Consultation with various direct and indirect stakeholders including civil society of the state has been conducted, and views of academicians and specialists in the field of resettlement and rehabilitation have been considered as a part of democratic response of the government in policy formulation.

Government of Orissa has been responding to the problem of displacement due to development projects through various project specific Resettlement & Rehabilitation policies and plans. The R&R Policy 2006 draws its strength from experiences from the implementation of past policies, best practices in other states and Orissa Government's Industrial Policy Resolution, 2001. Limitations of the past policies have been acknowledged and analyzed and a flexible framework has been provided in the new policy.

(I) The new Policy is a composite one with separately structured provisions to address the issues of displacement arising out of Industrial; Mining projects; Irrigation projects, National parks and Sanctuaries; Urban and Linear projects. (II) For preparation of a proper R & R plan, socio-economic survey as well as socio-cultural and infrastructural survey has been made mandatory. (III) Government has given more responsibility to the project proponents to carry out R & R for the displaced/ affected people. (IV) Indexation of rehabilitation grant to the wholesale price index as on 1.4.2006 and revision of the scale of grant every two years to make the grant commensurate. (V) Emphasis on Consent Award and negotiated settlement to give the land losers an opportunity for self-assessment of the compensation and to claim it in the prescribed manner. (VI) Benefit sharing in terms of preferential share allotment for partnering the growth. (VII) R & R package has been enhanced considerably. (VIII) The definition of “family” has been broadened and major sons irrespective of marital status are treated as separate family for R & R benefits. (IX) Families losing all agricultural land but not homestead land are now entitled to R & R benefits. (X) Rehabilitation Advisory Committee (RAC) and Periphery Development Committee (PDC) have been merged with the formation of the Rehabilitation & Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC).

The Policy applies to industrial projects, mining projects, irrigation projects, national parks and sanctuaries, urban projects and linear projects like roads and railways, power lines etc. Government will specify the R & R packages for displaced/affected families in respect of other categories of projects not covered by this policy.

Gram Sabha or Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted in scheduled areas before initiating land acquisition proposal.

An encroacher family, who is landless as defined in the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act (OPLEA) 1972, and is in possession of the encroached land at least for a period of ten years continuously prior to the date of preliminary notification for acquisition of private land in the locality will get ex-gratia equal to compensation admissible under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for similar category of land to the extent of land under his/her physical possession up to a maximum of one standard acre, if the encroachment is unobjectionable. While determining the extent of land for such compensation the rayati land held by him/her is to be taken into account. An encroacher family, who is homestead less as defined in the OPLEA 1972 and is in possession of the encroached land at least for a period of ten years continuously prior to the date of preliminary notification for acquisition of private land in the locality will get ex- gratia, equal to compensation for similar category of homestead land, against the encroached homestead land up to a maximum of 1/10th of an acre in rural areas or 1/25th of an acre in urban areas, if the encroachment is unobjectionable. While determining the extent of land for such compensation the homestead land held by him/her is to be taken into account. The ex-gratia will be in addition to the actual cost of structures thereon. If the encroachment is found to be objectionable, (s) he will be entitled to the cost of structure only.

‘Displaced Family’ means a family ordinarily residing in the project area prior to the date of publication of preliminary notification for acquisition of land under the provisions of the relevant Act and on account of acquisition of his/her homestead land is displaced from such area or required to be displaced. A family whose land is affected by construction of the project but not displaced or required to be displaced will be treated as an affected family.

1 . For families displaced by projects other than Irrigation projects, National Parks and Sanctuaries; as far as practicable, one member of each family will be provided employment in the project. 2 . Major sons, unmarried daughter/sister over 30 years of age, a widow or women divorcee, minor orphans, mentally and physically challenged persons having more than 40% permanent disability if not provided direct employment in the project will get cash assistance ranging from Rs. 5.00 lakh to Rs. 1.00 lakh depending on the category of the displaced family. 3 . Land based rehabilitation for displaced/affected families of Irrigation projects, National Parks and Sanctuaries. In case land not available, cash equivalent @ Rs. 1.00 lakh per acre of agricultural land and Rs. 0.5 lakh per acre of non-irrigated land and registration of transfer document at the cost of the project authorities. 4 . Homestead land measuring 1/10th of an acre in a resettlement habitant or Rs. 50,000 in lieu thereof for self-relocation. 5 . House or House Building Assistance of Rs. 1.5 lakh for each displaced family. 6 . Training at the cost of project authorities for skill up gradation. 7 . Ex-gratia equal to compensation up to one standard acre of land for landless encroachers in respect of unobjectionable encroachment. 8 . Ex-gratia equal to compensation up to 1/10th of an acre of homestead land for homestead less encroachers in respect of unobjectionable encroachment. 9 . Maintenance allowance of Rs. 2,000/- per month for a period of 12 months. 10 . Assistance of Rs. 10,000/- per family per temporary shed. 11 . Free transportation or transport allowance of Rs. 2,000/-.

One nominated member of the Original Family and each of the separate families are entitled to Rehabilitation Assistance. The following is the definition of Family and Original Family. Family" means the person and his or her spouse, minor sons, unmarried daughters, minor brothers or unmarried sisters, father, mother and other members residing with him or her and dependent on him or her for his /her livelihoods. Each of the following categories will be treated as a separate family for the purpose of extending rehabilitation benefits under this Policy. 1. A major son irrespective of his marital status. 2. Unmarried daughter / sister more than 30 years of age. 3. Physically and mentally challenged person irrespective of age and sex; (duly certified by the authorized Medical Board). For this purpose, the blind/ the deaf/ the orthopedically handicapped/ mentally challenged person suffering from more than 40% permanent disability will only be considered as separate family. 4. Minor orphan, who has lost both his/her parents 5. A widow or a woman divorcee “Original Family” means the family, which at the time of Notification under provisions of relevant Act (s) is living together in a single household with a common kitchen.

The relevant date for the purpose of deciding eligibility for R & R benefits is the date on which the preliminary notification for acquisition of land under the relevant Act. However, for the purpose of deciding eligibility for R & R benefits, the list of displaced families will be updated on the 1st of January of the year in which physical displacement is scheduled to take place provided that those families who move into the project area after the date of publication of the preliminary Notification for acquisition of land will not be eligible for any benefit.

All compensation money due to the displaced/affected families shall be paid through account payee cheques.

As regards "public property" like school building, club house, hospital, panchayat ghar, electrical installation, place(s) of worship, value of such property affected shall be deposited with the concerned District Collector. Either the project or the district administration shall take up construction at the place as would be determined in consultation with representatives of displaced persons.

The policy talks about maintaining the socio-cultural norms of indigenous and primitive tribal groups. It talks of each displaced family of indigenous category being given preferential allotment of land. It talks of indigenous communities being resettled in a compact area close to their natural habitat and those being resettled outside the district shall be given 25 per cent higher R&R benefits in monetary terms.

Families shall be eligible for employment by the industrial and mining project causing displacement or loss of all agricultural land. For the purpose of employment, each original family will nominate one member of such family. However, the families as mentioned at Para 2 (f), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of the Policy will not be considered separately for employment. Any one from among these categories may, subject to eligibility, be nominated by the family as defined in Para 2 (f) for the purpose of employment. The Project authority will make special efforts to facilitate skill up-gradation of the nominated member of each displaced/other family to make him/her 'employable' in their project The project proponent will give preference to the nominated members of the displaced / other families in the matter of employment. The order of preference will be as follows: - Displaced families losing all land including homestead land, - Displaced families losing more than 2/3rd of agricultural land and homestead land, - Displaced families losing more than 1/3rd of agricultural land and homestead land - Displaced families losing only homestead land but not agricultural land - Families losing all agricultural land but not homestead land - Families losing agricultural land in part but not homestead land (only for mining projects) Displaced/other families who are eligible to be considered for employment and families as defined shall be provided with one time cash assistance in lieu of employment/ self employment in the scale indicated. For people displaced in the water resources/national parks and sanctuary projects, assistance of agriculture land (subject to availability) is provided. If house/homestead land of any landholder is acquired for linear project or if there is total displacement due to acquisition for such project, the project authority shall provide employment to one of the members of such displaced family in the project. Wherever RPDAC decides that provision of such employment is not possible, one time cash assistance as decided by the Government will be paid by the project authority.

Some of the specific provisions for women in the Policy are that an unmarried daughter or a sister above the age of 30 will be considered as a separate family. A widow or a woman divorcee is also considered to be a separate family.

The new policy is applicable to ongoing Irrigation Projects. However, there is stipulation that no rehabilitation assistance shall be provided as per this policy where any rehabilitation assistance has been provided to the displaced family or affected family in respect of ongoing project immediately before commencement of this policy.

As per the 2006 R&R Policy, an effective Grievance Redressal Mechanism will be set up at District and Directorate level to deal with grievance of the project displaced people relating to land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation. Besides, all the project authorities shall be asked to set up an effective Grievance Redressal Mechanism relating to their project. Effective participation of the displaced communities will be ensured in the process.

The R&R Policy 2006 is an enabling guideline to address the issues of displacement. The Policy has not been made a statute and as such cannot be enforced in a court of law.

The essence of the Consent Award is to provide an opportunity to the land loser/interest holder to make a self-assessment of the compensation due to him and claim it in the prescribed manner. The self-assessment is to be discussed across the table with the Land Acquisition Collector and Project Proponent present. After consenting to the said amount he will be legally stopped from approaching the civil courts for further enhancement of the compensation amount.

Under the normal award, the compensation amount is determined on the basis of sales statistics registered in the land registration office. These prices are generally lower than the real market prices. Under Consent Award, the self-assessment is to be discussed across the table with the Land Acquisition Collector and Project Proponent present and decided as per the pre-determined principles.

The Government or the Project Authority may extend any additional benefits and provisions to the displaced families keeping in view the specific nature of displacement [and to the affected families in irrigation project area keeping in view the gravity of damage.