Compulsory acquisition of land for public purpose including infrastructure projects displaces people, forcing them to give up their home, assets and means of livelihood. Apart from depriving them of their lands, livelihoods and resource-base, displacement has other traumatic psychological and socio-cultural consequences.
The Government of India recognizes the need to minimize large-scale displacement to the extent possible and where displacement is inevitable, the need to handle with utmost care and forethought issues relating to resettlement and rehabilitation of project affected families.
Accordingly, the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development has formulated a National Policy on Resettlement and Rehabilitation for Project Affected Families, 2003 with the objectives to:
- Minimize displacement and to identify non-displacing or least-displacing alternatives;
- Plan the resettlement and rehabilitation of Project Affected Families, (PAFs) including special needs of tribals and vulnerable sections;
- Provide better standard of living to PAFs; and
- Facilitate harmonious relationship between the Requiring Body and PAFs through mutual cooperation.
The department had replaced the Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy of 2003 by a new National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2007, which was announced in 2007.
National Policy on Resettlement & Rehabilitation
The policy aims at striking a balance between the need for land for developmental activities and, at the same time, protecting the interests of the land owners, tenants, the landless, the agricultural and non-agricultural labourers, artisans, and others whose livelihood depends on the land involved. It recommends that only the minimum necessary area of land commensurate with the purpose of the project should be taken and the use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes should be kept to the minimum. Also, multi-crop land should be avoided and irrigated land use should be kept to the minimum for such purposes. Projects may preferably be set up on wastelands or un-irrigated lands.
The objectives of the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy are as follows:-
- To minimize displacement and to promote,' as far as possible, non-displacing or least-displacing alternatives;
- To ensure adequate rehabilitation package and expeditious implementation of the rehabilitation process with the active participation of the affected families;
- To ensure that special care is. taken for protecting the rights of the weaker sections of society, especially members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and to create .obligations on the State for their treatment with concern and sensitivity;
- To provide a better standard of living, making concerted efforts for providing sustainable income to the affected families;
- To integrate rehabilitation concerns into the development planning and implementation process; and
- Where displacement is on account of land acquisition, to facilitate harmonious relationship between the requiring body and affected families through mutual cooperation.
Key features of the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 are the following:
- Policy covers all cases of involuntary displacement;
- Social Impact Assessment (SIA) introduced for displacement of 400/200 or more families in plain/tribal, hilly, Scheduled Areas, etc;
- Tribal Development Plan in case of displacement of 200+ ST families;
- Consultations with Gram Sabha or public hearings made compulsory;
- Principle of rehabilitation before displacement;
- If possible, land for land as compensation;
- Skill development support and preference in project jobs (one person per nuclear family);
- Rehabilitation Grant in lieu of land/job;
- Option for shares in companies implementing projects to affected families;
- Housing benefits to all affected families including the landless;
- Monthly pension to the vulnerable, such as disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, etc;
- Monetary benefits linked to the Consumer Price Index; also to be revised suitably at periodic intervals;
- Necessary infrastructural facilities and amenities at resettlement areas;
- Periphery development by project authorities;
- R&R Committee for each Project, to be headed by Administrator for R&R;
- Ombudsman for grievance redressal; and
- A National Rehabilitation Commission.
Benefits under the policy are available to all affected persons and families whose land, property or livelihood is adversely affected by land acquisition or by involuntary displacement of a permanent nature due to any other reason, such as natural calamities, etc. The policy will be applicable to all such cases irrespective of the number of people involved.
The benefits to be offered under the policy to the affected families include:
- Land-for-land, to the extent government land would be available in the resettlement areas;
- Preference for employment in the project to at least one person from each nuclear family within the definition of the ‘affected family', subject to the availability of vacancies and suitability of the affected person;
- Training and capacity building for taking up suitable jobs and for self-employment;
- Scholarships for education of the eligible persons from the affected families;
- Preference to groups of cooperatives of the affected persons in the allotment of contracts and other economic opportunities in or around the project site;
- Wage employment to the willing affected persons in the construction work in the project;
- Housing benefits including houses to the landless affected families in both rural and urban areas; and other benefits.
For ensuring transparency, provision has been made for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information shall be placed in the public domain on the Internet as well as shared with the concerned Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, etc. by the project authorities.
