Post-liberalization Planned Development and Mining-Induced- Displacement in Odisha: The Emerging Scenario

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Introduction

The people of Odisha have been facing the worst kind of atrocities at present as the state violence is nexus with corporate violence resulting in large-scale forced displacement and destitution. Millions of victims are in the process of now being forcefully evicted from their homes and hearths land. Most of these people are tribals, dalits, poor farmers and other socio-economic groups. The current scenario In Odisha , an Indian bauxite giant, Utkal Alumina Company has been permitted to use large swathes of agricultural and forest lands to build a coal mine. In addition to agricultural and forest lands, which serve as the homes and livelihoods of thousands of families, vast tracts of land are being acquired through the use of military force and other violent strategies by many other corporate houses like Vedanta and South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). In many other cases, the order of state authority paved the way for forcible displacement of thousands of marginal farmers and forest dwellers for the bauxite mining across the state. India is not the only country where mining is linked with poverty and poor development outcomes. In most nations of the world, a high level of mineral dependence is associated with retarded economic performances. Across the world the mining industry has been hard-selling dreams of development, employment and growth. The government of Odisha tried to project a pro-people image by promoting the idea that mining will unleash growth in backward areas and pull the indigenous communities into the “mainstream” there by improving their lives and livelihoods. Odisha has always been considered by mainstream India as one of the country's most underdeveloped and backward regions because of its endemic poverty, large tribal population, low literacy levels, and an enduring pattern of subsistence agriculture that is the underlying frame on which this collective life at Kashipur and other tribal regions is built.

Research Questions

1. Why the weaker sections are always forced to sacrifice for the larger national interest, even though they are not the real beneficiaries and deprived of the mainstream development process?

2. Whether the existing policies answer the larger economic, social, political and ethical questions? Did the resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) policies implemented in Kahipur equip displaced people with the necessary resources and support to establish sustainable livelihoods in their new locations?

Objectives

1. To understand the impact of mining on social issues, local communities, Project affected people and women impoverishment.

2. To examine the planning process of resettlement and rehabilitation, assess the nature and extent of its implementation, and explore alternative approaches to develop an integrated understanding of mining-induced displacement and rehabilitation.

3. To understand the process of mining-induced-

displacement and indigenous livelihood at large.

Review of Literature

Amartya Sen (2000) [8], a prominent economist of the twenty-first century, highlights a significant shift in the understanding of development in recent years. He argues that this shift does not simply represent a transition from state-led development to a market-oriented approach; rather, it reflects a move away from the traditional “blood, sweat and tears” perspective towards an approach that emphasizes human agency, cooperation, and the expansion of individual freedoms and capabilities. Sen also draws attention to the economic and cultural deprivation experienced by project-affected communities, emphasizing how such deprivation can contribute to human impoverishment, social exclusion, and marginalization. Terminski (2013) [9] argued that development-induced-displacement is primarily a socioeconomic issue associated with loss or significant reduction of access to basic resources on which communities depend. Physical abandonment of the existing residence shall therefore be secondary to the loss of access to material resources such as land, pastures, forests and clean water as well as intangible resources such as socio-economic ties. Cernea (2006) [1] highlights that the language of “right of way” of “footprints” for new industries, of “special economic zones” (SEZs) or of “protected areas” (Pas) and “exclusion zones” is now louder and demanding than ever: all these demands result in physical and economic displacement. The development through major irrigation or location of heavy industry can result in displacement of people rather than rehabilitation. The fight against such projects, environmental hazards, atomic plants, and defective forest policies can form an integral part of human rights. Ploeg (2018) [10] viewed that there were major challenges related to organizational aspects, including significant time pressure from technical departments, an initial lack of planning regarding the management of community impacts and a lack of experienced staff in social departments. Together with various contextual issues, these challenges ultimately resulted in a failure to compensate and resettle all affected people in a manner that was compliant with human rights. Mathur (1998) [6] points out that the objectives of this development process include raising the living standards of the local population, but this does not happen uniformly. Certain sections of the local populations are adversely affected in the process of development. The impoverishment of project-affected communities often results from the inadequate planning and ineffective implementation of resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) measures. Cernea (1998) has identified a set of eight risks that the displaced population face, based on which he developed an ‘impoverishment risk and reconstruction model’ the eight risks are: landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalization, food insecurity, increased morbidity and mortality, loss of access to common properties and social disarticulation. George (2005) brought to the light in his study in Jharkhand, that, that the Panchayat (Extension and Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) stipulates that in fifth scheduled areas, the gramsabha (village assemblies) has to be consulted, before land is acquired for any development. But PESA is ignored while occupying the lands for mining in the tribal areas. Fernandes (2006) [4] highlights that the result of not rehabilitating displaced people is impoverishment. Most farmers have become daily wage earners, their income has declined by more than half, and over 50 per cent of them are jobless and have slipped below the poverty line. Many of them have pulled their children out of school in order to earn for the family. In the absence of other sources of income many have taken to crime or prostitution. Downing (2002) [3] argued that the problem of mining-induced displacement and resettlement poses major risks to societal sustainability. Mining displaced 2.55 million people in India between 1950 and 1990 that are being exploited with open-cast mining and are located in regions of high population density especially on fertile and cultivable lands with poor definitions of land tenure and politically weak and powerless populations, especially indigenous peoples.

Materials/Method The data for the study was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The study has used qualitative and content analysis approaches. The research is based on the study of the displaced families (DFs), displaced people (DPs) and project affected people (PAPs) by the mining industry in Kashipur. The field, therefore, comprised Kashipur block of Rayagada district, Odisha, India. The total households of six sample villages are 619 out of which the total sample is 119. The total numbers of displaced families from the villages are 38 and the total number of affected population is 81. Snowball sampling has been used to meet the requirements of the objectives of the study. Research tools like participant interview, focused group discussion (FGD), questionnaire and interview schedule were used.

Data Analysis/Results Case of Kashipur: A Field Analysis from Ground Reality Rayagada is one of the most backward districts of Odisha under which Kashipur comes. Rayagada district which is mostly famous for its under development, extreme poverty and violent social environment. Out of the total population of the district nearly 72.03% of the populations are coming under below poverty line.The jhodia, kandho, paraja tribes and the dombos, panos (untouchables or dalits) constitute a large majority of the population that is around 70-80% of the total population of the block. The major areas where they are concentrated are located in the region of Baphilimali hills and largely depend on agriculture for their survival. Geographically this region may be divided into two parts like the forest region and the lower plane.Kashipur block in Rayagada district falls within the Fifth Schedule area of the Indian Constitution, which provides safeguards for tribal land rights and restricts the transfer of land to non-tribals, including through government leases, subject to the applicable legal provisions.The Schedule provides tribal communities with specific rights and protections under the Indian Constitution that aim to prevent the dispossession of Scheduled Tribes and ensure the preservation of their unique cultures and livelihoods. Throughout the generation the people especially the tribals and the dalits of the region mainly depend on the dongar (forest) or podu (shifting) cultivation mainly on the mountain hilly region and collecting certain forest products to meet their basic requirements. Kashipur always comes to the headlines of any national news every year for its vast majority of poverty, starvation death, malnutrition death, malaria, tuberculosis which is very common to the area. While reviving the history of Kashipur one can find the history of oppression is not accidental by the so-called social superior either by the social structure of caste or class and by the outsider to the region.

Resources of the Mining The Baphlimali and the Nayamgiri hills of Kashipur accounted for about 1000 million tons of Bauxite which is estimated for 69.7% of India’s bauxite reserves. This region of Odisha, mostly from the western part, contributes around 13% of the world's bauxite. The most affected villages due to the mining project are Kucheipadar, Bagrijhola, Barigaon, Maikanch, Korol, Tikiri, Ramibeda, Dimundi and Kendukhunti. The cost of the product of the mining will have an adverse impact on the environment, economic condition of the displaced people, particularly it has an adverse impact which contaminates the water, and destroys the perennial streams of the Baphilmali.

Demographic Profile of the Area As the basic information reveals that the project only six villages were affected and few households will be displaced due to the project. But actually, the total number of villages which are directly or indirectly influenced or affected is around 108 villages. The total land which are taken by the mining authority is around 78.120 hacter of forest land, 66.731 hacter is chhote jhad ke jungle and 134.975 is bade jhad ke jungle and 2868 acres agricultural land .This project threaten a displacement of at least 20,000 the inhabitants of the locality who are mainly consist of the tribal, the dalits and other marginalized as well as lower socio economic groups of the area. The refusal of the local state to intervene in favour of the poor, the role of exclusionary social practices and caste dominance in influencing the terms of transactions for the marginalized groups in the agrarian markets and the dominance of local landowning class all of these have elements of coercion, both implicit and explicit.

Demographic Profile of Displaced Households and Project Affected Persons Although the project affected around 80 villages, the present study is about five selected villages which include two villages which are displaced and the rest are project affected villages. The reason for selecting these villages is, first, PAPs villages are within 50 to 1000 meters distance from the plant site. The second reason is the presence of social categories of the villages i.e. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and of other backward communities. Each village has its distinct character. Here an attempt is made to understand and compare their socio-economic, cultural, civil and political rights enjoyed at pre-displaced and post-displacement sites. The sample is chosen according to the size of the households in the village. Table 1 shows the village wise social categories and the size of the sample.

Table 1: Social Composition of the Respondents Family Sl. no. Name of the Villages Social Categories wise Household Respondent from Displaced Family Respondent from Project Affected Family SC ST SC ST SC ST 1 Ramibeda - 46 - 12 - 17 2 Kendukhuti 59 - 24 3 -- 3 Nuapoda, - 32 - 4 4 Dimu.ndi 45 87 - - 5 10 5 Koral 300 50 2 28 14 Total 404 215 26 12 36 45 Total House Hold: 619 , Total Sample of DP-38, Total sample of PAPs-81, Total Sample: 119 Source: Field Study in Kashipur Ramibeda and Kendukhuti are both villages comprising displaced families (DFs), with the majority of residents belonging to the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities, respectively. The total households of these villages are 46 and 59 correspondingly. From these two villages 40% of the sample is chosen to examine the pre-displaced and the post displaced conditions and state of socio-economic, cultural, political and civil rights. The sample families of Ramibeda are 29 and Kendukhuti is 27. These villagers are settled in the Resettlement and Rehabilitation colony near Nua Poda junction. The villagers have no information regarding the proposed proposal in this region. As most of the political leaders and local bureaucrats are involved in this, it is one of the hidden politics among them to not be informed among the innocent land looser and displaced people. On the other hand frequently attempts were made from the side of the company as well as Government to deprive people’s right to livelihood and peaceful living condition by forcibly acquisition of our land and establishment of the industry on our land which will not only create environment pollution but will result in the stoppage/drying up of the perennial source of water streams.

Peaceful Protest and State Repression As it is already mentioned in the earlier chapters, India is a party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and it assured the UN that it would protect and promote the rights which are ensured in it. In UDHR, Article 13(1) affirms that every individual has the right to move freely and choose their place of residence within the territory of any state. Similarly, Article 20(1) recognizes everyone’s right to participate in peaceful assemblies and form associations. The Indian constitution has also guaranteed in Article 19, (1) (b) that all citizens shall have the right “to assemble peacefully and without arms”. There were several protests against the Utkal Alumina project in Kashipur by the affected people. The protest has raised questions of equity, fairness, justice, and equality before law, in the matter of distribution of benefits and burdens. Today the project affected people are no longer in a mood to suffer displacement along with its concomitant attributes like occupational degeneration, social disorientation, pauperization, loss in dignity and often getting cheated of the compensation amount, which makes the experience a trauma. This has given rise to protest, marked by growing militancy (Sarangi, Pradhan & Mohanty, 2005) [7]. The state has different dimensions of response to the movement. In the first dimension of the state against this background, thousands of struggling masses all over Odisha were arrested while thousands have been framed under false and trumped up charges. The second aspect of the state’s response to these protest movements has involved taking action against civil society organisations that are perceived to have instigated violence. Three non-government organizations (NGOs) operating in Kashipur area were de-registered and their grants were cancelled as part of the strategy to contain the movements. The third form of response has been to treat these popular movements as handiwork of the Maoists and the extremist groups. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) has significantly expanded its base in southern and many other parts of Odisha. This has been used by the state agencies to dub all popular movements as violent struggles against development. In recent years, the magnitude of those who are being forced out of their land and are being forced to migrate to different urban cities to earn a livelihood has expanded manifold. In this context, the selective exercise of state power by influential sections of rural society has once again played a significant role.

The Kashipur struggle against mining is led at two levels – one within the Constitutional framework where the Prakrutik Sampad Surakhya Parishad (PSSP), the local organization, demands for the implementation of Fifth Scheduled of the Constitution. Similarly, it also argues for the implementation of Panchayat (Extension for Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, wherein the gram sabha (village assembly) of the village should give its consent for any development projects coming up in the scheduled area. In this case, the Kashipur movement projects the failure of the state in implementing constitutional provisions. On the other hand, the movement also invokes the age-old traditional rights of the indigenous people to control, preserve and manage the forests and natural resources. That is why the people of this region formed a number of organizations to lead the movement (Manjit, 2006) [5].

The Post-Displacement Application of the Cerneas’ Risk Model in Kashipur Although Micheal Cernea developed his model as an ex-ante device to plan for rehabilitation and resettlement, it is applied here to measure the impacts of displacement in Kashipur bauxite mining. The justification is that Cernea's systematic analysis of the components of impoverishment risks and the strategies to counter them also help to identify the failure and success of a project already implemented as well. Cernea's model is used here as a tool of evaluation resettlement records of the Utkal Alumina Industry.

Landlessness For analyzing landlessness, legal land holding of the affected villages has been taken as the sole variable.

Table 2: Agricultural Land lost for the UAIL project by DPs and PAPs: Sl.no. Name of the villages Total land acquired for the project Types of land and quantity 1 Kucheipadar Approximately 150 acres of paddy land and 100 acres are of dry land, one river Minimum two crops annually in each variety of land 2 Maikanch One river is coming under the UAIL mining activities no 3 Ramibeda More than 150 acres of land Both paddy land and agricultural land 4 Kendukhunti Above 100 acres of land Both paddy land and dry land 5 D. Koral and Tala Koral Around 850 acres of land Mostly consists of agricultural land 6 Bagrijhola Nearly 65 acres Mostly agricultural land 7 Dwimundi 67 acres of land All are paddy land

8 Displaced

Colony land and household, common resource property paddy land , vegetables cultivation So it is revealed from the table that the average land holding of the displaced people in the new located areas decreased and the land holder became land less for all the categories because there is no land rehabilitation plan for the displaced families. They were given compensation and not land for land. In the case of the tribal and dalit who are complexly dependent upon their land now remain helpless and getting no support from the industry.

Marginalization In this study the small farmer and landless household are the worst affected people due to eviction because they were working on the land of others as a labourer and now they are not getting land to work as an agricultural labourer. As a result they have to depend upon their female members and children who are highly unskilled and work as a daily wage labourer in nearby places. The only way to get away from the impoverishment trap is that of distribution of productive lands to those who lost their land and labour, so that all people can start cultivation after shifting to a new location. It is found that more than 70% of the displaced families had spent their compensation money on lavish and wasteful consumptions. None of them made investment of the compensation money in any business, productive land, put the amounts in terms of deposits, or made investment in shares and debentures for better returns. Many of them spent the money on unproductive things including liquor, drugs, gambling, marriage ceremonies, purchase motor vehicles, luxurious goods and many more unnecessary occasions. The victim reportedly spent around one third of their earnings in buying country liquor or foreign liquor, instead of making traditional and local drinks at home as they used to prepare before displacement.

Loss of Access to Common Property Resources For the poor people, particularly for the landless and asset less, loss of common property resources belonging to the local communities represent a cause of income and livelihood deterioration and are usually side lined and not properly compensated in developmental projects (Cernea, 2007).The study indicates that there has been a substantial loss of common property as compared to the pre-displaced situation. In the pre-displaced situation,70% scheduled caste(SC), 90% ST families and 20% other caste families had encroached forest/government land, but here in the resettlement site nobody has this type of land. Similarly, while before displacement every household had access to grazing land, in the new resettlement site, only 16% of ST, 10% of SC and 6% other caste families have got access to the grazing land. Earlier there was a particular place for burial ground in villages, but in the relocated site there is no place for burial ground. People cremate the dead body on their own land. Further accessibility to forest was free in the old villages but it has been restricted in the relocated site. In Kashipur, forests serve as a vital source of livelihood opportunities and food security for many people, particularly forest-dependent communities such as tribal populations, dalits, and the rural poor. The rural poor collect the minor forest products like fodder, fuel, fruits, wood etc. and often earn little money by selling them in the local markets.

Homelessness According to the rehabilitation policy of the state government and the utkal alumina industry, all the people displaced due to the construction of this mining plant have got housing facilities by the company. The study shows that 117out of 147 households had good houses and few of them only had houses with bad conditions in the pre-displacement period. Whereas now all are given the housing facilities but these houses are extremely in bad condition because they were unable to repair the houses and there are not such provisions on the part of the mining company or governmental policy. The rooms are limited and small in structure. In the resettlement colony the displaced dalit and tribal are finding it difficult to maintain and repair their houses. Since the Resettlement Colony was an uninhabited forest land, the area was full of termites and other insects which caused great damage to the roof which required replacement every alternate year. Although a few of them improved their housing conditions, the majority of them failed to do so. This shows that people have not been homeless to a large extent but, there are no houses in the new resettlement colony with running water, adequate drainage system and toilet facilities inside the house.

Social Disarticulation The involuntary and forced displacement tears apart the existing social fabric by dismantling the existing pattern of social organization and interpersonal ties (Cernea, 1997) [2]. The eviction of the people from their existence is the most serious aspect of displacement from the point of throwing them from their natural surroundings. These natural surroundings are not provided in their new located areas and colonies which in turn weakens the social and physical networks. During the field study in Kashipur, the study found various manifestation of social disarticulation within the kinship system such as the loosening of socio-cultural bonds, growing alienation and anomie, the weakening of control on interpersonal behavior and lower cohesion on community and family structures. Participation on group activities came down and leaders became conspicuously absent from resettlements. From the study it is seen that all the families of SC and ST were having more joint families before displacement and after displacement the number of families came down and the joint family system was very negligible in the resettlement colony. Hence it clearly shows that the social cohesion between the members of the displaced families has been shattered due to displacement. Before displacement family members were dependent on the entire family, but after relocation, the family became more dependent on employed members of the house. So there is a shift of individual status among the family members with earned members assuming more importance and non-working members losing status. It says that the social relation between the people has weakened and the intra-family relationship among the people has decreased.

Food Security Prior to displacement, in the old villages, the families were growing paddy, vegetables, fruits and many more agricultural and food products in all the season. Presently at the villages and the resettlement colony, neither there is any agricultural land provided by the project authority nor any forest remained unaffected by the mining plant. Some families have land but it’s quite away from the resettlement colony and there are no adequate water facilities or irrigation projects to supply water for sustainable agriculture. The production level has significantly decreased in this area after the establishment of bauxite mining. The yield rate has decreased in each and every crop drastically which has shown in the table below.

Table 3: Production of Crops Before & After Displacement Sl. no. Crops Crop Yield(Kg/Acre)

7 Sugarcane, - -

8 Groundnut, 150 45 9 Mustard, Til, Jute, 200 123 Table 3 says that the production level has come down drastically because all the irrigated land has been taken away for the mining projects and the available land which is comparatively inferior to the former one is far away from their home without any adequate facilities for agriculture.

Increased Morbidity and Mortality Serious decline in health resulting from displacement caused social stress, insecurity, psychological trauma and the outbreak of relocated related illness, particularly parasitic and vector-born diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis. Unsafe water supply and poor sewage systems increase vulnerability to epidemics and chronic diarrhea, dysentery, etc. In the post displacement scenario in Kashipur, when people settled in the new location, from that day onwards they have been confronting so many health problems and difficulties in the new environment. The table shows the main problems faced by displaced people in the resettled colony.

Table 4: Health and Sanitation Difficulties in the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Colony Sl. no Difficulties Numbers of household N=147 Percentage 1 Health facility 127 86.39 2 Drinking water 111 75.5 3 Sewage system 97 65.98 4 electricity 116 78.00 5 Transportation &Communication 47 31.97 One can easily find out from table 4 that the most important problem for the people is to get adequate health facilities and water supply in resettled colonies. People say that there is no medical centre or hospital in this area. People often go to the health centre nearby provided by the company but without adequate facilities and they always get ill-treatment. Because of the lack of a proper sewage system, the waste water and dust creates unhealthy atmospheres which cause various skin diseases among the people in the resettled colony. Joblessness Joblessness is one of the major factors, which has been heavily responsible for impoverishment and marginalization of the displaced people because of the tremendous loss of employment opportunities. In this study to assess as to what extent joblessness has been overcome and affected the victim in the relocated site has been examined.

Table 5: Occupation Available Sl.no Various Occupation Number of Households Employment Before Displacement Employment after Displacement 1 Agriculture 89 30 2 Minor forest product seller 25 7

3 Brick makers 8 5

4 Other works 25 11 Table 5 shows that, there has been a decrease in the percentage of the tribal and dalit households in the resettlement colony. The average number of days a year a displaced family getting work has also reduced significantly in the resettlement colony. Study revealed from the displaced villages, some of the displaced have received temporary employment in project related jobs. But such jobs are short lived and non-sustainable which are given during the construction of the mining company. The various technical and high level jobs do not fit into the local displaced people because most of them are illiterate and unskilled workers. This led to a serious employment problem for the displaced people.

Availability of Basic Amenities and Infrastructures From table 6 it is clear that the majority of the displaced households are unsatisfied with existing facilities and the way it functions. The researcher observed that the colony and the villages where the affected population reside are in very poor and backward conditions. The resettlement colony was poorly conceived and lacked basic facilities such as drinking water, educational infrastructure and health facilities. For instance, before being displaced, the people had used the spring water flows from the mountain and available in their village. When they shifted they lost this source. The company had provided only a few tube wells for 147 families. To make matters worse, the resettlement area did not provide for the traditional places of religious worship or cremation/burial grounds; nor did it consider the needs of village councils which were disrupted during the resettlement. During the entire displacement and resettlement process, UAIL did not bother to consult the affected people and communities or involve them in the decision making process or establishment of the basic facilities.

Table 6: Availability of Basic Amenities and Infrastructures SL No Facilities Available Conditions 0f available facilities 1 School 1 primary school No teacher, no regular class 2 Hospital UAIL, health centre No proper facility available, no emergency case 3 Houses R&R houses Bad condition, small rooms 4 Water facility 2 tube well Not functioning properly 5 electricity available Limited time

13 Sewage system yes Bad condition

Environmental Implications It is now observed that over the years by deviating their goals of mass employment generation, the Utkal Alumina industry destroys the self-sustainable subsistence living of directly displaced families, day by day they are encroaching upon and destroying the resource base of the other ecosystem people in their regions of operation. Before the setting of Utkal alumina the entire area was covered by forest in more than 70 percent of the landmass. According to the opinion of the villagers it is clear that the most dangerous impact of the UAIL project in the Kashipur region is the sewage disposal and the environmental crisis as the outcome of the pollution by the mining. The most visible impact of mining is the red mud pond. In the Kashipur region the villagers which are going to be adversely impacted are the source of many large rivers, rich forest wealth and mineral resources; it provides sustainable means of livelihood not only to the local indigenous people, the tribal and dalit, but also to large many ecosystem dependent communities. Another striking feature is destruction of the perennial streams which is around 130 in number and the sources of three major rivers in this area namely the Indravati, Nagabali and Bansadhara. Industrialization in this region has generated more exploitative and disruptive effects on the environment besides its eutrophic, chemical and industrial stresses. The rate of extraction of natural resources is far more than the nature’s reproductive capacity.

Discussion

To overcome the impoverishment caused by the social disarticulation, the strategy which can be followed is that the project displaced households of the one village and one community should be resettled in one location site. The study finds from the field surveys that medical centers are located very far away from the relocated site and during emergency periods people often face communication and transportation problems. Based on the field reality the following strategies can be applied to tackle the situation. Each relocation and resettlement colony should be selected in a manner which will be nearer to a health Centre. Provision should be made by the government for regular water supply and proper sewage system. The development projects have to go beyond the economic and technical aspects by combining them with social components and by moving away from a purely engineering view of development as building the physical infrastructure. There is no development if it impoverishes the people. It has to be based on the resources of the region, the main ones being its mine, fertile land and educated youth. Technical alternatives have to be found to the projects based on these resources.

Conclusion

India has taken significant steps towards development, yet serious problems remain, the most striking of which is a significant number of people remain below the poverty line. From the above analysis it is clear that the development projects and economic reforms somehow failed to meet the needs of the tribal people. We have studied the process of deprivation of communities sustaining themselves on the environment. The State presents development as a solution but it results in their marginalization and the vicious circle of a transition away from their sustainable culture. It shows the need for a search for alternatives. One cannot deny the need for development but the projects that displace such big numbers are not the answer. Their technology and heavy capital investment cannot create the alternative the people need but only produce some income for the State. We believe that one has to search for another development based on the rich natural and human resources of the region.