Cornell University ILR School DigitalCommons@ILR International Publications Key Workplace Documents 2014 Lose to Gain: Is Involuntary Resettlement a Development Opportunity? Jayantha Perera (Ed.) Royal Anthropological Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/intl Thank you for downloading an article from DigitalCommons@ILR. Support this valuable resource today! This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Key Workplace Documents at DigitalCommons@ILR. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@ILR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, contact [email protected] for assistance. Lose to Gain: Is Involuntary Resettlement a Development Opportunity? Abstract [Excerpt] Resettlement policies and laws in South Asian countries at present focus primarily on compensation payment for property acquired for a public purpose. This book assesses the adequacy of conventional compensation and resettlement assistance programs such as cash-for-land, land-for-land compensation, limited and temporary employment opportunities at project construction sites, better housing in urban development projects, and income and livelihood restoration and improvement assistance programs. It also examines affected persons’ perspectives, how they perceive their displacement, and what strategies they use to respond to displacement with or without assistance from project sponsors and authorities. This knowledge will help policy makers, project sponsors, and project executive agencies to improve resettlement planning and implementation programs and, at least to some extent, will assist in reforming resettlement policies and land laws. Such reforms, this book argues, should consider (i) the adequacy of current resettlement policy frameworks to deal with complex, widespread, and ambiguous experiences of affected persons of development interventions; (ii) the almost inevitable impoverishment of project-affected persons from the pre-displacement phase to post- resettlement phase; (iii) limited state commitment to broadening such policy frameworks into national laws; and (iv) widespread weak institutional capacity to implement the laws. During the past 60 years, various interpretations of the land acquisition acts have been attempted by policy makers, academics, development practitioners, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and national courts in South Asia. Such interpretations have mostly been people-centered and have intended to provide a better compensation package to the displaced, particularly to poor and vulnerable persons. Key issues that have been discussed and articulated include (i) the adequacy of consultation with affected persons and communities on land acquisition and compensation; (ii) the comparative costs of cash-for- land and land-for-land compensation as acquisition modalities; (iii) the desirability and possibility of assisting physically displaced households to resettle at a project-sponsored resettlement site compared to providing sufficient cash compensation and incentives to help displaced households self-relocate; and (iv) how to avoid impoverishment of displaced persons and their households. These are also the key issues that this book considers, using in-depth fieldwork from several South Asian countries. The book comprises recent displacement and resettlement case studies conducted by several anthropologists and sociologists in South Asia. Each contributor wrote around the key theme of the book: Is resettlement a development opportunity for those displaced by a development intervention? In this book, resettlement carries a broader meaning to include physical and economic displacement, restricted access to public land such as forests and parks, relocation, income rehabilitation, and self-relocation. Keywords resettlement, South Asia, development, compensation, displacement, reform Comments Suggested Citation Perera, J. (Ed.). (2014). Lose to gain: Is involuntary resettlement a development opportunity? Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank. Required Publisher's Statement This article was first published yb the Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org). This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/intl/371 Lose to Gain Is Involuntary Resettlement a Development Opportunity? A crucial issue that confronts development in South Asia is how to build a better life for people displaced by infrastructure development projects. This book comprises recent displacement and resettlement case studies conducted by eight anthropologists in South Asia. Each contributor wrote around the key theme of the book: Is involuntary resettlement Lose to Gain: a development opportunity for those displaced by development interventions? In this book, ”resettlement” carries a broader meaning to include physical and economic displacement, restricted access to public land such as forests and parks, relocation, income rehabilitation, and self-relocation. Is Involuntary Resettlement a Development Opportunity? The book demonstrates that despite significant progress in national policies, laws, and regulations, their application still requires more Lose to Gain commitment, adequate resources, and better supervision. About the Asian Development Bank Is Involuntary Resettlement ADB’s vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is a Development Opportunity? to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region’s many successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the world’s poor: 1.7 billion people who Edited by Jayantha Perera live on less than $2 a day, with 828 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines www.adb.org Printed on recycled paper Printed in the Philippines Lose to Gain Is Involuntary Resettlement a Development Opportunity? Edited by Jayantha Perera © 2014 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published in 2014. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9254-355-6 (Print), 978-92-9254-356-3 (PDF) Publication Stock No. BKK135930 Cataloging-In-Publication Data Asian Development Bank. Lose to gain: Is involuntary resettlement a development opportunity? Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2014. 1. Involuntary resettlement. 2. South Asia. I. Asian Development Bank. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB. Note: In this publication, “$” refers to US dollars. Cover photo: Sherin Qadir 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 4444 Fax +63 2 636 2444 www.adb.org For orders, please contact: Public Information Center Fax +63 2 636 2584 [email protected] Printed on recycled paper Contents Foreword iv Acknowledgments vi Abbreviations vii Contributors ix 1. Introduction 1 by Jayantha Perera 2. Negotiating Impoverishment Risks through Informal Social Structures and Practices 15 by Tulsi C. Bisht 3. Displacement through Limiting Access to Forests: A Socio-Legal Analysis 36 by Jayantha Perera 4. Living Displaced: Post-Displacement Livelihood Strategies of Displaced Muslims in Sri Lanka 58 by Razaak M. Ghani 5. Resettlement Planning and Pre-Displacement Impoverishment 82 by Jayantha Perera 6. Why Compensation Is Not Enough to Make Resettlement a Development Opportunity? 105 by Chiara Mariotti 7. Reconstructing and Improving Livelihoods among the Urban Displaced: Lessons from Mumbai, India 126 by Dolores Koenig 8. Income Restoration and Livelihood Development: Impoverishment Risk or a Development Opportunity? 151 by Amarasena Gamaathige 9. Compensation, Replacement Cost, and Post-Resettlement Impoverishment 170 by Biswanath Debnath 10. Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement: Experiences of the People’s Republic of China and India 187 by Hari Mohan Mathur Index 210 iii Foreword nvoluntary displacement of persons occurs when a state agency acquires private property or limits access to public land. Such displacement affects I not only the physically displaced, but also those who lost their livelihoods and the host population