Development of socio-economic impact assessment methodology applicable to large water resource projects in India

The genesis of socio-economic impact assessment (SIA) in India is pressure from funding agencies like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and simi lar institutions. Of late, these institutions have stressed appraisal of en vironmental concerns as a precondition for financial support to large infra -structure projects. However, SIA studies are easier to conceptualise than to implement, because the issues involved are nebulous, complex, highly nua nced, difficult to define, and not easily amenable to quantification. These are some of the reasons for the cursory treatment of socio-economic impact studies in India as a formality to satisfy monitoring and funding agency r equirements and not as a tool for ensuring maximum social good through the developmental process. However, proper implementation of the concept of SIA in essential in attaining the goals of sustainable development. Ensuring s ocial justice, i.e. preventing the continued impoverishment, displacement, social dislocation, and marginalisation of the weaker sections of Indian so ciety, who always seem to bear the burden of adverse effects of such large infra-structure projects in disproportionate numbers, is also a goal of SIA . Increasing ambivalent attitudes and mounting opposition towards the imple mentation of large water resources projects of late in India necessitate sy stematic, transparent, and exhaustive consideration of all relevant socio-e conomic issues before implementation of such projects. The objective of thi s study was to develop a comprehensive methodology for SIA for large water resource projects in India. The methodology was based on the review of the literature and other means and implicitly addresses the major goals of SIA sustainable development and the achievement of social justice related to de velopment.