(a) Development-induced displacement poses serious challenges. Mention its causes, consequences and solutions. (20 marks) (b)…

(a) Development-induced displacement: causes, consequences and solutions

Development-induced displacement is the forced removal of people from their homes and livelihoods by projects meant for public or economic benefit.

Causes: large dams (Sardar Sarovar, Tehri, Polavaram), mining and power plants, highways, railways and airports, industrial areas and special economic zones, urban renewal and conservation areas. Land is acquired where people are poor and politically weak, so tribal and Dalit communities bear a large share.

Consequences, following Cernea's risks: landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, ill health, loss of common property, and social disarticulation. Culture and sacred places are lost, and resettlement sites often have poor services. Many displaced families end as urban slum dwellers, and the gain goes to others.

Solutions: avoid or reduce displacement through alternative designs; do social impact assessment and obtain consent as required by the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, with compensation and rehabilitation; give land-for-land and livelihood restoration before eviction; respect the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and PESA; share project benefits with the affected; and set up grievance bodies and monitoring. The aim should be that no one is worse off after the project.

(b) Accessibility and affordability in food security of the developing world

Food security means that all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Availability alone is not enough; it must be accessible and affordable.

Accessibility has physical aspects (roads, storage, markets, public distribution outlets) and social aspects (caste, gender, class). In remote areas of Africa and the Indian hills, food exists in the country but cannot reach households. Affordability means purchasing power: high food prices and low or irregular incomes push the poor to cheaper, less nutritious diets. FAO reports that over three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, with most in Asia and Africa. Amartya Sen's entitlement approach explains famine, as in Bengal in 1943, as a failure of entitlement, not of supply.

Policy responses: India's National Food Security Act, 2013 supplies subsidised grain to about two-thirds of the population; public distribution, free-grain schemes in the pandemic, mid-day meals, and income support. Stronger rural infrastructure, buffer stocks, price stability, jobs and nutrition programmes address both dimensions.

(c) Environmental issues in regional planning

Regional planning aims at balanced development of a region through growth poles, corridors, industrial zones and infrastructure. In practice, economic and social goals have dominated, and environmental limits are neglected.

Reasons: plans do not use ecological carrying capacity, environment impact assessment applies to single projects, not to whole plans, and strategic environmental assessment is not mandatory. Environment agencies are consulted late, and enforcement is weak.

Examples: unplanned growth in the Delhi National Capital Region has depleted groundwater and degraded Aravalli; encroachment on wetlands and floodplains worsened the Chennai floods of 2015 and the Kerala floods of 2018; mining and road projects in the Western Ghats and Uttarakhand raise landslide risk.

Remedies: use river-basin and ecological regions as planning units, zone ecologically sensitive areas, adopt strategic environmental assessment, follow carrying-capacity studies and Coastal Regulation Zone norms, involve local bodies and communities, and link regional plans with climate and disaster risk planning.