Lok Sabha Question No. 165 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-17
Subject: Displaced Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## Displaced Tribals

## 165. SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether there are gaps in the rehabilitation to the tribal community members displaced by development projects and if so, the details thereof along with the number of persons reported to be displaced and rehabilitated therefrom so far, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether it is a fact that of an estimated 85 lakh persons displaced due to development projects and natural calamities, only 21 lakh people have been rehabilitated so far; and

(c) if so, the reasons therefor and the reaction of the Government thereto along with the steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  for  expeditious  rehabilitation  of  all  the  tribals displaced due to such projects in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI JASWANTSINH BHABHOR)

(a) & (b) In  so  far  as  land  related  issues  are  concerned,  the  Ministry  of  Rural Development, Department of Land Resources (DoLR), is the nodal Ministry at the Centre, which plays a monitoring role in the field of land reforms. Land and its management fall under the exclusive legislative and administrative jurisdiction of states as provided under the  Constitution  of  India  (Seventh  Schedule  -  List  ii  (State  List)  -  Entry  No.  (18). Therefore, State wise details are not maintained centrally. Under Section 48 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement  Act,  2013  (RFCTLARR  Act,  2013  in  short),  a  National  Level  Monitoring Committee for Rehabilitation and Resettlement has been constituted in the DoLR for the purpose of looking into and collecting data on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected people.

(c)  By  way  of  safeguards  against  displacement  special  provisions  have  been  made  for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by way of Sections 41 and 42 of the RFCTLARR Act,  2013  which  stipulates  that  as  far  as  possible,  no  land  is  to  be  acquired  in  the Scheduled Areas except as last resort. In case acquisition or alienation of any land in the Scheduled Areas, the prior consent of Gram Sabha or the Panchayat or the Autonomous District Councils, at the appropriate level in the Scheduled Area in the Fifth Schedule to the  Constitution,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  required  to  be  obtained,  in  all  cases  of  land acquisition in such areas, including acquisition in case of urgency. The Act also lays down procedure and manner of rehabilitation and resettlement.

The  Scheduled  Tribes  and  Other  Traditional  Forest  Dwellers  (Recognition  of Forest  Rights)  Act,  2006  in  Section  4  (5)  states  that  save  as  otherwise  provided,  no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or Other Traditional Forest Dwellers shall be evicted  or  removed  from  the  Forest  Land  under  his  occupation  till  the  recognition  and verification procedure is complete.

The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, also provides that the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted before making the  acquisition  of  land  in  the  Scheduled  Areas  or  development  projects  and  before resettling  or  rehabilitating  persons  affected  by  such  projects  in  the  Scheduled Areas;  the actual  planning  and  implementation  of  the  projects  in  the  Scheduled  Areas  shall  be coordinated at the State Level;

Constitutional provisions under Schedule - V also provide for safeguards against displacement  of  tribal  population  because  of  land  acquisitions  etc.  the  Governor  of  the State which has scheduled Areas is empowered to prohibit or restrict transfer of land from tribals  and  regulate  the  allotment  of  land  to  members  of  the  Scheduled  Tribes  in  such cases.

Land being a State subject, the various provisions of rehabilitation and resettlement as per the LARR Act, 2013 are implemented by the concerned State Governments. Section 16 of the Act mandates the Administrator for Rehabilitation and Resettlement to conduct survey and undertake a census of the affected families and to prepare rehabilitation and resettlement scheme which shall include particulars of the rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements of each land owner and landless whose livelihoods are primarily dependent on the lands being acquired and where resettlement of affected families is involved. Further, Chapter V of the LARR Act, 2013 deals with Rehabilitation and Resettlement Award for affected families by the Collector and provision of infrastructural amenities in resettlement area. Sections 41 and 42 of the LARR Act, 2013 contains special provisions for Scheduled Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  including  reservation  and  other  benefits.  The  Second Schedule  to  the  LARR  Act,  2013  highlights  the  various  elements  of  Rehabilitation  and Resettlement entitlements for all the affected families (both land owners and the families whose  livelihood  is  primarily  dependent  on  land  acquired).  These  elements  include provision of housing units in case of displacement, land for land, offer for developed land, choice of annuity or employment, subsistence grant for displaced families for a period of one year, transportation cost for displaced families, cattle shed/petty shops cost, one-time grant  to  artisan  and  small  traders,  fishing  rights,  one-time  Resettlement  Allowance,  and Stamp Duty and Registration Fee.

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