Context: Many villages were displaced during the construction of Hirakud Dam in Odisha. Many villagers still await proper rehabilitation and ownership documents over the land over which they were resettled. To address their issues, Odisha government has recently launched an initiative to regularise land ownership of such tribals.
About displacement of tribals:
- It refers to the forced relocation or movement of indigenous or tribal communities from their traditional lands or habitats.
- There are two types of displacement:
- Displacement affected by natural disasters in the form of draughts, floods, earthquakes and cyclone;
- Displacement due to developmental projects like dams, mines, thermal power plants, industries, railways, roads, ports and others.
Reason for displacements of tribals:
According to the Lok Sabha: Till 2019
- 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 developments induced IDPs include those displaced by dams (16.4 million), mines (2.55 million), industrial development (1.25 million) and wildlife sanctuaries and national parks (0.6 million).
Positive impacts of displacement:
- A few persons may experience improvement in their status by way of increase in the size of landholdings.
- A rise in income may occur in certain cases by the employment opportunities created by the Project.
- A break in some oppressive social hierarchies may also result.
Negative impact of displacement on tribes:
Land is the center of tribal life. The effects of the displacement spill over generations. There are following impact of displacement on tribals:
1. Social-Cultural Problems:
- Cultural disintegration: It can lead to the erosion of traditional customs, languages, and practices as tribes are separated from their cultural heritage, weaken the transmission of cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. E.g.: The Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha faced cultural disintegration due to mining projects threatening their sacred Niyamgiri Hills.
- Decline in Joint Family System: In Odisha the predisplacement level of 40 nuclear and 60 joint families was changed into 74 and 26 respectively with both tribal and non-tribal families showing the same trend of breaking down of joint family to nuclear families.
- Social cohesion and identity: It can fragment tribal communities, leading to the breakdown of social networks and the loss of a collective identity, result in social conflicts and challenges in rebuilding a sense of community and solidarity.
- Loss of status of women: Adverse conditions compel women and young girls to seek employment outside their homes, rendering them highly vulnerable to physical and economic exploitation. Moreover, gender discrimination is evident in the resettlement process, where unmarried daughters and widows often face challenges in obtaining land titles.
2. Economic challenges:
- Economic hardship: The loss of access to natural resources and traditional means of subsistence can lead to economic hardships and increased dependence on external assistance and increase indebtedness.
- Loss of land: Tribes often have a deep connection to their ancestral lands, which provide not just a physical space but also a spiritual and cultural foundation. E.g: Sardar Sarovar Dam has led to the displacement of numerous tribal communities. The loss of their ancestral land affects their traditional livelihoods, which are often dependent on agriculture and forest resources.
- Disruption of livelihoods: It often results in the disruption of traditional livelihoods, such as agriculture, fishing, or craft-making, leading to a decline in income-generating activities.
3. Health issues:
Forced relocation may expose tribes to new diseases such as influenza, measles and chicken pox, inadequate healthcare, and poor living conditions, leading to a decline in overall health.
4. Education disruption:
Tribal children often face disruptions in their education when displaced. Loss of access to schools, cultural disconnect in mainstream educational systems, and challenges in adapting to new environments can hinder educational opportunities for tribal youth.
5. Psychological impact:
Tribes can find themselves marginalized in new environments, facing discrimination and challenges in integrating into mainstream societies, can lead to psychological trauma, stress, and a sense of loss among tribal individuals.
Step towards rehabilitation and resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs):
- Art. 164: Appoint a special minister for tribal welfare in the states of MP, Bihar, and Orrisa.
- Art. 275: Allows special grant in aids to states for tribal welfare
- Art.16: Reservation in public employment in the ratio of their population
- Art. 15: Reservation in public educational institutes in their population ratio.
- Art. 243D: Provides reservation of seats for SC and STs in panchayats.
- Art. 233T: Provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in municipalities.
- Art. 330: Provides reservation of seats for STs in Lok Sabha.
- Art. 334: Provides reservation of seats for STs in State legislatures.
- Article 338A: Special officer post for protection of interests of STs
- Article 339: Control the union over the welfare of the scheduled tribe.
- Article 342: Empower the president to declare a community as ST.
2. Legislative measures:
- National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007: To minimize displacement and promote, as far as possible, non- displacing or least displacing alternatives also ensure adequate rehabilitation package and expeditious implementation of the rehabilitation process with the active participation of those affected.
- The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act, 2013) : Regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the affected persons in India.
- It is progressive in that it is the first to legally mandate comprehensive Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Project.
- Affected Persons; but the definition of ‘public purpose’ remains too wide and will not help in minimizing displacement.
- Provisions for ST in LARR: As far as possible, no acquisition of land shall be made in the Scheduled Areas. In case of acquisition or alienation of any land in the Scheduled Areas, the prior consent of the concerned Gram Sabha or the Panchayats or the autonomous District Councils shall be obtained
- Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act), 1996: Powers granted to Gram Sabha under PESA like consultation before the land acquisition, prevent land alienation, power to enforce prohibition, prior approval of all developmental projects, selection of beneficiaries of poverty alleviation and other schemes of individual benefits, control over money lending activities etc.
Measures to secure rights of displaced people:
- Recommendation given by Xaxa Committee (2014) :
- In pursuance of the PESA, 1996, Land Transfer Regulations/Tenancy laws of all Schedule V Areas should be suitably amended to ensure Gram Sabha’s participation in the identification, investigation and restoration of lands to tribal people.
- Legal loopholes and ambiguities should be removed in all Scheduled Area Land Regulations and Tenancy laws. For example, such removal must ensure that tribal land is not transferred for purposes such as the settlement of refugees, housing, etc.
- Unutilized land must be given back to tribes for their resettlement.
- Provision of free legal services for affected tribal people by NALSA and related organisations.
- There should be a formation of an appellate authority involving members from the judiciary revenue department and Scheduled Tribes department. The formation of such an appellate authority would help in improving the procedure of restoration cases, which usually takes a long time.
- Monitoring cells also be recommended to set up at district as well as state level so that the rehabilitation of land becomes faster and easier.