Lok Sabha Question No. 1931 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Rehabilitation of Displaced Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Rahul Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1931 TO BE ANSWERED ON- 31/07/2025

## REHABILITATION OF DISPLACED TRIBALS

## 1931. SHRI RAHUL GANDHI:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of tribal persons displaced in the country during the last ten years due to infrastructure, mining and conservation projects, State-wise;

(b)  the  status  of  rehabilitation  of  such  displaced  persons,  particularly  in  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  and Odisha;

(c)  the  details  of  the  initiatives  taken  to  ensure  access  to  land,  housing,  education  and  livelihood opportunities for displaced tribal communities;

(d)  whether  any  monitoring  and  grievance  redressal  mechanisms  are  currently  in  place  to  evaluate  the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGA DAS UIKEY)

(a) to (c): Ministry of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources (DoLR) which is Nodal Ministry at the Centre for land related matters has informed that 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).

Further,  land  acquisition  is  undertaken  by  the  Central  and  State  Governments  under  various  Central  and State Acts, including the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013.  The provisions of the RFCTLARR Act 2013 are implemented by 'appropriate Government' as defined under Section 3(e) of the said Act. The data of displaced /affected families  is  not  centrally  maintained.  However,  the  Government  has  been  advising  the  State  Governments with regard to safeguards available for the tribal communities under various laws. The special provisions under various laws to protect the interests of the Scheduled Tribe community are in the Annexure.

(d) & (e):     As informed by Ministry of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources (DoLR) with regard to the monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms, under the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, the State Monitoring  Committees  are  constituted  by  the  State  Governments  for  reviewing  and  monitoring  the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement schemes or plans. For speedy disposal of disputes relating to land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement, "the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Authorities" are established by the appropriate Government, as per Section 51 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013. The LARR Authorities have to dispose of reference made to them within a period of six months from the date of receipt. At National level, the National Monitoring Committee (NMC) has been constituted under Section 48 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 headed by Secretary (DoLR) to review and monitor the implementation of Rehabilitation and Resettlement schemes or plans for only National or InterState projects."

Further,  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs,  being  the  Nodal  Ministry  for  Monitoring  and  administering  the legislative matters of FRA, by exercising power under Section 12 of the Act, has been issuing directions and guidelines from time to time on various aspects to ensure proper implementation of the Act. Any grievances received  in  the  Ministry  related  to  displacement  of  ST  community  are  forwarded  to  concerned  State Government for necessary action.

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1931 for answer on 31.07.2025

## Special provisions to protect the interest of Scheduled Tribe community are as follows:

(1) Constitutional provisions under Schedule V 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. Para 5.2 of the V Schedule of the Constitution has a predominant object of imposing total prohibition on transferring immovable property in a scheduled area to any person other than a tribal.

(2) The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (in short PESA) 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  for  development  projects  and  before  re-settling  or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the Scheduled Areas".

(3)  The  Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act" (in short, FRA) enacted in 2006 provides adequate safeguards to avoid any displacement of tribal population but also seeks to involve democratic institutions in the process of recognition and vesting of forest rights at the grassroots level.

a) Section 4 (4) of FRA stipulates that the right shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable and shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons and in the name of the single head in the case of a household headed by a single person and in the absence of a direct heir, the heritable right shall pass on to the next-of-kin.

b) Section  4  (5)  of  FRA states  that  "Save  as  otherwise  provided,  no  member  of  a  Forest  Dwelling Scheduled Tribe or Other Traditional Forest Dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete".

(4) The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 provides wrongfully dispossessing members of the Scheduled Tribes from their land or premises or interfering with  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights,  including  forest  rights,  over  any  land  or  premises  or  water  or irrigation facilities or destroying the crops or taking away the produce there from amount to offence of atrocities and are subject to punishment under the said Act.

(5) The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement  Act,  2013  (RFCTLARR  Act,  2013) has  special  provisions  for  STs,  which  have  been spelled out under Sections 41 and 42.

(i)  The  First  Schedule  of  the  RFCTLARR  Act  provides  for  compensation  for  land  owners.  As  per Section 3(r)(ii) of the RFCTLARR, 2013, 'land owner' includes any person who is granted forest rights under FRA, 2006(2 of 2007) or under any other law for the time being in force.

(ii)  The  Second  Schedule  of  the  RFCTLARR,  provides  for  rehabilitation  and  resettlement  for  all  the affected  families (both land owners and the families whose livelihood is primarily dependent on land acquired) in addition to those provided in the first Schedule.

(iii)  The  Third  Schedule  of  the  RFCTLARR,  provides  for  infrastructural  amenities  for  a  reasonably habitable and planned settlement in the resettlement area. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in  Land  Acquisition,  Rehabilitation  and  RFCTLARR  Act,  2013  further  spells  out  the  procedure  for identification of the affected persons/ families [sub-section (c) of Section 3], determining and calculating the compensation amount (Section 26 to 29), as well as mechanisms for developing rehabilitation and resettlement processes (Chapters V and VI).

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