The anti-Narmada project movement in India: Can the resettlement and rehabilitation policy gains be translated into a national policy

Millions of people have been displaced by development projects in India since the year 1950. However, less than 25 per cent of the displaced people have been resettled and rehabilitated (Fernandes, 1992). Regardless of the magnitude of the population displaced and absence of rehabilitation measures, neither the Central Government nor the State Governments have enacted effective legislations to amend the situation. Inherent social and economic inequalities embedded in the Indian society, alongside the type of laws for land acquisition and compensation payment have curtailed the capacity of the displaced to organise themselves and demand better rehabilitation provisions. However, of late, people affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) and the activists spearheading the Narmada Movement seem to have sown the seeds of protest and have thus challenged the government effectively. The movement has brought the issue of rights of the displaced people to the forefront, generating a national debate. The Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) policy provisions which are now available for SSP displaced people are considered to be a package which carries the promise of development opportunity to the dispossessed, for the first time in the
country.
This paper is an attempt to answer one pertinent question: Can the R&R policy which has evolved over a period of time for the SSP affected people in Gujarat be translated into a national policy on R&R? In order to answer this question, we may first analyse the rationale behind the R&R strategies devised by the government in projects executed before SSP. Further, we will present the historical context and trace the process in which the Narmada Movement was located, to provide us with an understanding of the forces that shaped R&R policy. An elaboration of the elements of the R&R package for the SSP displaced in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh is followed by a discussion on its scope for implementation. Finally, we turn to answer our central question. Sources of data for this paper are given in Appendix 1.