Paper short abstract:

The paper focuses on the issues relevant to development-induced-displacement, inadequacies in rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy and anthropological interventions for implementation of proper R&R measures for the project affected indigenous communities due to Kovvada reservoir in India.

Paper long abstract:

After independence, India's development policies and strategies have been focused mostly on the need for irrigation and other mining projects in order to achieve higher economic growth. In recent years, due to the process of urbanization, industrialization and globalization, the tribal territories, and their common property resources (CPRs) and other natural resources (NRs) have been exposed to the exploitative market forces such as the multi national companies (MNCs). As a result, acquisition of tribal lands by the State in tribal areas has been emerged as the common phenomenon, even without providing appropriate compensation. Consequently, the project affected persons (PAPs) have been resisting all through threats of displacement and demanding for the suitable R&R package with the awareness created by or knowledge gained from the engaged learning and action anthropological interventions. Keeping this in view, the paper discusses the issues of development, displacement and rehabilitation in India with a special focus on Kovvada reservoir project in West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, the subject matter under study.