INADEQUATE RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION POLICIES FOR OUSTEE FAMILIES: A STUDY OF THREE PUBLIC SECTOR STEEL PLANTS IN INDIA
Keywords:
Development, Steel plants, Socio-economic, Displacement, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Ecosystem people, Livelihood, Inequities.Abstract
This paper presents a critical analysis of the socio-economic status of people displaced by three
public sector steel plants in India during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing on the inadequacy of state resettlement
and rehabilitation policies. Data were collected through household surveys in the tribal belts of Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, and Orissa, covering the towns of Bhilai, Bokaro, and Rourkela during 2007-08. Findings reveal
that modern development projects that consume ecological resources for high growth and luxurious living
have heightened socio-economic inequalities across space and people with little trickle-down effect on the
poorer sections of society. The displaced populations, mostly the tribals and other ecosystem people, suffer
impoverishment, homelessness, social disarticulation, loss of sustainable living, and insecure environmental
surroundings due to incomplete resettlement and rehabilitation measures. Therefore, there is a need for holistic
transformations of the project-affected people to make them true beneficiaries of the development project.
