More than 24.27 lakh people have been displaced so far due to construction of 266 irrigation projects in the country, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti shared the information while replying to queries. She said 24,27,916 people have been displaced till now due to such projects. In Maharashtra,7,13,136 people were dislodged due to construction of 100 major and small irrigation projects in the state.
Andhra Pradesh saw displacement of 4,64,675 people. In Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, 4,10,104 and 3,17,821 people, respectively, were shifted.
The minister said water projects are planned and implemented by state governments and project authorities, which make assessment of number of people/families displaced and formulate rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) plan.
To facilitate this process, Bharti said, the Union government has issued National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2007 and Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 was enacted for smooth implementation of the R&R action plan in respect of project-affected families.
"However, compensation for project-affected people is decided by the project authorities as per existing R&R policy of the Centre/states, whichever is more beneficial," she said.
