The revised National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 formulated by the Ministry of Rural Development has been approved by the Cabinet on 11^th Oct., 2007 and the same has been published in the Gazette of India on 31^st Oct., 2007.  The revised policy has been placed in the public domain at the websites of the Ministry of Rural Development (http://rural.nic.in) and Department of Land Resources (http://dolr.nic.in).  Some highlights of the revised policy are :

·         Policy covers all cases of involuntary displacement.

·         Social Impact assessment (SIA) introduced for displacement of 400/200 or more families in plain/tribal, hilly, Scheduled areas, etc;

·         Consultations with Gram Sabhas or public hearing made compulsory;

·         Principle of rehabilitation before displacement;

·         If possible, land for land as compentation;

·         Skill development support and preference in project jobs ( one person per nuclear family );

·         Rehabilitation Grant in lieu of land/job;

·         Option for shares in companies implementing projects to affected families;

·          Housing benefits to all affected families including the landless;

·         Monthly pension to the vulnerable, such as disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, etc;

·         Monetary benefits linked to the Consumer Price Index; also to be revised suitably at periodic intervals;

·         Necessary infrastructural facilities and amenities at resettlement areas;

·         Periphery development by project authorities;

·         Committees for each project, to be headed by Administrator  for R &R.

·         Ombudsman for Grievance Redressal;

·         National Rehabilitation Commission for external oversight.

The revised policy covers all projects leading to involuntary displacement of people, and para 7.21 envisages special provisions for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, the main  features of which are given below:-

·                           Consultation with the concerned gram sabha or the panchayats at the appropriate level in the Scheduled Areas under Schedule V of the Constitution in accordance with provisions of the Panchayats ( Extension to the Scheduled Areas)       Act 1996. Each Affected family of Scheduled Tribe followed by Scheduled Caste shall be given allotment of land for land, if Government Land is available in the resettlement Area.

·         In case of land being acquired from the members of the Scheduled Tribes, at least one third of the compensation amount be paid at the outset as first instalment and rest at the time of taking the possession of the land.

·         Additional one time financial assistance equivalent to five hundred days minimum agricultural wages for loss of customary rights or usage of forest produce.

·         Scheduled Tribes to get free of cost land for community and religious gathering, to the extent decided by the appropriate government.

·         Scheduled Tribes affected families resettled out of district to get twenty- five percent higher benefits in monetary terms.

·         Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes affected families to be given fishing rights in the reservoir areas of the irrigation or hydel projects

·         Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes affected families enjoying reservation benefits in the affected areas shall be entitled to get the reservation benefits at the resettlement areas. 

This was stated by the Minister of Rural Development, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in reply to a question in Lok Sabha  today.

SMK/ST/JA