Development And Marginalisation: A Study Of The Bcpl Plant

Abstract

Development is a multi dimensional phenomenon which includes every aspect of
human life. Development projects are meant for the development of the society as a
whole but in the recent times many development projects have been found to have
adverse implications on the human security for certain groups of people. The benefits of
the development projects are not equal to everyone. The Brahmaputra Cracker and
Polymer Limited (BCPL) project is also assumed to have all round development for the
whole society but it has adverse impact. The BCPL project has resulted in the loss of
residential place of more than 500 families and most of the people are from the tea
garden labourer community. It has also threatened the livelihood of the marginalized
community who are living in the adjacent areas. People who were displaced from their
houses were promised to resettle them to other places, but till now no initiative has
been taken for the re-settlement of these people by the concerned authority. Thus, it
becomes important to discuss the impact of developmental projects and industries on
the livelihood security of the concerned communities who are solely dependent on
particular engagements like fishing, agriculture, or similar professions. The lives of
many people are at risk after the sudden act of establishing industries affecting their
source of livelihood without adopting regenerative measures to manage the
accumulated waste and developing alternative avenues for survival. This paper tries to
analyse the negative impact of BCPL plant on the livelihood of marginalized community.