Voluntary Migration Essay

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Migration is an important source of change as it shapes and re-shapes societies, making them more diverse and complex. The decision of relocation of the particular group is reinforced by the consequences for their action in terms of resettlement and rehabilitation. Voluntary resettlement is a development induced displacement in which the willingness of the participants to resettle and the right to refuse displacement based on the rehabilitation package offered by the State government gives it an edge over involuntary resettlement. The current study aims to explore the positive impact of voluntary resettlement on the mental health of the participants. The research objective was qualitatively explored with six participants sampled through purposive …show more content…

A society is shaped and reshaped by the movement of people, thus, making it more diverse and complex. This exchange of people, knowledge and culture is what makes migration an important source of change: socially, demographically and economically [1]. Moreover, the movement of individuals within smaller units inside a country, i.e., internal migration assumes special importance as it is related to a process of change occurring within the social system [2]. Therefore internal migration is emphasised to be a significant indicator of the development of a nation [3]. Of the many kinds of displacements that cause migration, one significant type is the development induced displacement. It may either be involuntary, which is forced by development related activities, or voluntary resettlement taken up for a better living [4]. Thus, the reasons may be numerous, but, the further course of action to resettle these displaced individuals is very important because, resettlement is a life crisis that may offer opportunities as well as risks …show more content…

This approach involves giving the interested participants of displacement a right to refuse displacement based on the rehabilitation package put forward by the project authorities. The rehabilitation package differs from one state to another. For example, only Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have the laws to rehabilitate the displaced people with irrigation projects [9]. Thus, the participants negotiate a substantial share of project benefits and then take a collective decision on resettlement. The advantages of voluntary resettlement are obvious as compared to involuntary resettlement as apart from guaranteeing that the displacement will not cause any adversities, this approach facilitates the implementation of resettlement measures that have been agreed upon earlier during negotiation. Secondly, both the parties involved have an incentive to co-operate which makes them responsible to participate and offer their bit to the best of their ability. However, the feasibility of this approach depends on the existence of credible representative organisations of the displaced people and project beneficiaries and on the establishment of an effective negotiation procedure

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