Law is the answer
That compulsory acquisition of land by government for development projects displaces people is the harsh reality we are faced with. Growing discontent and militant protests among project-affected persons has caused the present government to take a definite steps towards preparing a resettlement and rehabilitation (r&r) policy for displaced persons in consultation with civil society.
The draft policy (Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Policy: Issues and Perspectives, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Pune, 1999) is aimed at ensuring that displaced persons share the benefits of the development project. A few guiding principles follow from these aims:
• In all irrigation projects, displaced families primarily dependent on agriculture ought to have primary claim to land in the command area. Allotment of agricultural land ought to be mandatory for tribals in all projects, and for all those dependent on agriculture in the case of irrigation projects.
• In the case of non-irrigation projects, the new settlement must be as close to the factory site and new township as possible, so as to ensure maximum access to newly-created economic opportunities. In the time lag between the decision to acquire a land and displacement of persons, the government ought to ensure that vocational training and education programmes are initiated. This ensures that the project will not require a huge inflow of employees from outside.
• If employment, for unskilled or semi-skilled work, is available, it should always go to the displaced person. Those with appropriate skills and qualifications should be considered preferentially for skilled positions as well. State governments should undertake various employment generation schemes, both in the wage-employment and the self-employment sectors.
• All families that have not been provided agricultural land or a regular job in the project shall be entitled to a rehabilitation grant equivalent to 750 days of minimum agricultural wages (approximately Rs 45,000). This is in addition to compensation that the family is entitled to under the land acquisition law.
• Tribals should be resettled close to their natural habitats ensuring continuation of their traditional rights on minor forest produce and common property resources. In case the new site does not allow this, they ought to be compensated for the loss of such rights. Such compensation should be equal to 450 days of minimum agricultural wages (Rs 27,000 approximately). It is also essential that these communities, when displaced, are resettled in a compact block so that they can retain their ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural identity.
• All benefits to persons or families who are further displaced within a period of 20 years should be doubled.
These guidelines, would, however fall flat without sufficient backing from the Land Acquisition Act, which is essentially a colonial legislation aimed at protecting the interests of the state and the powerful. Therefore, there are moves towards amendment of this act as well.
The first step that the ministry of rural development proposes in this direction is that no land will be acquired under the act unless it is accompanied by rehabilitation of affected persons.
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