What do you give to oustees who have been cleared away in the name of a developmental project? Take land, give land, says the government, without, however, seeming too eager to stick by its own cryptic formula.

The Sardar Sarovar Project, for instance, guarantees every displaced adult (defined as a male who has reached 18 years on the day the notification is issued) a minimum of 1 ha of land. But actual implementation has been an apology (See table). Documents of the World Bank and the Union ministry of rural development concur: insufficient land availability may not be allowing this ideal to be achieved.

The argument is specious, some say. "If there is insufficient land, how can the government acquire hundreds of hectares for industries?" asks Radha Kunke, a Hyderabad-based activist. Ghanshyam Shaha, political scientist and director of the Centre for Social Studies, Surat, says, "The whole issue has to be examined in a wider socio-political context. Land reforms, carried out properly, will definitely ease the problem."

Legal activist Vasudha Dhagamwar of MARG asks, "Do you want to give land to every one? At least, the absentee landlords should be kept out. Land has to go to the tiller."

Enakshi Ganguly Thukral, also of MARG, agrees that there is heavy pressure on land, but that makes it "all the more imperative that the government thinks carefully before venturing into new projects".

But all the activists agree that upgrading technical skills and educational levels to enable the oustees cope better in a changing world is a must.