Land acquisition and resource development in contemporary India

"This book derives from research and fieldwork in the rural and tribal hinterlands of India, particularly in the mineral-rich states. It looks at the nuances of land and resource politics and summarizes the long-standing land acquisition and mining debate. It discusses the relevant theoretical framework from interdisciplinary perspectives and develops an argument through the case study of Singrauli, a resource-rich region in Madhya Pradesh in India, that has seen various 'regimes of dispossession' since the 1960s. It studies the legal and policy arguments around right to property, 'fair' compensation, public purpose, and the resource curse debate around contested 'spaces' (left-wing extremism) and resource-capital relationship in redrawing geographical boundaries. Highlighting the reasons for large-scale land conflicts in India, scale of stalled investments, social movements, and evolution of land acquisition and mining laws, the book examines what led to the amendments to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act 2013 and the Mining and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 2015."