Need to revisit the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement policies for Scheduled Tribes displaced due to major multipurpose and irrigation projects in the country-Laid

Need to revisit the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement policies for Scheduled Tribes displaced due to major multipurpose and irrigation projects in the country-Laid ADV. GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI (NANDURBAR): Displacement of Scheduled Tribes due to Large Multipurpose and Irrigation Projects including the Narmada Project. This House is informed about the large-scale displacement, land alienation, and long-standing socio-economic distress faced by Scheduled Tribe communities from the Nandurbar Parliamentary Constituency of Maharashtra, as well as other tribal-dominated regions in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, due to the construction of large multipurpose and Irrigation projects, particularly the Narmada Dam and several other major and medium dam projects. It is a matter of serious concern that a significant proportion of the displaced tribal population continues to live without adequate rehabilitation even decades after displacement. Many affected families have not received land-for-land compensation, cultivable agricultural land, housing, or sustainable livelihood support, as mandated under rehabilitation policies, judicial directions, and constitutional safeguards. Displacement has resulted in the loss of ancestral land, forest-based livelihoods, access to natural resources, and erosion of the social, cultural, and economic fabric of tribal communities. This House is further informed that the protective provisions under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and applicable rehabilitation and resettlement frameworks have not been implemented effectively or uniformly. In several cases, Gram Sabha consent and participatory processes have been bypassed, leading to inter-generational poverty, migration, and social marginalisation of Scheduled Tribe families. The matter requires urgent attention of the Government to undertake a comprehensive and time-bound review of all rehabilitation and resettlement cases relating to tribal displacement caused by the Narmada and other multipurpose projects, ensure strict enforcement of constitutional and legal safeguards, restore alienated land wherever possible, and guarantee livelihood security and dignity to affected Scheduled Tribe communities.