Development-phobia
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 01 , 2013 -

Kabo Leikai Evictees hold rally on May 27 2013 :: Pix - Hueiyen Lanpao

When people learn something new about development plan of the Government, most of them feel excited anticipating new things and changes to come around.

However, there are thousands of people who are phobic to development. The reason is not that they do not want development, but they fear of losing their families and homes.

In recent years, the State Government has evicted thousands of families for taking up road expansion works, dam construction and other projects.

These projects may sound "proper" at the first instance, but later they are all messed up diluting the so-called "public purpose".

The Government acquires the privately owned land for projects of public purpose through an act known as Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

This Act originated from the Colonial era when the British used to acquire private land for taking up Government projects in India and Pakistan.

Many activists are critical of this Act now. India is still adopting this colonial Act to acquire land for development projects, most surprisingly to facilitate Corporate Houses in many instances. In

fact, the term "public purpose" mentioned in the Act has been made ambiguous with development projects benefitting the elite people on one hand and suppressing the poor on the other hand.

In the case of Manipur, eviction has become a normal routine for State Government.

5-Star Hotel, Expansion of Airport, Railway Line and Lake Cleaning are some ambitious projects that have been taken up in the State.

Of course, these projects are important for the State in the backdrop of Look East Policy.

However, it is not right to simply evict the people inhabited in the areas acquired by the Government for the projects.

Whatsoever be the necessity, people should be considered first before taking up any development work. The Land Acquisition Act also says the project should be of "public purpose".

If the proposed project is for the public, then people in the area should not be harmed. They are not like birds which will fly away when their nests are demolished.

They are the people of this land and citizens of this country. They cannot be rendered homeless simply.

The Government must have taken up an alternative arrangement for their shelter if it thinks quite necessary to acquire their land for the projects.

After all, the Government is not only for those people who can have regular access to 5-Star Hotel or International Airport, but it should also serve those displaced poor and helpless families.

Eviction and displacement of thousands of families in the name of development projects have made poor people suffer from the syndrome of "development-phobia".

This syndrome only demarcates the people on the line of economic classes. It is the responsibility of the Government to consider the welfare of all people.

Development should not be aimed only at the elite class. Most of the Indian people are poor.

The Government should not work in favour of few hundreds of billionaires and millionaires.

The development projects should be planned not to affect the dwelling residences as far as possible.