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36 Soc. Change 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/sclcnge36 and id is 1 raw text is: 1-7 Social Change : March 2006 : Vol. 36 No. I Guest Editor's Preface Resettlement, the theme of this special issue of Social Change, is a development issue that tends to be neglected almost everywhere. Generally, it pops up as an urgent problem only when desperate project- affected people, demanding adequate compensation and other entitlements, threaten to paralyze project construction plans. A project that arouses such hostility against itself is least likely to promote 'greater common good' (the proclaimed goal of all development interventions); it is more likely to run into implementation problems with huge time and cost overrun implications. It will obviously be unwise to ignore the issue anymore. The fact is that resettlement has become a highly contentious issue, and this makes it difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at a solution to the problem that may be universally acceptable. Recent events surrounding the Sardar Sarovar project have clearly shown this to be the case. While efforts of the key stakeholders involved, including the central government, the states, the civil society groups, and the supreme court, led to an end of the indefinite fast undertaken by the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader to protest against increasing the dam height, but the problem has not gone away. These events have also clearly brought out how complex the problem is, and how the lack of attention to the concerns of displaced people can even fuel disenchantment with the wider national development process, well beyond the Narmada valley. India today is witnessing economic growth at a fast pace, with private sector becoming an increasingly important player in the development process. Large investments in development, especially in infrastructure projects, are flowing in. But such investments carry human costs. Projects often involve involuntary resettlement, with its potentially impoverishing impacts, especially on poorer groups. In the fast-track race for development being currently pursued, it is critical that the interests of people displaced in the process are adequately protected. The history of resettlement is not a happy one. Experience, however, suggests that problems arising from resettlement are not insurmountable. The examples of successful resettlement are not unknown. The fact is that much can be done to put project-affected people back on track and soften the impact of displacement. This, however, is possible if those responsible for managing resettlement handle the operations in a humane

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