Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy for Internally Displaced People: Revealing Facts from the Narmada Dam Project in India

Abstract

This paper provides a broad overview of the genesis and history of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy, practice and related issues in the context of the Narmada Project in India. Rehabilitation and resettlement are fundamental rights of IDPs and are a legal obligation of the State as it forced them to move out of their land. It also looks into the policies, strategies and implementation process that are efforts made by the state government to resettle the project-affected people in their new surroundings. This paper examines not only the viability and impact of the scheme, but also the adequacy and efficiency of the existing administrative structures, and the role of the bureaucracy, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and other participating states. The study tries to explain how crucial is the role played by the bureaucracy in implementing the policy to ensure due completion of the dam project. The present paper examines long-term impacts for relocation of IDPs due to the massive dam irrigation project in India.