India: Social Development Report 2008
Displacement by development projects has emerged as a major issue causing widespread concern and demanding immediate attention. Some 60 million people have been displaced and reduced largely to a state of permanent poverty since independence. This situation is unlikely to improve given the pressures of acquiring land for private industry and now the Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The Social Development Report 2008 focuses on the displacement crisis of Project-affected Persons who are seldom adequately compensated and resettled. It advocates development that ensures minimum disruption and a share of its benefits to the affected.
With contributions from well-known social scientists, resettlement specialists, development practitioners, and human right activists, this Report:
- Presents new data on the size and impact of displacement
- Advises against indiscriminate opposition to every project
- Urges reforming the resettlement policy and the legal system
- Makes policy recommendations to improve the lives of affected people
In addition, it highlights the social impact of the right to information law, the national rural employment guarantee scheme, and the various recent initiatives in education and health.
It also provides an updated Social Development Index.