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REFERENCE NOTE .
No.30/RN/Ref./December/2013

For the use of Members of Parliament

Not for Publication

Displacement and Rehabilitation

of People
Due to Developmental Projects

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The reference material is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is
not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of the information as it is based on the
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Displacement and Rehabilitation of People

Due to Developmental Projects

INTRODUCTION
According to UN guiding principles on Internal Displacement Internally displaced
persons are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave
their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the
effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or
natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized
State border.
India has invested in industrial projects, dams, roads, mines, power plants and new
cities to achieve rapid economic growth. This has been made possible through massive
acquisition of land and subsequent displacement of people. Development Displacement
Population is the single largest category among all Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs). In
India around 50 million people have been displaced due to development projects in over 50
years. Around 21.3 million development-induced IDPs include those displaced by dams (16.4
million),mines (2.55 million), industrial development (1.25 million) and wild life sanctuaries
and national parks (0.6 million)1.

LAND ACQUISITION AND DISPLACEMENT

Studies of displacement and deprivation have been conducted in Orissa, Jharkhand,
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, West Bengal and Assam. These studies show that
displacement is high. For example, Assam has 1,909,368 DP/PAPs from 1,401,184.8 acres
and West Bengal has 6,944,492 from 4,764,000 acres. with data from ongoing studies, they
point to an all-India figure of 60 million DP/PAPs (Displaced Person/Project affected Persons)
during the period 1947-2000 from 25 million ha, including 7 million ha of forests and 6 million
ha of other CPRs. For example officially, Assam has used 392,773 acres of land for
development projects and has caused 343,262 DP/PAPs. The reality is four times this
number. The official count of DP/PAPs at the Farakka Super-Thermal Power Plant in West
Bengal affected no one, but the World Bank puts the projects DP/PAPs at 53.325 in 19942.
Number of DP/PAPs (Displaced Persons/Project Affected Persons) of some States
where studies have been done are given below3:

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Development Projects vs. Internally Displaced Populations in India:
A Literature Based Appraisal, February 2011, p. 6
2

Lobo, Lancy: Land Acquisition, Displacement and Resettlement in Gujarat 1947-2004, New Delhi, 2009,
p. 6&8
3
Ibid, p. 7

-2-

Number of DP/PAPs (Displaced Persons/Project Affected Persons)

* The land and its management fall within the legislative and administrative jurisdiction of the State Government
so the exact data of all States is not centrally maintained.

The State-wise breakup of Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plans cleared by

Tribal Affairs Ministry and Persons affected due to Development Projects since 1999 is given
below4:
The State-wise breakup of Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R)
and Persons affected
Sl. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

State
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal
Jharkhand
Chhattisgarh
Himachal Pradesh
Kerala
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Orissa
Rajasthan
Uttrakhand
Total

No. of Projects
cleared
15
1
1
2
1
1
11
4
11
11
2
60

Total No. affected

Persons
316242
Nil
70820
455
836
20
151408
195081
64674
34452
6716
665131

Total No. affected

ST population
123946
Nil
21000
155
9
20
20534
12261
42036
4258
1489
225708

Data received regarding displacement from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs dated 21.11.2013

-3-

DAM BUILDING AND DISPLACEMENT

Dam building is one of the most important causes for development related
displacement. According to a report, during the last fifty years, some 3,300 big dams have
been constructed in India. Many of them have led to large-scale forced eviction of vulnerable
groups. The situation of the tribal people is of special concern as they constitute 40 to 50
percent of the displaced population. The brutality of displacement due to the building of dams
was dramatically highlighted during the agitation over the Sardar Sarovar Dam. It has been
called Indias most controversial dam project. Medha Patekar, spearhead the anti-dam
movement known as the Narmada Bachao Andolon. This movement for the first time
systematically revealed how building dams can result in total dislocation of tribal societies.
The beneficiaries of the dam are meant to be large landowners; but the tribal people are
paying the price. The official figure indicates that about 42,000 families were displaced but
non-governmental organizations such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) puts the figure
to about 85,000 families or 500,000 people. The Narmada Valley Development Project
affected the lives of 25 million people who were in the valley and were alter the ecology of an
entire river basin.
The Tehri project is a multi-purpose irrigation and power project in the Ganges valley,
250 km north of Delhi, located in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttaranchal state. A working
group for the Environment Appraisal of Tehri Dam established in 1979 put the figure of
expected internal displacement to 85,600 persons.
Barring a few exceptions, most pre-1980 projects did not have a clear-cut resettlement
plan. Resettlement was undertaken on a case-to-case basis. To mention a few, there were
projects like the Nagarjunasagar, Hirakud, Tungabhadra and Mayurakshi dams; the
Rourkela, Bhilai and Bokaro steel plants, several defense establishments, coal mines, etc,
which did offer resettlement in the form of house sites to the displaced. Only National
Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Coal India Limited (CIL), two government
undertakings have formulated a Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy (R and R policy) and
constituted R&R departments to administer it. So it is clear that mega-projects would require
the displacement or forced uprooting of substantial populations, particularly for hydraulic
projects which entail large-scale submergence for reservoirs5. The information regarding
various tribal families displaced due to construction of big dams and ponds and still
waiting their rehabilitation is not available at the Central level, the State/Union Territory
wise and project-wise tribal families displaced due to construction of water resources
projects is given in Annexure-I6.

MINING AND DISPLACEMENT

In the global era, mining has become another very important source of investment and
profit for the private sector. Mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) has
5
6

Op.cit, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, pp. 8-10

Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 198 dated 22.8.2013

-4-

become a major risk from the point of view of social sustainability. Scanty information on the
MIDR indicates a very high displacement in the past and even increasing trend in the future
due to rich mineral deposits which are found in areas with relatively high density of politically
powerless populations. In India, most of the affected people are the tribal and other
indigenous people7.
The size of the mines at present is taking a gigantic leap as compared to over the
years. Coal caters to a third Indias energy needs. Coal mines have expanded from an
average of 150 acres in the 1960s to 800 acres in the 1980s over the last three decades due
to shift from underground to opencast mines for exploiting lower quality coal that resulted
untaking over some 1500 acres of land as open cast mines require more land and induce
displacement of more persons without even creating jobs to absorb people. Industries and
mines give a job each to the families they displace but ever since the mechanization process
starts, the scope of absorbing people subtly begins shrinking8.
Company-wise Status of Land Acquisition by Coal India Limited (CIL) and its
Subsidiaries in India upto June 2007 (Area in Hectares) is given below:
Company

Total Land
Acquired
13093

Total Tenancy
Land Acquired
12022

Tenancy Land
in Possession
9145

4280

3857

1937

Central Coalfields Limited (CCL)

35736

12758

4883

South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL)

20538

12812

11873

Western Coalfields Limited (WCL)

19785

17089

14330

Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL)

15948

5612

5275

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL)

19965

9180

4252

North Eastern Coalfields Limited (NECL)

25041

41.47

41.47

154386

73371.47

51736.47

Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL)

Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL)

Total

INDUSTRY AND DISPLACEMENT

Acquisition of agricultural land for industrial purposes in India is not new. Heavy
industrialization is at the core of Indias planned development and hence large areas had to
be acquired. The proximity to market-cum-physical infrastructure for location of industries
means people settled by housing are displaced. While landowners give up land in the
process of acquisition by the State, landless people are deprived twice, once by not getting
7
8

Deogharia, Parkash Chandra: Development, Displacement and Deprivation, New Delhi 2012, p. 7
Ibid, pp. 7-8

-5-

the opportunity to work on land as agricultural labourers and the other by not being in the net
of compensation. Obviously, the landless people are mainly dependent on Common
Property Resources (CPRs) and are outside the purview of compensation of any type. The
land area required, in turn, is directly proportional to the type of projects undertaken. Some
examples are cited below:
(i)

In the power sector, the NTPC Ltd. and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Nigam Ltd.
(UPRVUNL), on the 22 November 2007 signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to set up a thermal power plant of 1,320 MW at Kohrarghat of Meha Tehsil in
Allahabad District of east UP. The government of UP acquired a total land area of
2500 acres for setting up the plant that affected the livelihood of 469 settled
households. This adversely affected agricultural output and food security.
(ii) To set up a 3500 MW gas-based power plant with an estimated project cost of
Rs. 25,000 cr in Dadri Region in Ghaziabad District, Hapur Tehsil, in western UP, the
Government of Uttar Pradesh acquired about 1,011 hectare of land in the year 2004.
Most of the land acquired was earlier used for agricultural purposes. The major assets
covered in land acquisition were canals, ponds and wells. Land acquisition in Dadri
was estimated to have led to displacement of over 6,000 families.
(iii) Posco, the worlds fourth largest South Korean steel company, had signed a MoU with
the Government of Orissa in 2005 to set up a plant, near Paradip Port in Orissas
Jagatsinghpur District that produce 12 million tons of steel per annum. Approx. 3,000
people were displaced. The people, resisting land acquisition, opined that the project
would destroy their livelihood that thrives on shrimp farming and cultivation of betel
leaves, a highly profitable crop. The strugglers, against Poscos proposed plant,
rejected the rehabilitation package for the displaceable, announced by the Orissa
Government9.
Displacement due to SEZs
With a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones
(SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000. This policy intended to make SEZs an engine
and accelerated force for economic growth, supported by quality infrastructure,
complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the central and state level, with
minimum possible regulations. The imminent displacement of thousands. The imminent
displacement of thousands of people and livelihoods in the countryside, where these SEZs
are slated to come up, shall lead to lassive protests. It is worth noting that, while a fact sheet
on SEZs on the Government of India website, give details of the number of approved and
proposed SEZs, their land requirements as well as export and employment potential, there is
no mention of the number of people to be displaced by these zones, leave alone how the
government intends to attend the issues of displacement. The increasing role of the state as
the promoter of corporate-led economic growth is underlined by the acquisition of land for
SEZs and the transfer of ownership of this land to developers. Displacement thus gets
pushed to a private arena with compensation, potentially negotiated by the market and
9

Mishra, Nihar Ranjan: Displacement and Rehabilitation Solutions for the Future, Bhopal, 2012, pp. 280-283

-6-

without the states responsibility for rehabilitation. Considering that these SEZs will acquire
thousands of hectares of land with little regard to land ceiling provisions, with upto a minimum
of 1000 hectares for multi-product and 100 for service sector SEZs, the displacement and
disruption of livelihoods to be caused by SEZs and their grave implications are emerging,
even as the country witnesses steadfast resistance by peasants; and state violence and
repression in West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh of Maharashtra. The protest in Singur in
West Bengal by affected farmers, due to the Steel Plant and Port Erasama Block, Kujang
Tehsil, Jagatsinghpur District, Orissa and Displacement and destruction of livelihoods in
Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh due to SEZ and expansion of Port are some burning
examples of absence of R&R policy10.
So, dams, mining industries and other developmental like SEZs projects have
displaced people from their homestead and the total number of displaced and affected people
runs into millions11. Between 60 and 65 million people are estimated to have been displaced
in India since Independence, the highest number of people uprooted for development
projects in the world. In India, This amounts to around one million displaced every year since
Independence, says a report released in 2012 by the UN Working Group on Human Rights
in India (WGHR). Of these displaced, over 40 per cent are tribals and another 40 per cent
consist of dalits and other rural poor12.

13

The need to avoid such large scale displacement, particularly of tribals and in case of
unavoidable displacement, their ultimate resettlement and rehabilitation has become central
issues of the developmental process itself. The failure of rehabilitation and resettlement
10

Ibid, pp. 321, 325-327

Ibid, p. 12
12
Times of India, New Delhi dated 6.4.2012
13
Ibid
11

-7-

(R&R) of the project affected families (PAFs) of the big dams can be attributed to many
factors, which are sometimes under the control of project management and sometimes
beyond their control. The different factors responsible for poor state of rehabilitation includes;
poor planning of the project, poor data base, insufficient allotment of fund on R&R by a
technical persons who has no insight for the problem, lack of participation of Projects
Affected Families (PAFs) and improper Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy, its
planning and implementation14.

GOVERNMENTS ENDEAVOUR TOWARDS REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT OF

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS)
In India, the problem of land acquisition and payment of compensation is handled by
the colonial Land Acquisition Act 1894. The land acquisition procedure has become a
complex one, prohibiting the payment of fair compensation to project ousters. The operation
of the said Act has given the state the authority to abuse power and fix the rate of
compensation in a most arbitrary manner15.
To address various issues related to land acquisition and rehabilitation and
resettlement comprehensively the Department of Land Resources has formulated a National
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007. The new policy has been notified in the Official
Gazette and has become operative with effect from the 31 October 2007, based on which
many State Governments have their own Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policies.

The National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy (NRRP) 2007 is applicable to all
development projects leading to involuntary resettlement of people.
The policy aims to minimize displacement and promote, as far as possible, nondisplacing or least displacing alternatives.
The policy also aims to ensure adequate rehabilitation package and expeditious
implementation of the rehabilitation process with the active participation of those
affected.
The policy also recognizes the need for protecting the weaker sections of the society
especially members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 16.

To give legal backing to the policy, the Cabinet also decided to bring legislation on the
lines of Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy and to suitably amend the Land Acquisition
Act 1894. In this direction, Government has introduced two bills on similar lines in Lok Sabha
in 2009 named as the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2007 and the Rehabilitation and
Resettlement Bill, 2007. Both of the Bills lapsed with the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha17.

14

Op.cit, Deogharia, Parkash Chandra, p. 13

Ibid, p. 40
16
Ibid, p. 30
17
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3305 dated 13.12.2012
15

-8-

THE RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION,

REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT BILL, 2012
In May 2011, the National Advisory Council recommended combining the provisions of
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) within a single Bill. In this
direction,
the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012 (formerly known as the Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011) was introduced in Lok Sabha on 7 September
2011. The Bill was passed on 29 August 2013 in Lok Sabha and on 5 September 2013 in
Rajya Sabha. In the next few months, the Centre will be framing rules under the Act and it
would be notified early next year18.
The landmark Bill on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2013 brings an end to the era of forced land
acquisition. Integrating land acquisition with rehabilitation and resettlement and bringing
transparency in the process of acquisition, compensation, and rehabilitation as a matter of
right is a historic step. It was important to have a law to prevent forcible land acquisitions
which have increased during the last few decades due to big industrial and development
projects. Providing fair compensation and R&R to the farmers, land-owners and livelihood
losers in all acquisitions becomes critical in the context of increasing alienation,
displacement, deprivation, and disentitlement to the resources of livelihood 19. Some salient
features of the Bill are as under:

Salient Features of the Bill

18
19

Consent of 80 percent of landowners required in case of land acquired by private

companies and 70 percent for land acquired under Public Private Partnership (PPP)
model for public purpose

Compensation up to four times the market value in rural areas and twice in urban areas

Mandatory Social Impact Analysis (SIA) to assess nature of public interest and
estimation of socio-economic impact prior to acquisition

Land cannot be vacated until the entire compensation is awarded to the affected parties

Companies can lease the land instead of purchasing it .

Private companies to provide for rehabilitation and resettlement if land acquired through
private negotiations is more than 50 acres in urban areas and 100 acres in rural areas

Affected families include farm labour, tenants, sharecroppers and workers on the piece
of land for three years prior to the acquisition

www.sustainuance.com dated 17.9.2013

Mainstream, dated 14.8.2013, p. 23

-9-

Compensation should be house, one time allowance and (either Rs 5 lakh or a job or
inflation adjusted Rs 2,000 per month for 20 years) for the affected family.

Compensation of four times the market value in rural areas and twice in urban areas will
be given to affected families. The market value of the acquired land shall be based on
the higher of:
market value specified in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 for the registration of sale
deeds
average of the top 50 percent of all the sale deeds in the similar type of land situated
in the vicinity
or the amount agreed upon as compensation for acquisition of land for private
companies or PPPs.

The value of the assets (trees, plants, buildings etc) attached to the land being acquired
will be added to this amount. The Bill proposes that in cases where the ownership of an
acquired land is sold to any person, without any development made, 40 percent of the
profit made shall be shared among all the persons from whom the land was acquired20.

CONCLUSION
Thus, in recent years rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected families has
turned out to be the most vital and sensitive issue for the development projects, either it be
Pan Mong Dam in Thailand or Bakun Dam in Malaysia or Narmada Sagar or Subarnrekha
Multipurose project in India. Different development projects are being opposed by the
inhabitants of these areas and being delayed because of the opposition from the
PAFs(Project Affected Families).
This has been primarily due to the bitter R&R
(Resettlement and Rehabilitation) experience of PAFs. In the post independence period, the
development projects deemed to be temples of progress, ultimately turned out to be
graveyards for millions of these PAFs. Although these projects did bring development but
the cost has been enormous. There is no denial of the fact that if the quality of life of people
is to be improved, development projects are a must but there is general consensus now that
development should not be at the cost of people and their environment, while the social
activists and the academicians have put the issue of R&R on the national agenda 21.

20
21

www.sustainuance.com dated 17.9.2013

Op.cit, Deogharia, Parkash Chandra, p. 13

-10-

Annexure - I
The State/UTwise and Project-wise Tribal Families Displaced
Due to Construction of Water Resources
Sl.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27

Name of Project
Andhra Pradesh
Vamsadhara st-II Hiramandalam (Niradi Barrage)
Priyadarshini Jurala
Vengalarayasagaram
Maddigedda Reservoir
Kandalleru Reservoir Project
Assam
Lower Subansiri
Bihar
North Koel reservoir
Durgavati
Chhattisgarh
Barnai
Kosareteda Medium Irrigation project
Kelo Major
Kara Nala
Suka Nala
Gujarat
Sardar Sarovar
Panam
Sipu reservoir
Venu-II
Und-I Irrigation
Himachal Pradesh
Renukaji
Jharkhand
Subernarekha MP Project
Karnataka
Ghataprabha Project Sta.-III
Hemavatthy
Karanja Irrigation Project
Bennithora
Amaraja Irrigation Project
Manchanbele
Lower Mullamari

No. of ST population
displaced
2068
65
127
75
200
443
2579
1233
153
2076
767
58
08
62223
5382
290
23
145
40
17252
1759
1759
364
365
201
537
383

-11-

28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67

Hirehilla
Yagachi reservoir
Kerala
Kallada Irrigation project
Kanhirapuzha
Madhya Pradesh
Ban Sagar
Tawa
Rajghat (MP+UP)
Indira Sagar ( Narmada Sagar )
Upper Wainganga
Kojar
Kodar
Mahi
Omkareshwar
Dholawad Tank
Dejia Dewada
Bah
Bariyarpur Left Bank Canal
Mahan ( Gulab Sagar)
Rajiv Gandhi
Rampurakhurd Medium Project
Maharashtra
Msjalgon Dam St-II
Warna
Waghur Irrigation Project
Bawanthadi
Dimbhe
Pimpalgaon
Gosikhurd
Wadgaon dam
Lower Terna
Upper Pravarna
Karwa
Waki
Bhawali Dam
Dham Dam
Chilewadi Irrigation Project
Alandi
Kar River
Jam River
Punad Irrigation Project
Shivam ( Virchek )

295
193
15
1100
32830
2618
5920
4405
1160
609
2479
7599
776
1534
1390
157
900
1667
2598
760
2738
93
1320
2294
3955
3240
1673
2246
286
2960
19
579
1841
1708
347
105
85
316
1034
450

-12-

68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96

Dhamni
Khadakpurna
Madan Storage Tank
Chapdoh
Issapur Dam
Sapali Dam
Lal Nala
Sapan River
Lendi
Kalapathari
Lower wardha
Sambarkund
Dehraji
Bewartola
Jigaon
Bembla River
Lower Painganga
Manipur
Thoubal
Kuuga
Odisha
Subarnarekha
Rengali
Hariharjore Irrigation
Harabhangi Irrigation
Upper Jonk
Rajasthan
Panchana Irrigation Project
Chhapi Irrigation Project
Lhasi
Tamil Nadu
Kodumudiyar Reservoir
West Bengal
Subarnarekha Barrage

Source: Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 198 dated 22.8.2013

9672
167
158
505
2890
396
224
889
501
162
1630
670
1084
267
3805
2553
11076
2755
3723
13841
24
835
741
1123
106
200
563
200
2180