ABSTRACT

Since independence, large-scale development projects such as multipurpose river valley projects, large industrial projects, linear projects and mining of coal, iron and bauxite, etc. have been undertaken in India at a greater scale to support economic development. This process has received further stimulus in the era of neoliberalisation through expansion of domestic and foreign private investment. The process of development entails land acquisition, involuntary displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement. Odisha is a resource-rich state. The establishment of different development projects resulted in uprooting millions of people. Despite the formulation of resettlement and rehabilitation policy by the state, mostly vast majority of the displaced people have not been better off. The project beneficiaries have been benefited at the cost of displaced people. There have been a number of studies on involuntary displacement by various scholars. Among them, Michael M. Cernea has extensively studied the socio-economic impact under ‘Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model’. The affected people face impoverishment risks such as landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, increased morbidity, loss of common resources and social disarticulation that result in a loss of socio-cultural resilience. Three fourths of those displaced in India over five decades still face an uncertain future. The resettlement process assumes to be complete once compensation is paid to the affected people and relocated to a new resettlement site without any consideration to their economic restoration and better off. The present chapter is based on an extensive field study to different category of projects which have come up in western Odisha at different time periods, such as Hirakud Dam, Ib Thermal Power Station, Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd. and Vedanta Aluminium Ltd., and tries to focus on the conditions of the displaced people due to these development projects. The chapter argues that for the affected people, development has turned out to be ‘de-development’.