“Displacement does not only mean losing land,” says Vimal Bhai, an activist whose People’s Land Organisation in Uttarkhand has been fighting to save people from being uproooted by the Bhagirathi dam. “People also lose their livelihood and natural resources. But worse of all, they are ignored because keeping promises of compensation means project costs will grow.”
India has no national law on how to deal with the resettlement and rehabilitation of people at risk of displacement by big projects, compounding the problem. “Every state is resisting the resettlement policy because land is occupied everywhere,” said Vasudha Dhagamwar, founder-director of Multiple Action Research Group (MARG), one of the first organizations to conduct research into dam and industrial displacement in early 1980s.
“When the dams were built, people were demanding land, now they want jobs,” Dhagamwar said. “But the irony is that there is no planning on development, or even on basic education, to access the new economy.”
Having twice been uprooted from his land, Shah says he has little choice now. “Everyone keeps making promises but do not keep them,” he says. “I don’t want to go anywhere. They will have to force me to go in handcuffs.”
Tags - Find More Articles On: