Dam and Tribal Displacement: A Case Study of Odisha

Abstract

As the dam and irrigation projects are constructed in hilly and forest areas, it is intended to find out the extent of tribal displacemnetin Odisha. Acqusition of forest land is about 44.34 percent of the total land acquired for different projects. The seven multipurpose projects alone displaced a total of 52,584 families out of which 10,498 families are scheduled tribes which which is 20 percent of the total families displaced. In the undivided Koraput district alone tribal displacement is 58 percent which comes to 6 percent of the total population of the district. In case of the major irrigation projects displacement of tribals was about 42.73 percent. There are many projects like the Salandi Project where 94.5 percent ST families were displaced. In some other projects like the Hirakud Dam where the displacement in terms of percentage is low, but in absolute numbers it is very high as the total displacement was huge. But one thing stands undisputed that the tribals have not been paid adequate compensation. There are many displacement and rehabilitation issues which remain unsolved even after decades of dispalcement. Therefore, agitations are noticed time and again. The paper, therefore, concludes that these displacements give rise Rawlsian inequality and injustice.

Introduction

Odisha occupies a unique position among the Indian states due to a large tribal population. The tribal population of the state, according to 2011 census, is 22.85 percent of the state’s total population. The state has the third largest concentration of tribals in the country. There are as many as 62 tribal communities including 13 primitive tribal groups. About 44.70 percent of the state’s geographical area is known as Scheduled Areas which extends over 118 out of 314 Blocks in 12districts. Majority of scheduled tribes live in hilly and forest regions which are mostly inaccessible and isolated. The tribal economy is largely subsistence oriented, unstructured and non-specialized.

Ever since the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan several development projects have been initiated in the country. These projects displaced large number of people and tribals constitute a sizeable proportion of the total displaced people. Forest and life, people, livelihood, religion and culture of tribal people are inextricably blended. Acquisition of forest land for development projects directly leads to uprooting of tribals from their home and hearth. Between 1951 and 1995, as high as 713449.24 acres of forest land were acquired for different development projects and 44.34 percent were acquired only for dam projects (Table 1).

Table 1: Acquisition of Forest Land for Development Projects 1951-1991 (in Acres)

Source: Fernandes, Walter. and Mohmd. Asif. 1997. Development-Induced Displacement and Rehabilitation in Orissa 1951-1995: A Database on its Extent and Nature, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.

It is revealed from the Table that the highest percentage (42.41 percent) of forest land were acquired for mining projects next to other projects (70.43 percent) . Hence, most of the mining projects in the state ousted majority of indigenous tribals settled in those areas. During the same period from 1951 to 1995 as many as 21,55, 317 tribals were displaced and 3,60, 999 tribals were affected due to various development projects in the state. The project displaced and the project affected STs constitute 40.35 percent and 43.14 percent respectively of the total project displaced persons and project affected persons of the state (Table 2).

Table 2: Tribal Displacement in Development Projects

Source: Source: Fernandes, Walter. and Mohmd. Asif. 1997. Development-Induced Displacement and Rehabilitation in Orissa 1951-1995: A Database on its Extent and Nature, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.

Note: Figures in parentheses indicate the percentage to total

As Table 2 depicts that the highest percentage of STs were displaced and affected by parks and sanctuary projects. But, number wise, the highest number of ST persons were displaced and affected by irrigation and dam projects in Odisha followed by mining projects. Therefore, this paper makes an attempt to study the various issues associated with tribal displacement and rehabilitation due to dam and irrigation projects in Odisha. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part is an introduction. The second part deals with displacement issues in India. The third part is a critical study on tribal displacement and rehabilitation issues in the state of Odisha.

Dams and Tribal Displacement in India

India has one of the highest development-induced displacements in the world. Studies show that a total of about 60 million people were displaced between 1947 and 2000. (Fernandes, 2006) As the tribals live in the forest and hilly areas, construction of dams immediately submerged the tribal villages. Obviously, a large number of tribals were displaced consequent upon the construction of dams and irrigation projects. The percentage of tribal displacement to total displacement in some of the major dam projects in India is presented in Table 3. It is revealed from the table that in some of the projects like Bodhghat dam project in Madhya Pradesh, Icha, Chandil and Koelkaro in Bihar, Mahi Bajaj Sagar in Rajastjan, Inchampalli in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra etc the percentage of tribal displacement was more than 70 percent. The Narmada Valley Development Project affected as many as 25 million people, majority of which were tribals.

Table 3: Dams and Displacement of Tribal People in India

Source: Singh, Satyajit. 1997. Taming the Waters: The Political Economy of Large Dams in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Note: Projects are either under construction or have been planned

Dam and Irrigation Projects and Tribal Displacement in Odisha

Dams/hydraulic projects and large and medium irrigation projects have displaced and affected many tribals in the state of Odisha. Flood, cyclone in coastal belt and drought in the western part is the general feature of Odisha. In the western part of Odisha, particularly the districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sambalpur severe drought occur frequently which leads to poverty, hunger, out-migration, outbreak of serious diseases etc.( Samal, 1998) Therefore, construction of irrigation and dam projects received priority at different points of time. The construction of multipurpose dams in Odisha is for flood control, in addition to irrigation and power generation. Most of the major dams are in the tribal districts. ( Fernandes, 1996) It has caused great damage to the indigenous people. A significant number of those displaced are tribals and other economically marginal rural populations who have historically, depended on the natural resource base, particularly the common property resources for their subsistence. Out of the total of 52,584 families displaced by 7 multipurpose dam projects, 10,498 families are scheduled tribes which come to 20 percent of the total families displaced. In undivided Koraput district, with 58 percent of tribal population displaced comes to 6 percent of the total population of the district. The land taken over includes, 4,00,000 acres of forests on which the tribal have depended for their sustenance.

Table 4: Displacement of Tribal Families in Multipurpose Dam Projects

Source: (i) Dalua, A. K.. 1993. Development Projects and Induced Displacement, Cuttack: Mass Media (P) Ltd.
(ii) Nayak, A.C. (ed.) (2013) Irrigation in Odisha, Water and Land Management Institute, Cuttack.
(iii) Govt. of Odisha (2014). Status of Resettlement and Rehabilitation in Completed and Ongoing Irrigation Projects, Bhubaneswar: Office of Engineer-in-Chief, Odisha.

The seven multipurpose dam projects shown in Table 3 displaced 10,498 tribal families out of the 52,584 total displaced families. Tribal displacement formed 19.96 percent of the total. On the contrary, the total displacement caused by the major irrigation projects is 12,415 families of which the tribals were 42.73 percent (Table 4). From Table 3 it is found that the highest percentage of 94.5 percent ST families was displaced due to the construction of Salandi Multipurpose Dam. However, in terms of number, it was 893. On the contrary, though 42.3 percent of the tribal families were displaced by the Upper Indravati Project, the largest number of 2260 families was displaced by this project. ( Report of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribe Commission VI, 1960-61)

The Hirakud Dam gives the picture that only 6.17 percent of tribals were displaced. Since this was a mega project which caused huge displacement, when the small percentage of 6.17 is translated in to absolute number, it comes to 1636 families. Out of the total displacement of 52,584 families in the multipurpose dam projects, 10,498 were tribal families. The number of displaced ST families is no less in major irrigation projects. These projects such as Subarnarekha, Lower Indra, Lower Suktel, Rengali etc displaced 12,415 tribal families out of the total of 29,053. The percentage of tribal families in case of Kanupur and Subarnarekha were very high.

Table 5: Displacement of Tribal Families in Major Irrigation Projects

Source: (i) Dalua, A. K. 1993. Development Projects and Produced Displacement, Cuttack Mass Media (P) Ltd.
(ii) Nayak, A.C. (ed.) (2013) Irrigation in Odisha, Cuttack: Water and Land Management Institute.
(iii) Govt. of Odisha (2014). Status of Resettlement & Rehabilitation in Completed and Ongoing Irrigation , Bhubaneswar: Office of Engineer-in-Chief, Odisha.

Similarly, out of the total of 9153 families displaced by the 30 medium irrigation projects, there were 4557 tribal families (49.78 percent) (Table 5). The displacement of tribal families in medium irrigation projects is depicted in Table 5. In all the 30 medium irrigation projects, 4557 tribal families were displaced out of the total of 9153. In such projects, tribal displacement was 49.78 percent. As the projects are medium, the individual projects do not show large displacements in terms of absolute number. The highest number of 636 tribal families was displaced out of the total of 695 in case of Rukura Project. On the contrary, the lowest number of one tribal family was displaced in Remal Medium Irrigation Projects. The other projects such as Baghua, Dadroghati, Ramial and Sunei displaced 144, 133, 285 and 267 tribal families respectively. Tribal displacement was 100 percent in case of Sundar project while in absolute number, it is only 30 families.

Table 6: Displacement of Tribal Families in Medium Irrigation Projects

Source: (i) Dalua, A. K. 1993. Development Projects and Induced Displacement, Cuttack Mass Media (P) Ltd.
(ii) Nayak, A.C. (ed.) (2013) Irrigation in Odisha, Water and Land Management Institute, Cuttack.
(iii) Govt. of Odisha (2014). Status of Resettlement & Rehabilitation in Completed and Ongoing Irrigation , Bhubaneswar: Office of Engineer-in-Chief, Odisha.

When we look at the compensation paid to the displaced families which includes the tribals, it presents a sordid picture. In case of Hirakud Dam, the compensation paid was inadequate and the living condition in resettled colonies was not up to the mark. The Kuanria Irrigation Project provides a different story. The Government, as per the compensation package, provided six acres of agriculture land and 20 decimal plot. Subsequently, it was discovered that lands were in forest area and displaced families did not get patta for the allotted land even after two and a half decade. In some of the projects like Baghalati Medium Irrigation Project, the people were not properly rehabilitated. As the tribal families have not been paid adequate and proper compensation, agitations are noticed time and again even after several decades of displacement.

Conclusion

Consequences of the development induced displacement of scheduled tribes are numerous but distinct. The displaced tribals have been affected by different risks, such as landlessness, joblessness, marginalization, homelessness, food insecurity, loss of access to common property resources (water, forest, grazing land) etc. Their quality of life and potential for physical and emotional growth is dormant; family and community life is almost totally destroyed; the opportunity for cultural activity hardly exists and the right of movement is highly restricted. Those living in camps, especially women, have to endure outrageous invasions of their privacy. Basic health care for all and education of children are virtually non-existent. An successful story of tribal displacement has been found to have impoverished them. In Rawlsian sense, this kind of displacement creates inequality at a different level where the tribals are not only deprived of income, but also of social goods such as liberty, opportunity and social respect. (Drydyk, 1999) In the light of Rawls’s concept of justice it can be said that the problems encountered by the oustees are injustices and the displacements undertaken in Odisha for the construction of dam and irrigation projects have been unjust. Injustice has been done to the tribals since the projects have not benefitted all. (Rawls, 1971) Such consequences lead to the requirement of legislations that address not only the issue of compensation but also of resettlement, rehabilitation and participation in negotiation. Because of their unique socio-economic and cultural traits, tribal displaced families should get special treatment. To address their impoverishment effectively, the relocation and rehabilitation measures for tribal displaced families should also be different and distinct. Economic analysis of the projects should adopt specific compensation mechanisms for each project.

References

• Dalua, A. K.. 1993. Development Projects and Induced Displacement, Cuttack: Mass Media (P) Ltd.

• Drydyk, Jay. (1999) ‘Development-Induced Displacement and John Rawls’s “General Conception of” of Justice,’ Project Report-II, CIDA-SICI Partnership Project-II, Carleton University.

• Fernandes, Walter 1996. “Land Reforms Ownership Pattern and Alienation of Tribal Livelihood,” Social Action, 46 (4), Oct-Dec.

• Fernandes, Walter. (ed.) 2006. “Developmental Induced Displacement: Impact on Tribals,” Adivasi, Vol. 46, Dec. 2006.

• Fernandes, Walter. and Mohmd. Asif. 1997. Development-Induced Displacement and Rehabilitation in Orissa 1951-1995: A Database on its Extent and Nature, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.

• Govt. of Odisha (2014). Status of Resettlement and Rehabilitation in Completed and Ongoing Irrigation Projects, Bhubaneswar: Office of Engineer-in-Chief, Odisha.

• Nayak, A.C. (ed.) (2013) Irrigation in Odisha, Water and Land Management Institute, Cuttack.

• Rawls, John. (1971) A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

• Report of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribe Commission VI, 1960-61.

• Samal, K.C. 1998. “Poverty Alleviation after Liberalization: Study of a Tribal Block in Odisha,” EPW, Vol. XXXIII, No. 28, July 11.

• Singh, Satyajit. 1997. Taming the Waters: The Political Economy of Large Dams in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

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1. N. K. Panda, D.Litt. Scholar, Department of Economics, North Orissa University, Baripada-757003, Odisha
2. Dr. L. N. Dash, Department of Economics, North Orissa University, Baripada-757003, Odisha