Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Also called: R&R · Topic: Land Reforms, the Green Revolution and Farm Subsidies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) is the help given to families who lose their homes or their work when the state acquires land for a project. Resettlement means moving them to a new place to live. Rehabilitation means helping them rebuild their income and way of life there. R&R is given on top of the cash paid for the land. It matters because a one-time payment does not replace a lost home, job or village.
In India, R&R is covered by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, which came into force on 1 January 2014. Two sections of this Act set out how R&R works:
- Section 31 provides for an R&R award, the package each affected family is entitled to.
- Section 32 requires basic facilities in the new settlement, such as roads, water and schools.
R&R covers livelihood losers too, not only landowners. Livelihood losers are people who earned their living from the land without owning it.
Example
Suppose land is acquired for a highway. The landowners receive compensation for their plots. The families of landless farm labourers who worked those fields also get an R&R award and a place in a resettlement colony with basic facilities.
Don't confuse with
- Compensation: this is the price paid to owners for the land itself. Under the 2013 Act, it is up to 4 times the market value in rural areas and 2 times in urban areas. R&R is separate. It helps all affected families, including people who own no land, to restart their lives.