A Study on Displaced People Due to Road Development Projects and its Impact on their Poverty Level (With Reference to Southern Highway Project)

Abstract

Poverty creates many social problems and it directly affects the development process of a country. Road development is considered as one of the strategies of the development process. The aim of this study was to identify how the acquisition of lands, resettlement and road development influenced the peoples economy. This research alsd intended to evaluate the socio - economic status of the affected people. This study has compared the socioeconomic conditions of affected people before and after the development project. Functional method, survey method, and comparative method were used as research methods of this study. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were the data collecting techniques. 10,296 lands of 22 divisional secretariats have been used for the Southern Highway project. 25 families residingat Prembrok estate, Rusiru Uyana and Dorsont estate Sathutu Uyana of Dodamgoda divisional secretariat were taken as sample of this study. Loss of land ownership has been badly affected on social economic status of people. People who were in higher social economic positions before the road development project were affected mostly by the road development project. Bribery and corruptions , that had been taken place at the time of payment of compensations, has deprived the lawful owner of the land, their legitimate claims. Even the people who received their dues properly were not able to utilized the compensations properly thereby aggravating their poor economic state.