Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement — Policy and ... - CEPA

Ensuring an Equitable and Participatory Process forInvoluntary Resettlement: Land Acquisition andResettlement Committees under theSouthern Transport Development ProjectNilakshi De Silva 1 and Neranjana Gunetilleke 2AbstractThe introduction of Land Acquisition and Resettlement Committees (LARC) isan important change to the existing system of determining compensation forland acquired for public purpose. Its primary role is to operationalise theprinciple of determining compensation at replacement value and providing aconsultation space for affected parties.Study of the resettlement activities of the STDP shows very clearly that LARChad served its intended role and had a beneficial impact on Affected Persons(APs). Looking to the potential for LARC to be adopted as policy in Sri Lankathere needs to be acceptance of the broad principles underlying it as well asa critical evaluation of the implications of the detailed policy and itsimplementation.This paper draws on evidence and knowledge generated by CEPA in thecapacity of Independent External Monitors to the Resettlement Activities ofthe STDP, 2006 – 2008. It also draws on an assignment to review the1Nilakshi De Silva is a Senior Professional at the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA). Herareas of interest are development and public policy, evaluation and impact monitoring. Nilakshihas over ten years of experience with public and non-government sectors as well as multilateralagencies. She has a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Publicand International Affairs, Princeton University, USA.2Neranjana Gunatilleke is a Senior Professional at the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA).She has over ten years of professional experience in poverty research, impact monitoring andevaluations, and working with development programmes to maximise the impact of theiractivities on poverty. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University ofColombo and obtained her MPhil in Development Studies from IDS, University of Sussex, UK.165