Not at the cost of people
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 16 2011 -

The country over the past few decades has seen tremendous development in every sphere. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the word today and is its economic clout is expected to grow even more in the years to come.

The number of millionaires and billionaires is on the rise, flyovers, metros, multiplexes; shopping malls are all here in this country. Some of the major cities of India are now as good as any other cities of the developed country.

But it is becoming clear the fruits of this tremendous growth and development are enjoyed disproportionately by the richest in the country leading to ever widening income disparities.

Not only are the already disadvantaged sections not able to access the benefits of economic development but in many cases these same development has come at their expense.

Displacements and evictions for mining, construction of dams, roads, factories and other infrastructural development have been the fate of the most vulnerable sections of the society.

These developments have brought huge benefits to significant sections of the nation, but it has come at tremendous cost to the environment and the affected persons.

While it is true that there are provisions under law which requires the state to pay compensations to the displaced persons, it only materializes after a marathon chase in the bureaucratic maze.

Also, the amount is not at all commensurate with hardship they will endure after being displaced from their environment and in most cases from their means of livelihood.

This physical displacement also entails, psychological and social aspects for which no amount of monetary compensation can ever make up. But as the nation marches on trying to catch up with the most advanced countries, the displacement of people from their environment continues.

The latest in this series is the acquisition of fertile farm land for the purpose of creating what is called the 'Special Economic Zone' or the SEZ.

Also several state governments are in the race of acquiring land from the farmers and selling it off to private parties for other purposes like luxury residential complexes.

This is nothing less than robbing the poor and giving the loot to the rich. It is said that the Greater Noida Industrial Development which acquired land from the farmers supposedly for industrial development by paying Rupees 850 per square meter sold off the same to private land developers for more than 11 times that amount.

The acquisition was quashed by the Allahabad High Court which was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. While delivering the the verdict, the Supreme Court observed "There is greater danger to society. They take to crime. Once you take away the land, you deprive the next five generation of farmers of their livelihood."

Manipur's march to development has also taken a similar route, though as a miniature model of what is happening in the bigger states and metropolis of the country.

The state has also seen a vast number of people displaced for construction of dams, building of infrastructure and for widening of roads.

For these people, even though it would mean a dislocation from their environment, a psychological disorientation as also total disruption of their social life, they have no option but to accept their fate and have to be satisfied with what the state pays as compensation.

The latest in this series is eviction of fishermen from their floating huts in the Loktak Lake, who have been earning their livelihood by fishing in the lake and who will be all at sea, dislocated from the lake.

And what is of utmost concern to all of us is that in most cases the affected people rarely reap the fruits of the very development which have came about after displacing and dislocating them in the first place.

This is a sure medicine for social unrest, and which has been proved so in many parts of the country.

Policy makers in this state would do well to take due account of the human cost of any development programme and work towards, if not eliminating it altogether, at least see to it that the proper and adequate resettlement and rehabilitation is carried out.