As a part of its endeavour to ensure effective implementation of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Policy, the Orissa government plans to constitute village development advisory committees.
These committees would consist of the displaced people, project authorities and the government officials at the district level.
The plan to constitute village development advisory committees is under the active consideration of the state government, said a source close to the development. It may be noted that the state government has already constituted as many as 85 Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committees (RPDACs).
Besides, there is a State Level Council on Resettlement and Rehabilitation under the chairmanship of the state chief minister which was formed in June 2008. Meanwhile, the state government in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has identified eight districts in the state with the possibility of high displacement. These eight districts include Jajpur, Angul, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Bolangir, Mayurbhanj and Rayagada. The R&R cells in these eight districts have been strengthened with the requisite manpower and infrastructure under the project.
Moreover, 20 industrial projects, mainly in areas like mining and irrigation, have been identified for monitoring of the R&R activities of these projects. The state government as well as the UNDP is putting in joint efforts for R&R activities under the project called Capacity Development to Operationalise the Orissa R&R Policy 2006.
Under this capacity building project, training cum sensitisation programmes have been conducted for various stakeholders like non-governmental organisations (NGOs), representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions, community volunteers, revenue inspectors and IPS officials. These training programmes have been conducted to create an enabling atmosphere for participatory learning to ensure the implementation of the R&R policy in a fair, equitable and transparent manner.
It may be noted that 56 training programmes have already been organised for the key R&R officials, land acquisition officers, block development officers, tahsildars, NGOs, project officials, revenue inspectors and community volunteers to name a few. This apart, consultations and review meetings have been conducted with the major industries at Kalinganagar, Japur, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Angul, Keonjhar and Rayagada. These industries have been asked to identify and bridge the gaps in their R&R activities.