ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-II

MODULE – II

SOCIAL ISSUES & THE

ENVIRONMENT

LECTURE – 14

RESETLLEMENT & ENV.

ETHICS

2

The most significant adverse social impacts of developmentalprojects include forceful displacement of human populationsfrom their houses, fields, towns and regions. It is a complexhuman problem and can not be satisfactorily achieved by mereeconomic compensation.

It is well known fact that natural and human made disaster forcepeople to move out of their land.

For example- Tsunami in South Asia in December 2004, Laturand Gujarat earthquake, Disasters, like the Bhopal gas tragedy inUnion carbide factory, have rendered thousands of peoplehomeless and jobless.

RESETTLEMENT &

REHABILITATION

3

Economic development raises the quality andstandard of living of the people of a country.Developmental projects are planned to bringbenefits to society but on the other hand it affectsnative population. Various projects result in the displacement ofthe native people who undergo tremendouseconomic and psychological distress, as thesocioeconomic and ecological base of the localcommunity is disturbed.

The other problems –

1. The production systems are dismantled and

people are relocated to environments where

their productive skills may be less applicable.

2. The productive assets and income sources are

lost. People are relocated to environments

where the competition for resources may be

greater and community structures and social

networks are weakened.

3. Cultural identity, traditional authority and the

potential for mutual help are diminished.

EFFECTS OF VARIOUS

DEVELOPMENTAL

ACTIVITIES

1. Displacement Problems due to Dams:

Construction of Dam across a big river causes several problemslike

a. submergence of valuable forest coverb. water logging and its adverse effectsc. extinction of wildlife and plant speciesd. possibility of an earthquakee. the displacement of people due to submergence of their

habitats and organizing resettlement or rehabilitation plansfor them.

The big river valley projects have one of the most serioussocio-economic impacts due to large scale displacement oflocal people from their ancestral home and loss of theirtraditional profession or occupation.

India is one of the countries in the world leading in big damconstruction and in the last 50 years more than 20 millionpeoples are directly or indirectly affected by the activity.

The Hirakund Dam on Mahanadi has displaced more than20,000 peoples residing in about 250 villages.

The Bhakra Nangal Dam was constructed on river Satlujduring 1950’s and till now it has not been possible even half ofthe displaced persons.

The Tehri Dam on the Bhagirathi constructed after threedecades of long controversy against the project by SunderlalBahuguna. The immediate effect was on 10,000 residents ofTehri town, While displacement was looming large over thepeople.

It was planned to build 30 big, 135 medium and 3000 minor damson the Narmada river and its tributaries. A total of 573 villages,consisting of about three lakh people are going to be affected dueto submergence under water. As a result of the big dams thecommunity rights of the tribals is breached. It is a traumaticexperience to get uprooted from one’s native place where one’sgeneration have lived and move to new place as a total stranger. Itis a big price that the tribals have to pay for a big dam projectswhich is supposed to bring happiness and prosperity to the country.In return of this big sacrifice, the tribals must be given adequatecompensation in the form of land, jobs, cash compensation andcare should be taken to improve their quality of life.

A. SARDAR SAROVAR DAM

The Tehri Dam has been the object of protests by environmentalorganizations and local people of the region. In addition to thehuman rights concerns, the project has spurred concerns about theenvironmental consequences of locating such a large dam in thefragile ecosystem of the Himalayan foothills.

There are further concerns regarding the dam's geological stability.The Tehri dam is located in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, amajor geologic fault zone. This region was the site of a 6.8 magnitudeearthquake in October 1991, with an epicenter 53 kilometers(33 mile) from the location of the dam.

B. TEHRI DAM

Dam proponents claim that the complex is designed to withstandan earthquake of 8.4 magnitude, but some seismologists say thatearthquakes with a magnitude of 8.5 or more could occur in thisregion. If such a catastrophe to occur, it potentially result in dam-break that will submerge numerous towns whose population isnear half a million.

The relocation of more than 100,000 people from the area hasled to protracted legal battles over resettlement rights, andultimately resulted in the project's delayed completion. Rs. 414crores has spent for the rehabilitation but still so many peoplesare remaining to get proper rehabilitation.

2. Displacement Due to Mining: Mining is the anotherdevelopmental activity, which causes displacement of the nativepeoples. Several thousands of hectares of land area is covered inmining operation and the native people are displaced. Sometimesdisplacement of local people is due to accidents occurring in minedareas like subsidence of land that often leads to shifting of people.

1. Jharia Coal fields, Jharkhand

This project site have been posing a big problems to the local residents dueto underground fires and they are asked to vacate the area. The proposal oflarge scale evacuation of about 0.3 million population of Jharia immediatelyraises the question of their rehabilitation for which proper planning isrequired. Some 115 crores of rupees have been spent to put the fires since1976, still the problem persists.The people of Jharia are being asked to evacuate the area, but till now thereis no alternative land and rehabilitation package prepared. As a result thelocal population have formed a “Jharia coalfield Bachao Samiti”. They haveapprehensions that they are going to be left in the lurch. The latest estimatesshow than about Rs. 18,000 crores will be spent for shifting the Jhariapopulation while the cost for extinguishing the fire would be around 8000crore. Perhaps scientific fire-fighting will prevent the Jharia residents fromundergoing the hardship of displacement.

3. Displacement Due to Creation of National Parks:

When some forest area is covered under a National Park, itis a welcome step for conservation of the natural resources.However, it also has a social aspect associated with it; whichis often neglected. A major portion of the forest is declaredas core-area, where the entry of local dweller or tribal's isprohibited. When these villagers are deprived of theirancestral right or access to the forests, they usually retaliateby starting destructive activities. There is a need to look intotheir problems and provide them some employment.

The tribals belonging to Tharu community in 142 villages inBihar in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve area in the district of WestChamparan feel that they have been deprived of theirlegitimate ancestral rights to collect firewood and fodder fromthe forest. Their employment is also lost due to the ‘ProjectTiger” initiative.The jobless villagers feel cheated and are found to indulge in theagents who supply arms and ammunition for illegal logging andpoaching. In order to stop the local tribals from becomingcriminal, the foremost effort of the planners should be tocompensate for the loss to the locals by providing them jobopportunities.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve Declaration

It is in Kerala and caused displacement of 53,472 tribal families.At the time of its initiation it was decided to transfer land tothese tribal families in order to settle them. However, till 2003only 843 families could get the land.As a result of this tribal felt cheated and they encroached in tothe forest in large numbers, cut down the tress, startedconstructing huts and digging wells causing violent encounterwith the forest officials, ultimately injuries and deaths to thepeople.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary Declaration

POLICIES & LEGISLATIONS FOR RESETTELMENT

The United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights{(Article 25 (1)} has declared that Right to housing is baic humanright.

In India most displacement have resulted due to land acquisitionby the government for various reasons. For this purposeGovernment has the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 that amendedtime to time.

In India, a new Act, The Right to Fair Compensation andTransparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and ResettlementAct, 2013 was passed by the Parliament in 2013 to repeal this Act.

Land acquisition in India is currently governed by The Right to FairCompensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitationand Resettlement Act, 2013, which came into force from 1 January2014.

Till 2013, land acquisition in India was governed by LandAcquisition Act of 1894.

On 31 December 2014, the new government in India passed anordinance with an official mandate to "meet the twin objectives offarmer welfare; along with expeditiously meeting the strategic anddevelopmental needs of the country".The Modi government topresent Land Acquisition Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha on 4th March,2014.

REHABILITATION POLICY

There is a need for comprehensive National Rehabilitation Policy.Different states are following different practices in this regards.

There is a need to raise public awareness on these issues to bringthe resettlement and rehabilitation plans on a human footing andto honor the human rights outsees.

CASE STUDY

1. Sardar Sarovar Project: Gujarat Government is formulating itspolicy through various government resolutions. It has decidedthat each landed outsee shall be entitled to allotment ofirrigated land in the state which he chooses for hisresettlement.

The area of the land would be equal to that owned by himearlier and the minimum land given to an outsee wouldbe 2 hectares. However, there are problems of landlessoutsees and those natives who were cultivating forestland. The cutoff date for identifying an adult son in afamily has not been fixed. It is important since the adultson is to be treated as a separate family. The people of20 sumberged villages in Gujarat have been resettled atdifferent locations leading to disintegration of jointfamilies.

2. Pong Dam Project: It is different from Sardar SarovarProject. This was constructed on Beas river in HimachalPradesh in 1960, while it was a part of Punjab. The wateris harnessed to irrigate Rajasthan. Therefore Rajasthanagreed to provide land to the outsees in the commandarea of Indira Gandhi Canal. However, to carry Beaswater to Rajasthan, another dam had to be built adding20,722 more families that were displaced and had toresettled by Rajasthan.

CASE STUDY

Out of 30,000 families uprooted due to Pong Dam, only16,000 were considered eligible for allotment, as only theywere bonafide cultivators for whom 2.25 lac acre land wasearmarked. What happened to the rest of the 14000families is not answered. Punjab which is one of thebeneficiaries of the dam is totally out of the rehabilitationissue.

Only Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are trying to settlethe matter. Even those who have been settled, they are inresettlement sites in desert bordering Pakistan, more thanthousand kilometers from their native place, thus breakingtheir kinship ties.

Environmental Ethics refers to the issues, principles andguidelines relating to human interactions with theirenvironment.

Ethose, the Greek word from where “ethic” is derived, meansthe character of a person as described by his or her actions.This character was developed during the evolutionary processand was influenced by the need for adopting to the naturalenvironment.

Environmental Ethics: Issues and possible Solutions

It is rightly said “ The environmental crisis is an outwardmanifestation of the crisis of mind and spirit” It all depends onhow do we think and act.

If we think “ Man is all powerful and the supreme creatureon this earth and man is the master of nature and can harnessit at his will” It reflects the human centric approach.

On the other hand if we think “ Nature has provided us withall the resources for leading a beautiful life and she nourishesus like a mother we should respect her and nurture her”, this isan earth centric approach.

If we want to check environmental crisis, we will have totransform our thinking and attitude. This in turn wouldtransform our deeds, leading to a better environment andfuture.There are two world views are to protect the environment.1. Anthropocentric world view: This view is guiding mostindustrial societies. It puts human beings in the centre givingthem the highest status. Man is considered to be mostcapable for managing the planet earth. The guiding principlesof this view are : a. Man is the planet’s most important species and is the in-charge of the rest of the nature

b. Earth has an unlimited supply of resources and its allbelongs to us.c. Economic growth is very good and more growth, thebetter it is because it raises our quality of life and thepotential for economic growth is unlimited. d. A healthy environment depends upon a healthyeconomy. e. The success of mankind depends upon how goodmanagers we are for deriving denefits for us from nature.

2. Ecocentric world view: This is based on earth-wisdom. Thebasic beliefs are as follows: Nature exists not for human beings, but all for all thespecies. The earth resources are limited and they do not belong onlyto human beings. Economic growth is good till it encourages earth-sustainingdevelopment and discourages earth-degrading development. A healthy economic depends upon a healthy environment. The success of mankind depends upon how best we cancooperate with the rest of the nature while trying to use theresources of nature for our benefits.

Environmental ethics can provide us the guidelines for puttingour beliefs into action and help us to decide what to do whenfaced with crucial situations. Important ethical guidelines arealso known as Earth Ethics or Environmental Ethics are givenas follows.We should love and honour to the nature.We should be grateful to nature as it nourish us with food.We should not waste our natural resources.We should not put the overburden on the earthWe should us the resources sustainably.We should not steal from future generations their right to

live in clean and safe planet by polluting it.

In our Vedas each and every component of nature have glorifies asGods and Goddesses so that people have a feeling of reverence forthem.

Our religion and culture rituals make us perform such action thatwould help in the conservation of nature and narural resources.

The concept of ‘ahinsa’ in Buddhism and Jainism ensure theprotection and conservation of all form of life, thereby keeping theecological balance of the earth intact.

In Hindu religion most of the plants and animals are intact with theGod and Goddesses.

Ethics and Religion