om e 's Ali a - Land ss De elo en - Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, India Office

the natural resources, suffer more.
Their right over land is not recognised
and in compensation they are not
considered equal partners. Most
of the policies and laws related to
rehabilitation have no provision for
female-headed households or widows
without adult sons or daughters.
Compensatory jobs go mainly to
men, and women have to go back to
homes or look for wage labour work
outside.
The impact of ongoing aggressive
growth on women could be broadly
Impact of Aggressive Growth
divided under two heads: (i) sociocultural
impact and (ii) economic
impact.
1. Socio-cultural Impact
Rural society of Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh and Orissa is alive on
a culturally networked web. Rural
folk share joys and sorrows together
as a community. Their sense of
happiness and fulfilment does not
rest on material prosperity but on
brotherhood. The place where they
live is imbued with the memories of
their forefathers. Landed property
From Plenty to Poverty
A Case Study from Dorankocha village in Chandil
Until the age of 70 Somari Devi had a prosperous household. “With over 10 acres of land
and five pair of oxen to plough the land, my family earned plenty from the land. Life was
idyllic. The neighbours also looked up to my family when they were in need and I used
to be gracious,” remembers Somari. She also had three permanent workers (dhangars)
in her household who helped her husband Sukhram Bhagat in his agriculture work. Then
Chandil dam was constructed in 1980s and the situation went downhill. Somari’s was
one of the 116 villages that got submerged in the dam. Her family had to move to the
presentvillage – Dorankocha to start life afresh.
Sukhram was initially compensated with a meagre Rs 40,000 for his lands. The money was
not enough even to construct a new house in the new village. Sukhram had thought of
buying some land with the compensation money, but could not do so because he was left
with little money after he constructed a new house in Dorankocha. “My husband took up
the job of an agriculture labourer in the new village. The earning he brought every day was
just enough to keep us going. We could not save any money. We also could not provide
better education to our children,” says Somari, with remorse at heart. Her two sons also
later became agriculture labourers. Both of them are married, but economically poor.
Somari has lost her husband Sukhram. Her life is a sordid saga of plenty to poverty.
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