Bhubaneswar: Odisha government will this year bring a new Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy, which is likely to contain the provision of making land losers stakeholders in the projects.
Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari Monday said that the new R&R policy will ensure that land acquisition for projects is made with the proper consent of the affected people, and that no decision is imposed on them.
The earlier R&R policy was formulated in 2006 and implemented six years later.
“The state government has already started working on the new policy and it is likely to be formulated by the end of this year,” the minister said, adding that the displaced people will have the right to choose between different forms of compensation.
“There will be options like land-for-land and money-for-land. There will also be a provision for the affected people to become stakeholders in the project. They will get a proportional shareholding in the project in place of financial compensation,” the minister said.
Pujari said the proposed R&R policy will also ensure that no decision is enforced on the affected people.
He said that the new R&R policy will be made to ensure that the life and livelihood of the affected people remain protected, and will ensure the protection of land belonging to tribals because they have a special attachment to land.
The minister said the district collectors will soon be asked to submit detailed reports on affected individuals.
PTI
