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

like tea, rubber and cinnamon have difficulties in cultivating the remainingsmall areas of land.That land was highly productive. It was cultivated with extension servicesand subsidies from the government. What is left now is just a strip of land.We cannot cultivate cinnamon on that any more. We abandoned it.- Cinnamon cultivator, HomagamaThose that are on a recovery path are those with large holdings who,irrespective of the proportion lost, were able to absorb the loss either byincreasing the productivity of the remaining land or replacing land with thecompensation.The AP lost 279 perches of cinnamon land and purchased approximately120 perches as replacement land using the compensation money. Theproductivity of the new land is higher as the new land was a young cultivationas against the cultivation on the land that was acquired.- Field enumerator notes, WelipitiyaAPs with smaller holdings were more easily demotivated and cultivating smallplots resulted in dis-economies of scale.Large compensation paymentCompensation was decided based on factors such as location of the land inproximity to a developed area, size of the lot, method of livelihood for whichthe land was used (crop type, level of commercial establishment), value ofbuilding/structures on the lot and ownership type.Where relocation has happened, larger compensation has contributed torecovery. There is greater possibility of buying new land or assets. It alsoprovides cushioning to subsist on during the recovery period.In comparison to the compensation given for commercial properties, housesand agriculture cash crop properties, the compensation given to paddy landshas been less. Most of the paddy lands received low compensation and thecompensation varied, with higher value given in urban areas like Homagamaand Maharagama and lower rates in rural areas like Imaduwa and Welipitiya.Given the nature of inheritance of paddy lands, about 50% were jointlyowned and the compensation had to be divided among the many owners.52