Land and forest are the most important concerns of tribals. Therefore, the guiding principle should be that tribals should not be dislocated from wherever they inhabit. Should it become absolutely necessary to dislocate them, it must be by way of exception rather than rule and they; must be settled with their informed consent. Treating compensation as a panacea of all the ills associated with tribal land alienation should be discouraged completely.
The disproportionately large impact of displacement of tribals is evident from the fact that at least 55% of all displaced people are tribals and in States like Gujarat the proportion is 76%. It has been an important reason for their pauperization, often leading them to a state of shelter-less and asset-less destitution. The presumption that displacement is an inevitable consequence of all developmental efforts needs to be reassessed in the light of the enormous cost of human suffering in such projects. The need to avoid such large-scale displacement, particularly of tribals and in cases of unavoidable displacement, their comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) has become one of the central issues of the developmental process itself.
