Displacement of Tribals Due to Installation of Major Irrigation Project The case Study of Dhansiri Irrigation Project

Abstract

Ever since India embarked on the path of planning there started a series of infrastructure projects, be it heavy industries, dam projects or irrigation project. Most of the times when such projects are under taken the issue of the local inhabitant are not taken into consideration. The tribal peoples live in rural and interior area co existing with nature. As a result, very often the tribal population became the most sufferers in the name of development. In such situation the issues related to displacement of the tribals due to major industrial and irrigation project came up in the meeting of the Directors of TRIs held at New Delhi. As a follow up action TRI, Assam decided to study the possible impact of the Dhansiri Irrigation Project which is one of the biggest of its kind in tribal areas. The area under study is Bhairobkunda, under Udalguri subdivision. It is an eco sensitive valley situated in the foothill area of the hills of Arunachal, Assam and Bhutan. The project was developed in the confluence area or the meeting point of the river Jompani and Dhansiri, here Dhansiri is the biggest river main canal. The canals that are constructed and responsible for displacement of the tribals are known as canal B1M, canal S1B1M, canal SCB1M, canal C1, CanalC2. Length of these canals varies from 10 km to 3.5 km and average width is 33 meter. The study highlighted the issues like extent of displacement of the tribals due to installation of the project, rehabilitation scheme if any, cash compensation, extend of pending cases, problem faced by the displaced families and attitude of the local people towards the project. The study also incorporated the suggestions and recommendation for better arrangement for grievance redresses. The study was conducted in 1983 1984.