Abstract
This book provides a panoramic overview of the history and consequences of involuntary resettlement in India and elsewhere, with an eagle’s eye for telling detail. Importantly, it recognises that projects are necessary to improve people’s lives and standards of living. It also recognises the disruptive aspects of development and examines how remedial measures can benefit everyone. Although focused on the Indian experience, the book is relevant to countries everywhere, for the challenges facing India are not unique. Specialists of involuntary resettlement will have to have this reference work on their shelf. But anyone with an interest in the development juggernaut will appreciate the erudition and plain, clear prose of the book.
The author covers the range of resettlement issues in five parts: (1) causes of displacement; (2) policy responses at the international and national levels; (3) methods for resettlement implementation (e.g. social impact assessment, income-restoration activities, gender analysis); (4) special issues to India such as private sector investment and tribals and (5) a new way forward.
Dr Mathur first reviews the causes of physical and economic displacement: dams, yes; extractive industry (notably in India, coal mining) and urban development, which has evolved from bulldozing so-called ‘illegal’ settlements through construction of low-income housing developments in the (then) distant outskirts of the city that offered too few income-earning opportunities to the more sensitive urban planning of slum upgrading that leaves most people in place. Clearly, resettlement strategies improved over time. Yet the toll can be heavy. People lose their lands, homes and livelihoods, as well as access to common natural resources such as forests and pastures. Consequently, they suffer from food insecurity and increased health problems. Communities are marginalised—in fact, they can vanish administratively—and become disarticulated as social support networks disintegrate.
The policy responses to adverse consequences are the topic of Part 2. The multilateral banks recognised the threat to their lending posed by unintended devastating impacts on people some 40 years ago, spurred on by pioneering longitudinal research on the Gwembe Tonga relocation led by Thayer Scudder and Elizabeth Colson. As a result, the banks—first the World Bank, then the regional development banks, and finally the IFC and the private-sector banks—all adopted essentially the same policy. Meanwhile, national governments, shielded by the legal armour of eminent domain, were slower to recognise the devastation and unrest their development investments were causing. But even they came to realise that providing a better life for displaced people was the politically profitable approach.
Part 3 takes up the plusses and minuses of planning and managing resettlement operations. Here, Dr Mathur correctly emphasises the use of social impact assessment in understanding the probable impacts of a proposed intervention. But social researchers must communicate their findings effectively to project managers who usually are not social scientists—a topic not dealt with in depth in this book. Further, social assessment, detailed planning and strong management support have yet to restore incomes lost due to involuntary resettlement in far too many instances. And, too, there are still serious gender biases in resettlement planning.
Part 4 looks at several issues particularly pertinent to India—the globalisation of development and private-sector investment. In India, development had been a government monopoly. That is no longer true. Industry, whether national or foreign, can now enlist government’s help to acquire land. And, once again, the poor, particularly the tribals in distant rural areas, pay the price.
The book concludes with a call to ensure that affected people have a share in project profits. Dr Mathur argues that ensuring affected people benefit directly from the investments (e.g. a percentage of the power income or of road tolls collected) is the only way to guarantee that those who lose—who give up their assets and resources—for the benefit of others can actually get back on their feet economically. It will be a tremendous resource for scholars, administrators and practitioners alike. With his vast development and resettlement experience in different countries and for different agencies—governments to international donors (e.g. the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and various UN development agencies)—Dr Mathur masterfully blends action-oriented concerns with academic rigour. This book has long been overdue: until now, no single book on the timely topic of displacement and resettlement has been available anywhere. This small volume is the first work to examine the wide range of displacement and resettlement issues surrounding development projects in a single, eminently readable book. With this volume, Dr Mathur makes a signal contribution to a more well-rounded understanding of resettlement. All who are concerned about the nature and impacts of development investments owe an intellectual and practical debt to Dr Mathur for this master work.