Does Owner-driven Resettlement Programme a Success? A CaseStudy of Resettlement Site in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

People around the world become homeless due to increased number of natural disasters and man-made disasters. Therefore, effective resettlement programs are vital. The objective of the research is to explore the effectiveness of Owner Driven Landslides Resettlement programme in relation to different key dimensions, policy & legal framework, beneficiary satisfaction, time, and best practices of owner-driven resettlement programmes. 100 closed-ended questionnaires were conducted on the people who affected by the landslides and dwelling in resettlement sites in Kegalle and 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with people who involved with the implementation of the relevant programme. The findings reveal that, though there is National Involuntary Resettlement Policy when it comes to practical level, the existing policy and legal framework are not supportive to implement effective change/development in the country. Further, it identified that the beneficiaries were not satisfied with the material support that they were given. The project has been failed to meet the expected time-line due to the absence of proper time-frame at the initiation of the project. Therefore, this study has proved that the owner-driven resettlement programme was not effective in relation to the aspects of practical policy and legal framework, beneficiary satisfaction, and time management. Hence, this study proposes to revisit the feasibility of national policy for resettlement and set up institutional reforms for enforcement of legislations, ensure community involvement from the planning stage to the end of the project.