The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Experts debate resettlement policy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 29, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Experts debate resettlement policy

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, NOV. 28. Does India has the right displacement and resettlement model ? Or what it presently implements is the right one ?

These were some of the pertinent questions that were raised at the presentation of various displacement models, practiced across the world, by sociologists and political scientists at an International seminar on `Development and Displacement, Afro-Asian Perspectives', organised by the Department of Political Science, Osmania University.

`Amend national policy'

The shortcomings in the Indian model were attributed to the absence of any policy. The popular policy that exists is that a minority have to sacrifice for the interests of a larger community. But the sheer numbers of this displaced minority is mind-boggling. Walter Fernandes, the Director, North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati, says those who pay the price have a right to a better lifestyle after the project than before it. They have to get the first benefits and compensation should be replacement value than the market value.

Unfortunately, Government considers resettlement as a one-time relocation where as rehabilitation should be a long process that should begin much before the project and continue for many years after it. "The national policy promulgated in February 2004 should incorporate this basic point," Mr. Fernandes argued.

The China model

Shi Guoqing, a researcher from China, referred to the resettlement policy of his country where it is an integral part of the project blueprint and it starts much before the project takes off and continues even after the project is finished. He cited the example of "Three Gorges Dam" in China wherein a million people were displaced but were resettled fairly and according to him it was a highly successful plan and the experiment should be explored in developing countries.

The African experience reflected in the paper presented by Kai Schmidt-Soltau pointed out that studies of 12 cases in six countries in Africa only proved that the displaced people were leading impoverished lives. He ridicules the argument of the State that people are sacrificed for the sake of wildlife and development stating that it was not acceptable from the human rights perspective but even from the ecological and economic point of view, because the impoverishment of people leads to degradation of forests and ecosystem.

Lankan experience

Varuni Ganepola and Sanjana Kuruppu highlighted the Sri Lankan perspective in their paper. They said that years of internal strife has influenced the policy makers so much that the focus is on war-induced `displacees' while displacees of developmental projects are totally neglected.

G. Krishna Reddy, the Associate Professor and Convenor of the seminar, said that the seminar would discuss the experiences and document the discussions on - what kind of model should be adopted for India, equity and access for the displaced to the fruits of development among others.

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