ABSTRACT
Recent reforms in major Indian cities have focused on implementing urban infrastructural projects, which often cause involuntary displacement of poor urban households. This study investigates changes in socio-economic characteristics of displaced households in Ahmedabad. The analysis focuses on the socio-economic impact of resettlement under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme on displaced households between 2011, when resettlement took place, and 2015, when these households were revisited. A mixed method approach was adopted to identify quantitative and qualitative aspects of impoverishment using the impoverishment risks and reconstruction model (IRR). Our research shows that between 2011 and 2015 the risk of impoverishment of the resettled households had further increased. The displaced households were affected by their remoteness of their relocation sites, poor accessibility to basic facilities and their inability to sustain their livelihood in surrounding areas. The degree of impoverishment among BSUP sites, depending on spatial factors such as distances to facilities and livelihood opportunities. We conclude that better socio-economic infrastructure is required to create the conditions resettled people need to sustain their livelihood.
