UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 3 Q14: model answer
Rehabilitation of human settlements is one of the important environmental impacts which always attracts controversy while planning major projects. Discuss the measures suggested for mitigating this impact while proposing major developmental projects.
What the question wants
Discuss the measures suggested to reduce the harm of displacing people when planning major development projects.
How to structure it
The problem, the principles, the measures.
- Scale and controversy
- Why it fails
- Suggested measures
- Good examples
How to think it through
Displacement by dams, mines, industry: estimated 6 crore+ since 1947 (Walter Fernandes), ~40% tribals. Narmada (Sardar Sarovar), Tehri, Polavaram, Hirakud. Failures: cash only, no land, no livelihoods, women and landless ignored, poor resettlement colonies, cultural loss. Measures: avoid/minimise displacement (alternate designs), SIA under LARR 2013, consent, land-for-land, livelihood restoration, R&R before construction, benefit sharing (royalty, jobs, shares — Odisha), FRA 2006 rights, gram sabha consent (Niyamgiri 2013), grievance redressal and monitoring, NRRP 2007, World Bank safeguards.
Model answer
Since independence, development projects are estimated to have displaced over six crore people in India, about two-fifths of them tribals (studies by Walter Fernandes). The Narmada Bachao Andolan made the cost visible, and the debate over Sardar Sarovar changed how India thinks about rehabilitation.
Why rehabilitation fails
- Cash compensation only, quickly spent, with no land or livelihood.
- Landless workers, tenants and women are ignored because they hold no title.
- Resettlement after construction, not before.
- Cultural loss for tribal communities tied to forests and rivers.
- Multiple displacement: some families in Singrauli were moved two or three times.
- Host communities at resettlement sites are rarely consulted.
Measures suggested
- Avoid or minimise displacement through alternative sites or designs, such as lower dam heights.
- Social Impact Assessment and consent under the LARR Act, 2013.
- Land for land wherever possible, especially for tribals.
- Livelihood restoration: jobs, skills and annuities, not just one-time cash.
- R&R before construction starts.
- Benefit sharing: royalties, a share in project revenue, local jobs.
- Forest Rights Act, 2006 and gram sabha consent, as upheld in the Niyamgiri case (2013).
- Independent monitoring and grievance redressal, with women named as co-owners of new land.
Good examples
- Some Odisha and Chhattisgarh mining projects offer annuities and jobs; the Sardar Sarovar Grievance Redressal Authority showed that monitoring matters.
A project should leave the displaced better off, not merely moved.
Draw: A ladder: avoid → minimise → compensate → restore → share benefits.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
development-induced displacement, 6 crore, Walter Fernandes, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Sardar Sarovar, LARR 2013, SIA, land for land, NRRP 2007, FRA 2006, Niyamgiri 2013, benefit sharing.
Where most answers lose marks
- Writing only about compensation amounts.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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