question_answer

  Construction of the Rihand dam has displaced people living in the area, who accepted their sufferings as a sacrifice for the sake of their nation. But now, after thirty bitter years of being adrift, their livelihood having even become more precarious, they keep asking: "Are we the only ones chosen to make sacrifices for the nation?"   Do you think that their complaint is justified? If so, what should the government have done at that time, so that this would not come to  pass? 

Answer:

                  Their complaint is justified to a large extent, as it appears that the authorities did not protect their livelihoods while displacing them from the area where they lived. The government should have taken the following steps to rehabilitate the affected people (i) Provision of alternative livelihood: if they could not pursue the same livelihood in the place where they are shifted, they should be adequately trained and placed in the new livelihood. (ii) Provision of alternative residential facility they should be provided plots in their name at the new location along with adequate funds for building their homes. (iii) Grants of money for expenses during the settling-in period at the new location as well as compensation for displacement.