itself should be so fixed in the negotiation which wouldnot cost too much to the government while at thesame time the land losers would not be forced toapproach the courts.

Preconditions for Consent Award SystemThe introduction of consent award requires basicchanges in the wholeapproach to compulsoryacquisition. These aresummarised below:

(a) Government shouldshow sufficientconcern to safeguardthe interests of theland losers,dependents on theland though not asowners but as tenants, laborers etc.

(b) A system of standard procedures, delegation ofpowers with sufficient safeguards to preventmisuse of authority in negotiating, andauthority structures at different levels shouldbe set up.

(c) More participatory and transparent processshould be established in such a manner whichensures that neither land losers nor governmentfunctionaries exploit or dominate each other.

(d) For a successful system of consent award, it isessential the system must be flexible enoughto take into account enormously varyingcircumstances in each case of land acquisition.

(e) The most common government orders forconsent award specifying an increase ofcompensation by a fixed percentage, say 25per cent or 50 per cent or 75 per cent over andabove the value arrived at by following salesstatistics method would NOT work in every caseespecially in respect of urban lands, irrigated

National Seminar on “Development,Displacement and Rehabilitation:

Challenges & Opportunities”20th - 21st September, 2008

Rourkela Institute of Management Studies,Rourkela, Orissa

A seminar on “Development, Displacement andRehabilitation: Challenges & Opportunities” wasorganised jointly by Rourkela Institute ofManagement Studies (RIMS) and Indian EconomicAssociation (IEA), during the month of September

in Rourkela. Present during the occasion was notedeconomist and member of the Economic AdvisoryCouncil to Prime Minister Prof. G. K. Chhadha whosaid that development inevitably entails some adverseeffects and no effort should be spared to lessen thehuman sufferings. In the wake of country’s rapidprogress on land-based projects, Chaddha touchedupon the contentious issue of displacement andconsequent violent protests.

Stating that the Indian Economy is heading for aland-based development, in which displacement isinevitable, he noted: “Nobody disputes the necessityof development. But we must also ensure crisis likedisplacement, threats to environment and foodsecurity are handled well.” He said that developmentmust be less painful, socially responsive and lead toinclusive growth. Director of NIT, Rourkela, Prof. S.K. Sarangi said that price of land should becommercially high for profitable projects.

National Seminar on Rehabilitation andResettlement Issues in India

7th - 8th August, 2008Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of

Administration, Mussoorie

The Centre for Rural Studies, Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Academyof Administration,Mussoorie withfinancial supportfrom the Ministryof RuralD e v e l o p m e n t ,Government ofIndia, organised a

two-day National Seminar on 7th and 8th August, 2008.Sub themes of the seminar included the following:

1. Revisiting National Policy on Rehabilitation andResettlement

2. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and R&R issues3. Participatory development and the role of NGOs

in rehabilitative mechanisms4. R&R aftermath natural calamities5. Administrative experiences on R&R in Indian

states6. Socio-cultural and livelihood issues pertaining

to R&R

Besides deliberatingon several significantaspects of landa c q u i s i t i o n ,displacement andR&R, the participantsfrom all across thecountry presented state level experiences. The Seminarfocused on the theoretical, institutional and impactassessment dimensions of R&R mechanisms and arriveat a workable, pragmatic solutions.

and garden lands.(f) There must also be frequent revision and review

of the systems of consent award.

Wherever consent award systems have succeeded thereis evidence to show that political will to changeimpractical systems and to help land losers withoutharming development projects and to introduceinnovations in administration existed.

ConclusionThe general reluctance of thegovernments to encourageconsent awards seems to flowfrom the fear that the officersresponsible for negotiationmay misuse the discretionand indulge in dishonestdeals to make unlawful gainsfor themselves. There are

some such cases reported in the past. But it is possibleto develop systems which would be transparent andless open to manipulations for corrupt purposes. Thewisdom lies in devising such systems rather thancondemning the golden path of negotiation indetermining the compensation.

While direct purchase of lands envisaged in the newSEZ law is a right step in removing the seriousbottlenecks in obtaining the lands for developmentpurposes, there still will remain a considerable needfor compulsory acquisition since some persons alwaysand every where would like to exploit the opportunityeither for their political ends or satisfying their greed.The need for land for a variety of development projectsis increasing enormously. The delay in acquisition isholding up many development programmes. Further,the farmers’ agitations all over the country are turningviolent since acquisition of large extents of lands iscausing massive displacement. It is thereforeappropriate to devise more participatory, transparent,and practical methods of determining compensationacceptable to land owners and not at the same timeheavily overburdening the government with excessvaluation of lands either by courts or by the negotiationprocess.

Dr. S. M. Jaamdar, IASManaging Director, Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd,

National Consultant, UNDP

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Consultation on DevelopmentInduced Displacement & Women:A Case Study of Orissa, India

25th October, 2008, Bhubaneswar

A consultation was organised on Development InducedDisplacement and Women byGender Research Organisation,Sansristi, at Bhubaneswar on 25th

Oct 2008. The objective of theConsultation was to sharepreliminary findings of a study toanalyse the impact of developmentinduced displacement on women.The study covered affected womenof HAL, Sunabeda, Koraput; TATASteel in Jajpur District; Vedanta inKalahandi district; Posco in Jagatsinghpur; Hirakud damin Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts.

The participants included representatives from civilsociety organisations, academicians and displaced andaffected persons. Prof Malini Bhattacharya, Chairperson,State Commission for Women, West Bengal, presidedover the consultation and Prof Asha Hans, President,

Sansristi, gave a brief overview and back ground of theStudy and the purpose of the consultation. Mr B.N.Das, former Director, Resettlement and Rehabilitation,Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Govt ofOrissa was the Chief Speaker during the occasion. Alsopresent during the consultation meet were displacedpersons who narrated their experience during pre andpost displacement situations.

The preliminary findings of theStudy, was presented before theparticipants for their inputs,comments and suggestions. Someof the suggestions included thefollowing:·The Resettlement &Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy mustgive special focus to womencategories and their children. It

must ensure adequate healthcare and education inthe relocated places.

· The amount of compensation must be uniformeverywhere irrespective of sex, gender, caste, creedand economic status

· The National R&R Policy provides for a percentageof profits of the project or industrial setup thatcaused displacement to be used for socio-economicdevelopment of the areas.

Impact of Industrialisation onTribals in Orissa

An international seminar on 'Myths and Superstition vis-a-vis Tribal Society' was organised at the Kalinga Instituteof Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar recently. Speakingon 'Impact ofIndustrialisationon tribals inOrissa,' speakerssaid that noto n l ycompensationfor land, butcorporates displacing locals, especially tribals, shouldplan to formulate their rehabilitation and resettlementpolicies on 'replacement value.' A socio-economicresources mapping and infrastructure survey must beconducted by an independent agency identified by theState Government to ensure proper benchmarking, theyadded.

As Orissa is on the threshold of industrialisation,there are still issues to be addressed. However, socialcommunication and mobilisation, direct dialogue andnegotiation and setting up of Public InfomationCentres (PICs) should be priority, felt speakers atthe Seminar. Speaking on "Tribals: Damned by Dams,'a speaker said that in case of many irrigation projects,no proper surveys were done in advance on projectaffected persons (PAPs). As a result, in many cases'major sons' of the oustees, who have been displaced,have not been recognised as PAPs.

India is one of the countries which are signatoriesto the International Labour Organisation (ILO)Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Populations1957. According to Article 12 of the Convention, thepopulations concerned shall not be removed withouttheir free consent from their habitual territories exceptin accordance with national laws and regulationsrelating to national security, or in the interest ofnational economic development or of the health of thesaid populations. It is a fact that most of the

displacements have been justified in India on theground of economic development.

However, Article 12 (2) of the Convention mentionsthat such people shall be provided with lands of qualityat least equal to that of land previously occupied bythem, suitable to provide for their presentneeds and future development when relocationof such people are considered necessary as anexceptional measure. In cases where chancesof alternative employment exist and where thepopulations concerned prefer to havecompensation money or in kind, they shall beso compensated under appropriate guarantees.The persons thus removed shall be fullycompensated for any loss or injury.

Experiences since 1957 and prior show that,India’s effort to expedite development to

improve the living conditions of its masses of poor,had significant impacts on the lives and conditions oftribal people. The tribal areas being rich in mineral,hydrologic and other resources, many developmentprojects have got located there, adding new pressureson the local population. Their grounds were dug upfor minerals, their riversdammed for power andirrigation, their soilsploughed for commercialagriculture, and theirforests felled for timber.

Several empirical researchtell us that displacementhas hurt the tribal peopledisproportionately despiteour tall claims. They havebeen evicted from theirhomes and lands oftenwith little or no compensation on the ground thatthey lacked rights on land and in forests, even thoughthey had been living there for generations. Anotherlesson learnt relates to the inadequate managementcapacity to address resettlement issues basing onproper understanding of the lives and culture of tribalpeople. As is being witnessed increasingly, as aconsequence of such failings, the affected peoplesupported by activists groups are now becoming

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,DISPLACEMENT & DEVELOPMENT

16 17

assertive, in some cases, even hostile to theestablishment of new development projects which theyexpect to do nothing but ruin their lives, leaving themin the worst forms of poverty.

Land is central to tribal people’s culture and lives. Formost tribal people, land is not a commodity that canbe bought and sold for monetary considerations. It isthe basis for their economic survival, their spiritualwell-being and their cultural identity. Loss of ancestrallands, threaten their very survival as a communityand as people. As a resource, land is owned by theentire community, to be used according to both itspresent and future needs. The judicious use of CommonProperty Resources (CPRs), on which the tribal peopledepend a great deal, is part of their way of life.

The compensation packages received by the tribalpeople were utterly inadequate to compensate for theloss of land, livelihoods, and importantly, the break-up of their communities and culture. The resettlementliterature is replete with cases where ignoring thecustomary rights of the tribal people and treatingthem as illegal occupants of government land has

only led to the impoverishment of once settledcommunities, just the opposite of what developmentstands for. The trauma of resettlement is alsoexacerbated for tribal communities because of theirstrong spiritual ties to their land and theirapprehension that once they move, their way of lifewill be lost forever.

The ILO, of which India is a founder member, replacedConvention 107 by a new Convention numbering 169in the year 1989, which is yet to be ratified by theGovernment of India. This is rated as the foremostinternational legal instrument which deals specificallywith the rights of the indigenous and tribal people, andwhose influence extends beyond the number of actual

ratifications. This recognises self-identification ofindigenous and tribal peoples as a fundamental criterion.

As a basic principle, the new Convention has placedhigh priorities on consultation and participation asbasic requirements to any development activityconcerning tribal people. It states that indigenouspeople should not be removed from their land. However,should relocation have to take place, it should be onlyas an exceptional measure, with their free and informedconsent. The Convention outlines an appropriateprocedure in case relocation is considered necessaryand when tribal people do not agree. This includespublic hearing or investigation, provision for returnof the people to their original place after the reasonfor their leaving not remaining any more valid, andfull rehabilitation & resettlement. Whenever the tribalpeople are resettled, they must be provided with landsof equal quality and with same or better legal title asthe lands they have lost. If only the tribal people sowish, then they can accept other forms of payment fortheir lost lands and with full compensation.

The Convention provides space for the tribal andindigenous people to negotiate with authorities toprotect their rights by acknowledging their rights toimpact assessment studies on social, spiritual, culturaland environmental impacts, rights to decide the kindof development projects, rights to participate, andrights to control their economic social and culturaldevelopment. The tribal people shall have the rightsto participate in the benefits of exploration andexploitation of minerals as well rights to receive fullcompensation for their relocation.The above International Convention,the judgment of Hon’ble SupremeCourt of India in the case of Samathavs. State of Andhra Pradesh and theannouncement of the CentralGovernment about the CommonMinimum Programme (CMP) areexpected to raise the just and

appropriate aspirations of the indigenous and tribalpeople of the country. The CMP of the CentralGovernment puts great emphasis on development, R&Rissues of the tribals. It states that “The Governmentwill immediately review the overall strategy andprogrammes for development of tribal areas to plugloopholes and to work out more viable livelihood

strategies. In addition, moreeffective systems of resettlementand rehabilitation will be put inplace for tribal and other groupsdisplaced by development projects.Tribal people alienated from landwill be rehabilitated. …Eviction oftribal communities and other forest-

dwelling communities from forest areas will bediscontinued. Cooperation of these communities willbe sought for protecting forests and for undertakingsocial afforestation. The rights of tribal communitiesover mineral resources, water resources, etc as laiddown by law will be fully safeguarded.”

Ratification of the ILO Convention 169 and keepingthe promises made to the people though the aboveannouncement would essentially minimise the conflictsin the path of national development. Should equityand empowerment be made fundamental to thedevelopment process, the resistance from affected tribalgroups would lessen over time.

Bishnupada Sethi, IASDirector,

Fisheries & Animal Husbandry, Govt. of Orissa

◆◆◆

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As per provisions in the Orissa R&R Policy 2006, rehabilitationgrants have been revised by the Government as per the Wholesale

Price Index (WPI). The order for the ‘biennial revision of therehabilitation grants in monetary terms was issued by the Revenue &Disaster Management Dept. Vide letter No. R&REH - 124/08-36358/

R&DM dated the 21st August, 2008.

The state periodically invokes it power of eminentdomain and acquires private lands for public purpose.Where the acquisition is for projects such as roadsthere is little conflict. It is quite different wherelands are compulsorily acquired to help privateenterprises. Events in the recent past have raisedfresh questions regarding the definition of publicpurpose and nature of compensation. The existingLand Acquisition Act, 1894, is inadequate to addressthese concerns. In this context, the recent reportby the Parliamentary Standing Committee thatreviewed the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill,2007, has raised lot of expectations. To its credit,the Committee has discouraged attempts tounreasonably favour private companies andsuggests that the clauses which give scope forinconsistent interpretation and misuse be removed.

These recommendations are to be welcomed, but whatis overlooked is the core issue — should the state getinvolved in acquiring land for private companies? Is itnot best left to the market forces as in the case of real-estate companies which on their own have created large

land banks exceeding at times hundred of acres? Whereacquisition for private companies becomes inevitable,at least excessive land acquisition should be checked.Neither the Bill nor the Committee attempts to resolvethis question.

When it comes to compensation, the proposedlegislation continues to view it only in monetary terms.

Consequently, the only challenge it takes on itself is toarrive at the fair value of land acquired. Since therecords with the registration department do not reflectthe correct market value, the Committee has suggestedthat land values spread over three years preceding thedate of notification be considered for this purpose. Italso recommends that independent experts could also

be involved. These are definite improvements overexisting methods. But the question how to expandthe notion of compensation to include other socialcosts such as loss of livelihood remains to beaddressed. The Committee suggests the solatiumbe raised to 60 per cent of the land value from thecurrent 30 per cent. Will this make up for the losses?Alternative forms of compensation such asemployment and pension are envisaged only underthe proposed Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill2007. Even this is applicable only where 400 ormore families (in plains) are affected en masse byland acquisition. Where the number of peopledisplaced is lower, the families have to settle for

what the Land Acquisition Bill offers. This anomalyneeds to be addressed and non-monetary forms ofcompensation provided for.

(Courtesy: Editorial from The Hindu)

LAND FOR PUBLIC PURPOSE

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R&R Policy-2006 have been indexed with effect from01.04.08, which should be taken as the commonminimum yardstick. All the members of the sub-committee and the representatives of all participatingcompanies present unanimously agreed to it. It wasalso decided that all companies should furnish R&Rrelated information in the official website of thegovernment through NIC, Angul.

A total of eight village-level meetings on the OrissaR&R Policy 2006 were conducted.

DhenkanalA three-day training programme on R&R policy 2006was conducted for Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI)members in Dhenkanal district between 25-27 November2008, under the chairmanship of ADM, Dhenkanal.Approximately 30 participants including sarapanchs,nayab sarapanchs, from 16 Gram Panchayats attendedthe programme.

JajpurThe 3rd RPDAC meetingwas held under theChairmanship of SriSailendra NarayanSarangi, RDC (CentralDivision) at KalingaNagar IntegratedIndustrial Complex(KNIIC) in the presence of Hon’ble Minister Finance,Hon’ble Minister Women & Child Welfare and othermembers.

Resumption of unused surplus land allotted in favourof industries, employment, unauthorised use of groundwater by the industrial units, review of peripherydevelopment activities — were among some of theimportant issues discussed during the RPDAC meeting.

A capacity building training of PRI members on R&Rwas organised from 1–3 September 2008 in Jajpurdistrict. “This programmme created an opportunity forthe PRI members of project-affected areas to sit togetherand think on the issues of resettlement andrehabilitation,” said Mrs. Ranjita Rout, president, ZillaParishad, Jajpur.

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DISTRICT FOLLOW-UPSambalpurThe RPDAC (Rehabilitation and Periphery DevelopmentAdvisory Committee) Meeting for Aditya Aluminum Ltd,Bhusan Power & Steel Ltd, MCL and Rathi Power & SteelLtd was held on 10. 07. 08 at the DRDA conferencehall, Sambalpur which was chaired by the RDC (NorthernDivision).

The Hon’able Speaker ofOrissa LegislativeAssembly also reviewedthe R&R progress of M/sAditya Aluminum Projectin the district.

Free health camps wererecently organised by MCL and M/s Hindalco Industries.An additional free mega mobile health camp was alsoorganised by M/s Aditya Aluminum, Project at LapangaHigh School, Lapanga,on 5. 12. 08 which wasinaugurated by RDC(Northern Division)and SambalpurCollector.

Village level meetingson Orissa R&R Policy2006 were conducted in the villages and investmentcounseling was also done during disbursement ofcompensation.

AngulThe sub-committee meeting of the second RPDAC ofAngul district was held on 27. 9. 08. Issues relating toapproval of R&R sites, R&R plan for industries/miningprojects of Angul district and approval of the list ofDisplaced Families — were among the important thingsdiscussed during the Meeting. The sub-committeeMeeting was chaired by the Collector and DistrictMagistrate, Angul.

The second sub-committee meeting washeld on 13. 10. 08,which was chaired by theCollector. The Collectorapprised that variouscomponents of the Orissa

JharsugudaA meeting for verification ofage of PDFs, who have optedfor one-time cash assistancein lieu of employment, wasorganised on 28. 11. 2008at DRDA conference hall, Jharsuguda. A total numberof 55 PDFs have opted for one-time cash assistance inlieu of employment at Vedanta Aluminum Ltd (VAL). Itwas earlier decided in the last RPDAC meeting that alldisplaced persons up to the age of 40 years must gofor employment.

A review of R&Rissues of VedantaAluminum &Sterilite EnergyLimited Jharsugudawas chaired by RDC(Northern Division) on 1.12.2008

KeonjharGram sabhas were conducted by Arcellor Mittal SteelIndia Ltd. at Raikala, Baliapasi and Nuakhaman villages

in Keonjhar district.Additional gramsabhas wereconducted byUttam Galva SteelLimited and SterliteIron & Steel Co. Ltdat Saraskela and

Tikarpada villages respectively.

A total of nine village-level consultation workshopswere held.

The RPDAC meeting of Kakudiamba Irrigation Projectin Keonjhar district was held 24. 10. 2008. Mr. JamilAhmed Khan, RDC (Northern Division) presided overthe meeting.

A review meeting on R&R implementation in Keonjhardistrict was organised by the R&R Directorate on 24.10. 2008 at the Durbar Hall, Keonjhar Collectorate. Thestatus of R&R implementation of six industries werereviewed during the meeting presided by Mr. JamilAhmed Khan, RDC (ND).

BalangirA review of R&R issue ofLower Suktel IrrigationProject (LSIP) Balangir,was undertaken by Director,R&R Dept. of WaterResource on 10. 08. 08. Village committee members of10 affected villages also participated in the meeting. Inanother additional meeting, the RDC (ND) also reviewedLA and RR issues of LSIP on 20. 08. 08.

A capacity building training programme on R&R forPRI members was organised from 23-25 October. A totalof 29 PRI members participated from different GramPanchayats of the district. A similar training wasorganised for NGO/CBO representatives of Balangirdistrict from 10-12 November.

RayagadaThe third RPDAC Meetingwas held on 5. 1. 09 inRayagada district. It wasdecided during the meetingchaired by Mr. SatyabrataSahu, RDC (SouthernDivision) that UtkalAlumina plant in Kasipurblock would pay an additional compensation of Rs60,000 per acre to the displaced provided they call offtheir stir and allow the Company to resume work. Themeeting was attended by various members, includingrepresentatives of agitating displaced groups.

MayurbhanjA capacity building training programme for the PRIrepresentatives of the project affected areas of thedistrict was organised during 10-12 September 2008 atBaripada. Another capacity building training of NGO &CBO representatives of the district with focus on theaffected areas, was organised from 16-18 October 2008at Baripada. A total of 26 NGOs and 9 CBOs participatedin the programme inaugurated by the district Collector.

A total of 14 village consultancy workshops on theOrissa R&R Policy 2006 was organised in Mayurbhanj.The village meetings were organised in the projectaffected areas of Jambhira Reservoir and HaladiaReservoir under Subarnarekha Irrigation Project.

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22 23

UNDP-DFID undertook a Resettlement andRehabilitation (R&R) Project which provided inputs tothe Government of Orissa (GoO) in formulating acomprehensive policy - the Orissa Resettlement &Rehabilitation Policy, 2006. There is a strong focus onthe modalities of implementation in the presentPolicy, thus making it a vibrant instrument forpromoting sustainable development in the State.

It has been widely acknowledged that the NationalResettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, 2007 hasadopted some provisions from the Orissa Policy. Forthe first time, GoO identified a nodal department –Revenue & Disaster Management Department andassigned the task to look at R&Rconcerns for all projects. Earlier,respective departments were incharge of handling concerns relatedto R&R.

Creation of the Directorate ofResettlement & Rehabilitation withinthe Revenue & Disaster ManagementDepartment has provided a single-window system to address issues related to R&R for allprojects at the state level. Several high level committees(SLCRR, PEG, PAC) have been formed for the first timewhich has led to effective reviewing, monitoring andimplementation of the R&R Policy. A synergy has beencreated between various departments like WaterResources, Industries, Revenue, Steel and Mines, Energyetc for addressing R&R issues.

In addition, R&R cells have been created in ninedistricts having high R&R prominence and ProjectDirector, R&R have been appointed to look into R&Rconcerns. Infrastructural and human resource supportat the district level has led to strengthening of thecapacities of concerned stakeholders thereby increasingthe pace of work. This has also led to effectivemonitoring of R&R activities in districts. Uniform SocioEconomic Survey (SES) guidelines have been formulatedwhich are being followed by the industries andirrigation projects.

Regular review of industries by the Directorate of R&Rhas led to increased accountability on the part ofindustries towards displaced people and the government.

MoUs are now being redrafted and redesigned withadequate R&R budgetary funds. Inclusion of R&R cost aspart of the total budget cost is being emphasised upon.

Standard training modules have been developed forvarious stakeholders, which has helped in impartingtraining to various groups. Frequency of interactionbetween government authorities, project officials anddisplaced/affected people has increased due to review,village meetings and capacity building trainings at bothstate and district level.

Grievance Redressal Cells have been set up at the threedivisional levels and grievances have stated coming to

the government authorities.

A training institute — SC/STResearch and Training Institute (SC/STRTI), Bhubaneswar — has beenidentified and strengthened toimpart capacity building training tovarious stakeholders including policeofficials/government officials/project authorities. For the first time

senior police officials are being trained to handle R&Rissues.

An Impact Assessment Study to understand socio-economic issues related to R&R for selected projects hasbeen undertaken by the Government.

With policy awareness and increased access toinformation related to R&R the displaced/affectedpeople’s participation in the R&R process, landacquisition process, finalisation of PDF/PAP list, etc.has increased. Appropriate utilisation of compensationmoney for asset based rehabilitation by displacedfamilies is taking place due to interaction with thedisplaced/affected population.

With the constitution of project level RPDAC, issuesand concerns not included in the Policy are beingaddressed and decisions taken at the RPDAC level.

In addition, formation of R&R committees at the villagelevel, especially in the irrigation projects, has led toeffective monitoring of R&R assistance towardsconstruction of house building, undertaking livelihoodand other relevant activities. The committee plays animportant role in collective grievance redressal.

IMPACT OF UNDP-DFID-GOVT. OF ORISSA PROJECT ONRESETTLEMENT & REHABILITATION IN ORISSA

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Post Graduate Diploma in ParticipatoryManagement of DisplacementResettlement and Rehabilitation(PGDMRR)

The Post-Graduate Diploma in Participatory Managementof Displacement, Resettlement and Rehabilitation(PGDMRR) is a proactive initiative of the World Bankand Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)for building the skills of resettlement and rehabilitationofficers, field staff, desk staff and technical experts inparticipatory methods of managing the concerns andissues of displacement and working for satisfactoryresettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of thosedisplaced by development projects.

The programme is of use to those who are engaged inR&R divisions of development projects of thegovernment, private sector as project officers, technicalexperts, field staff or desk staff and those workingwith the NGOs, industrial establishments and otheragencies involved in R&R of those displaced bydevelopment projects. The programme consists of 11courses listed below:

◆ Understanding development-cased displacement◆ Role of participation in sustainable development◆ Participatory planning of Resettlement &

Rehabilitation◆ Participatory Implementation and monitoring of

R&R◆ Theoretical perspectives on R&R◆ Illustrative R&R case studies from different

development sectors◆ Economic planning of R&R and implementation◆ Socio-cultural and infrastructural planning and

relocation◆ Economic rehabilitation of PAPS◆ Monitoring and evaluation of R&R◆ Project work to be completed by the learners

R&R InformationNews Which You Can Use

has acquired symbolic status in development debates.This volume brings together all the key documentsrelating to the Project. This includes those pertainingto World Bank loans, the judicial pronouncements ofthe Supreme Court and documents relating to specificlocal level issues, in particular environment andrehabilitation. The volume also contains a number ofdocuments unavailable in the public domain.

The work includes an introductory section focusing onthe history of the Project, the involvement of thedifferent actors, the impacts on the local population,and a general analysis of the controversy surroundingit. The volume is completed by a comprehensivebibliography. This compilation provides an easilyaccessible source for all the main documents relatingto this landmark project. It will be a valuable resourcefor researchers and policy-makers working in the areasof International Environmental Law and InternationalDevelopment Law.

DetailsPublished by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007ISBN 0754649105, 9780754649106472 pages

Risks and Reconstruction:Experiences of Resettlers andRefugeesBy Michael M. Cernea, ChrisMcDowell

The study of involuntary populationmovements within and acrossnational boundaries is a relativelynew and underdeveloped area in

sociology. This large volume, co-sponsored by the SocialDevelopment Department of the World Bank and theRefugee Studies Programme at the University of Oxford,is a timely contribution to that scholarship. As theeditors put it, the volume aims to bridge a two-foldgap in the literature: (a) between refugee research andresettlement research; and (b) between thedisplacement and reconstruction segments of eitherresearch branch. The strategy proposed in regard tothe first gap is a comparative analysis of two displacedpopulations, i.e. refugees, including internally displacedpersons, and involuntary resettlers uprooted bydevelopment-inducing programmes. Given the previousattention directed to the negative effects of

displacement, a deliberate emphasis onthe reconstruction of livelihoods is seen as theway to bridge the second gap.

DetailsPublished by World Bank Publications, 2000ISBN 0821344447, 9780821344446487 pages

Involuntary Resettlement: Planning andImplementation in Development ProjectsClarifying many policy and technical issues that confrontresettlement policymakers and practitioners, this titleprovides guidance on resettlement design,implementation, and monitoring,and discusses resettlement issuesparticular to developmentprojects in different sectors.

Details:Publisher: World BankPublicationsISBN: 0821355767EAN: 9780821355763No. of Pages: 400

Land Acquisition, Displacement And ResettlementIn Gujarat: 1947-2004Lancy Lobo & Shashikant Kumar

Land Acquisition, Displacement and Resettlement inGujarat: 1947-2004 is the first ever detailed analysisof the land acquired for development projects and its

impact on the displaced andproject affected persons ofGujarat from 1947 to 2004. Partof a national study on the DIDR(Development InducedDisplacement and Resettlement)in India, it has based its findingson gazette notifications issued byGovernment of Gujarat andcovered 139 developmentprojects. The authors debate themeaning of the term

‘development’ and focus on the negative connotationswhich it arouses. They focus on displacement,marginalisation and impoverishment as directconsequences of admittedly debatable methods of

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This programme is available through the Internet aswell as print mode. For online mode please check thewebsite http://www.rronline.ignou.ac.in

Programme Details:Programme Code: PGDMRR

Eligibility: Bachelors of Arts or equivalent degree

Minimum age as on 1st January of the Academic Year:No bar

Duration: Minimum 1 year & Maximum 4 years

Programme Fee: Rs 5,100, including registration fees

Medium of instruction: English

Admission Details:Admission notification is generally released in May/June and the last date for submission of filled-inapplication forms will be September 30 for Januarysession and March 31 for July Session. However studentsare requested to check with the official admissionnotification for the exact dates related to admissions.

Last date of receiving application for admission to thePGDMRR course for January-June session of each yearis 30th November.

Last date of receiving application for admission to thePGDMRR course for July-December session of each yearis 30th May.

Books

The Sardar Sarovar Dam Project:Selected DocumentsBy Philippe Cullet

The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP)has been one of the mostdebated development projects ofthe past several decades at theinternational level and withinIndia itself. Such is thecomplexity of the project that it

Courses

progress adopted in Gujarat in the nameof development, and question the very need for

undertaking these projects.

The book presents a comprehensive account of landacquired for water resources, industries, transportationprojects, and urban development projects and focuseson the people (especially tribals and dalits) displacedand affected by them. Additionally, it pays specialattention to the legislative hurdles in rehabilitation andcompensation procedures which follow displacement,analysing the behaviour of officials towards people, roleof village leaders and the impact on people, speciallywomen, children and the ‘backward’ castes.

The book also discusses the current and future state ofland acquisition as far as the Special Economic Zone(SEZ) in Gujarat is concerned by undertaking a detailedanalysis of the necessity as well as the consequences

of SEZs. This is of immense topical interest at a timewhen questions are being raised over the necessity andutility of SEZs.

Details:Pages: 348Imprint: SAGE IndiaPrice: Rs 895ISBN: 9788178299389

Development-InducedDisplacement and HumanRightsby Ashirbani Dutta.

Details:Deep and Deep Publications, NewDelhi.Pages 248Rs 750.

Jharkhand Govt approves R&R policyThe Jharkhand Government approved a new Rehabilitationand Resettlement (R&R) policy which makes it mandatoryfor investors acquiring land in the state to provide job to

one member ofeach displacedfamily and also

give money to the displaced families for 30 years. ThePolicy approved by the Jharkhand cabinet in July, 2008states that the investors should give Rs 1,000 per monthto the displaced families for 30 years.

It also gives the displaced family an option of investing50 per cent of the amount earned for the land in shareor debenture of the company which acquires it.

Any affected family owning a house which has been acquiredor lost may be allotted a house site free of cost to theextent that the actual loss of area of the acquired house isno more than 10 decimal of land in rural areas and fivedecimal in urban areas for each family.

The project authorities should give a one-timecompensation of Rs 50,000 to such families who have asmall business but no land in the area acquired by thecompany. They should also provide basic amenities andinfrastructural facilities at the resettlement areas.

Resettlement & Rehabilitation Policy ofCoal India Ltd

Coal India Ltd (CIL) announced its Resettlement &Rehabilitation Policy in May 2008. Only proper R&Rwill elicitt h ecooperationof projectaffected people and make it possible for Coal Indiato acquire the land it needs, the Policy says. WhileCoal India’s basic philosophy for compensating landlosers and other project affected people remainssubstantially unchanged, the Policy emphasises theneed to cultivate and maintain good relationshipswith the people affected by Coal India’s projectsstarting as early as possible.

As per the Policy, land losers not eligible foremployment shall be offered cash compensation atthe rates prescribed in the R&R Policy notified byMoRD. Compensation for shifting etc shall be asper the rate prescribed in the MoRD R&R Policy.The CIL R&R Policy has provisions for sharecroppers,landless tenants, day labourers, landless tribals andtribals dependent on forest produce.

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R&R POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Twenty-six-year-old Chakradhar Patra from Orissa’sMayurbhanj district is a active young man. Havingstudied up to Intermediate level, he is aspiring to helppeople in Orissa who were displaced from their villagesto rebuild their lives elsewhere in the area. Chakradharalong with his family was displaced when his ancestralland was acquired for the Subarnarekha IrrigationProject in Mayurbhanj district. The family receivedrehabilitation assistance according to the OrissaResettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy, 2006.His family opted for receiving Resettlement &Rehabilitation Assistance in cash that include assistance

for homesteadland, houseb u i l d i n ga s s i s t a n c e ,allowance fortemporary shed,agricultural landand transport

allowance. He has now resettled in the village Sampura,an area close to his old village.

Having been uprooted and resettled himself, Chakradharwas acutely aware of the angst and insecuritiesexperienced from the lives of people displaced bydevelopment projects such as dams, industries andrailways. But he was unsure as to where and how toaddress the concerns of displaced people.

When the Government of Orissa and UNDP organisedan R&R Capacity Building Training for CommunityVolunteers in Mayurbhanj district, it turned out to bethe perfect opportunity for Chakradhar to voice hisconcerns. The training, which is part of the “Capacity

R&R Success Stories

Volunteering to Help Resettle FamiliesDevelopment to OperationaliseOrissa R&R Policy 2006,” Projectaims to build the capacity ofvarious stakeholders includingcommunity volunteers,representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) andnon-governmental organisations/community basedorganisations.

“The training programme brought an understanding ofthe whole process of R&R provisions in the Policy,”says Chakradhar. “It also provided a platform for peoplelike me to interact with officials, political representativesand experts for the first time. This, along with severalvillage level meetings, also enhanced my knowledgeon land acquisition and the resettlement andrehabilitation process.”

Armed with this knowledge, Chakradhar and his fellowcommunity volunteers now want to spread awarenessabout the benefits and entitlements of the R&R Policyto other affected people. With growing knowledge aboutlivelihood options, he expects to go for pisciculture inthe dam reservoir.

Through his activities Chakradhar has become animportant support for the district officials. He helpsthem to better communicate with the displaced families.

He has become a volunteer in the true sense and guidesdisplaced families in different ways. He helps DisplacedFamilies in identifying homestead plots, processingpapers for the purchase of the same, shifting to newlocation etc. “Along with the officials, I am alsomotivating displaced people in my area to usecompensation amount and rehabilitation assistancejudiciously,” he says proudly.

Tarulata Chachhan, 30, is a residentof Maa Samleswari Colony — theresettlement colony of VedantaAluminium Limited in Jharsugudadistrict. Tarulata is a displaced personfrom the erstwhile village of Baghiamal.

Tarulata is happy with the support andinfrastructural facilities that she and her

family received post displacement. Herchild goes to the school at Brundamalvillage after passing from the school inthe resettlement colony. According to her,they now enjoy better education andhealth facilities in the Colony along withthe houses, drinking water, toilets androads provided in the colony. “Our oldvillage was surrounded by dense forest

Resettling for a Better Life

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and a small stream. Sowe faced a lot of difficulties

during medical emergencies. Butnowadays we receive health benefitswithin the colony itself,” she says.

Her husband, Kailash Chachhan, is nowundergoing a training programmeconducted by Vedanta Aluminium Limited. He is happywith the training programme and also with the Rs 2000stipend that they are provided. Earlier, Kailash used towork in a rice mill in Brundamal.

Kailash has also purchased two cows with thecompensation money. The family gets a good incomeby selling milk. Tarulata has started an attractive kitchengarden with a small investment of about Rs 2000. Shehas planted tomato, brinjal, cauliflower, leafyvegetables, banana etc in her kitchen garden. Thegarden not only produces vegetables for her entirefamily, but also for sale in the local market. Tarulata isalso a member of Maa Samleswari SHG formed in the

No farmland for industrialdevelopment in UttarakhandThe much-awaited agricultural policy of theUttarakhand Government, which was recentlyredrafted, has decided not to allow SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs) and other industrialprojects on the farmland.“The draft farmland policy clearly states thatthere should be no industrialisation onagricultural land in Uttarakhand,” confirmedAgriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.However, the draft policy would shortly besent to Chief Minister B. C. Khanduri before itis put before the State Cabinet for finalapproval.

(Source: Business Standard)

IR Battalion in Kalinga Nagar soonThe Orissa government will set up an India Reserve(IR) battalion in Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complexsoon to address the issues pertaining toindustrialisation, displacement and rehabilitation.Director General of Police (DGP) Manmohan Praharajsaid this while addressing the 15th annual functionof Jajpur Haviladar and Constable Association atPanikoili. Praharaj said Kalinga Nagar has emergedas a major industrial hub of the state giving rise toa number of problems relating to displacement,rehabilitation, pollution, industrial law and order,labour and employment daily.

(Source: The New Indian Express)

90% job reservation for unskilledlabourFollowing the footsteps of Maharashtra, the OrissaGovernment has decided to reserve jobs for localsin the upcoming industries in the State.In the semi-skilled and unskilled category, thereservation will be 90 per cent. In the jobsrequiring skilled manpower, at least 60 per centvacancies will be filled up by locals. Maharashtrahad recently announced reservation of 80 per centjobs for locals in the industries operating in theState.Similarly, a minimum 30 per cent of the supervisorand managerial posts will be filled up from locals,though the appointment of senior executives willbe on the basis of merit.Industry is seen as a major avenue for job creation,particularly when the state is on the threshold ofrapid industrialisation and tops the list of statesin attracting new investments with over Rs 6 lakhcrore worth of projects in the pipeline.(Source: Business Standard)

CII wants Govt to help firms inland acquisitionIndustry body Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII) said it wantsthe government to reconsider theLand Acquisition (Amendment) Bill,2007, which if passed would leave theprivate sector ‘fend for itself’ in landacquisition for industrial projects.According to the Bill, which wasintroduced in the Lok Sabha last year,the state will step in to help acquireland after the industry has bought70 per cent of the allotted site.

(Source: Business Standard)

resettlement colony. She is nowundergoing training in SHG formation,accounting and management. “I want togain more knowledge on kitchen gardenand the methods through which I canplant new vegetables and get morebenefit,” she reveals.

Tarulata says that when they received the 4(1)Notification initially, they had felt helpless. “But aftershifting to the new location we realise we have severalbenefits here,” she says.

The village level meetings conducted by Government ofOrissa and UNDP on the Orissa Resettlement &Rehabilitation Policy, 2006 have also significantly helpedher and others. “We used to hesitate speaking togovernment officials. But after interacting with them onthe same platform we gained confidence to question themabout our rights, entitlements and benefits,” she saysproudly. Several displaced persons like Tarulata now visitthe Jharsuguda district office to lodge their grievances.

Ama Prathama LekhaA recent book published byTata Steel Parivar (rehabilitatedfamilies of Tata Steel’s upcomingOrissa Steel Plant at Duburi,

Jajpur) scripts the changes happening in the lives ofthe rehabilitated families.

The book titled ‘Ama Pratham Lekha’ narrates theexperiences of students and teachers involvedin the Sishu Bachan Kendra. Sishu BachanKendra is a module developed by Tata SteelRural Development Society to create interest instudies for smaller children as well as boys andgirls of upper age. The Society has startedseveral such centers in various Tata Steel Parivarcolonies around Duburi. The centers aremanaged and run by the tribal members ofdisplaced families.

Says Naguri Jamuda, a teacher in the Danagadi Center,“Earlier, I used to do household work only. Now I amteaching the students in Sishu Bachan Kendra and I reallyenjoy it. We all play, sing and dance together.” Sharingher experience of the initial period, Jamuda says, “It wasdifficult in the beginning. We met the parents andpersuaded them to send their kids to the school. Gradually,the hesitation in coming to school disappeared.”

Sifa Rani Mukhi, a student and residentof Gobarghati says, “I only knew a fewalphabets when I was studying in myvillage. Here, I have started learningarithmetic. I have been trying hardalong with my teacher to study better.”

The children of Tata Steel Parivar have also narratedtheir day-to-day life vividly in the book. TheKalinga Nagar area used to be prone to Malaria.“We used to take bath in the nearby pondand drink from the well in our old village.After coming to Trijanga, we received safedrinking water through pipeline connection.There is no more water logging and we arenot facing the problem of mosquitoes andmalaria,” says Dasharathi Hembram of Trijanga.

“Our life would be better if we get filter water.” Headds.

The students of Sishu Bachan Kendra have beenprovided with infrastructure facilities including busfacility to commute to school. “After the initial schoolingwe are being sent to Ashram Schools in various partsof the State. I’m now getting up early at 4 am to studyharder so that I can go to a better school,” says SridharTeu of Gobarghati. ◆◆◆

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Singur aftermathA time-bound solution was needed to address theSingur imbroglio, which arose due to a blend of politicalcompulsions, administrative constraints and a misplacedemphasis on what was already done rather than whatwas to be done. The Singur platform provided anexcellent opportunity for a solution in which thedefinition of sufficient compensation for land-providerscould have been evolved, and an agreed policy onland acquisition andcompensation formulatedfor future industrialexpansions.

N. K. Sinha

Make displacedpeople partners indevelopmentIt’s ironical how so called‘development ‘projects likeindustries and dams do little for the development ofthe people who are displaced for such projects. It ishigh time the government and private projectauthorities realise that unless and until the displacedpeople get a share of this development, unrest andagitations will not cease. People no longer want togive their land for public good at a throwaway price.They should be offered attractive compensation fortheir lands and other benefits to make them partnersin development and not merely as beneficiaries.

Soumya Mohanty

Document impact of displacementAlthough several lakh people have been displaced inOrissa due to irrigation, mining and industrial projectsit is unfortunate that till today we do not have anyrecord on them. Neither do we know the actual numberof people who have been displaced and affected nor dowe have any indication of the impact of suchdisplacement and any resettlement thereafter. It isworthwhile to know their status so that government and

private parties improve theirpolicies dealing with displacedpeople.

Pratip Das

Singur episode: A lessonThough the pullout by the TataMotors from Singur looks quitedisturbing and ominous for thefuture of industrialisation in WestBengal, it will not have been invain if it can be used as anopportunity by the states to

review their approach to industrialisation.K. S. Subramanian

Indiscriminate Mining

The pathetic saga of tribals of Sukinda who have beenexposed to polluted air and water due to indiscriminatemining in Jajpur district of Orissa is cause for seriousconcern. The industrialisation must match the socioeconomic development of the region by way of providingbetter education, imparting job-oriented skills, protectingdrinking water and giving good healthcare.

S. Lakshmi

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Commissioner-cum-Secretary,Revenue & Disaster ManagementDepartment

Director, R&R, Revenue & DisasterManagement Department

Director, R&R, Department ofWater Resources

EDITORIAL BOARD

Dr. S. M. Jaamdar,National Consultant, UNDP

Shri Pradeep Jena,Commissioner-cum-Secretary,Energy Department

Shri Dillip Satapathy,Chief of Bureau,Business Standard, Orissa.

R&R Project Team, UNDP