Abstract
There has been a dearth of studies on the factors that incentivize people to move, willingly, much less on those who were already forced to move. Learning from the forced displacement experiences of those in the vicinity of the Falta Special Economic Zone (FSEZ) in West Bengal, India, this study identifies factors that contribute to the willingness to (re-)move. This study uses data generated from a unique household survey administered around the FSEZ region, where people who were already forced to move and those who were not were consulted on their willingness to relocate. We find support for residential land transfer to be stronger among those with property rights, but stronger social capital and current wealth dampen it. Overall, the propensity to move and expectations for compensation are lower for those with prior displacement experiences.
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Notes
- 1.
Due to the populist revolt, as discussed in the introduction, the act has now been replaced with a more populist act (the differences between the colonial era-act and its 2013 successor are compared in the sub-section ‘Compensation in Reality’.
- 2.
These were indicated to us by participants of focus group discussions and local Panchayat officials.
- 3.
Given that the Government of India enacted a new act that governs land acquisition (and also addresses resettlement), our findings are more reflective and should be contextualized within the framework of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. A comparison of the new land bill and the Land Acquisition Act 1894 demonstrates that while those affected by the setup of FSEZs received provisions not availed in the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, they were however disadvantaged in comparison to provisions made in the recent 2013 act. Despite criticisms of increasing bureaucratic red tape in the acquisition of land by the private sector, the new act extends provisions that safeguard the interests of land owners and those dependent on that land, especially via requiring overwhelming consent among those potentially affected.
- 4.
In most instances of state-led evictions, property titles are a pre-requisite for compensation (see Shalti Research Group 2008).
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Paul, S., Sarma, V. (2019). Attitudes Towards Forced Displacement in West Bengal, India: To Move (Again) or Not?. In: Yoshino, N., Paul, S. (eds) Land Acquisition in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6455-6_8
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