16 Jan Navigating Land, Climate and Migration in India’s cities and villages
Insights from the 8th India Land and Development Conference
Written by Sheetal Patil
Edited by Sofia Juliet Rajan
Panel discussions at the India Land and Development Conference (2024) co-hosted by Indian Institute for Human Settlements and Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development delved into the intricate relationships among land relations, climate change, and labour migration, offering perspectives on rural and urban India. The discussions started with an overview of the Climate Change Local Adaptation Pathways (CLAPs) project, which aims to co-create interventions and metrics for successful climate change adaptation by examining existing local action in Indian cities and rapidly changing rural areas.
Here’s a snapshot of conversations from the conference:
Land-use Change, Climate change and Aspirational Migration from Rural India
The first panel, featuring Prof. Dhanmanjiri Sathe, Liby Thomas Johnson, Sonu Tewari, looked at issues in rural India.
Prof. Sathe shared insights from her study on land acquisition in peri-urban India over the past 100 years. The study suggested that land acquisitions can be made more attractive for farmers through sustainable compensation packages acceptable both in the short and long term. The high one-time compensations create a lose-lose situation for both farmers and promoters of the new economic activity. She emphasised that sustainable compensation packages must include optional choice of employment in return for lost land, monetary compensation based on the intensity of the proposed activity on the acquired land, and return of a certain proportion of developed land.
Liby Johnson opined that land should be viewed as both visible and invisible features, including what lies beneath the surface. This will help reimagine below-ground aquifers in Southern Odisha’s hilly landscapes. He emphasised that the slope of the land influences people’s livelihoods choices, with higher slopes exposing communities to increased climate risks and higher levels of uncertainty. These uncertainties and risks, he noted, are further dependent on an individual’s social status.
On migration, he explained that reasons for migration from source areas span a continuum – from food security or daily sustenance to wealth creation, and from distress to aspirational migration.
“With improved public distribution systems, distress migration has come down but climate uncertainties, mostly around weather, water and local market, continue to drive migration. So public discourse and policies should align with local aspirations while addressing climate risks.”
— Liby Johnson, Gram Vikas
Sonu Tewari discussed the compounded vulnerabilities of the Sundarbans region, and how its complex history of colonisation and resource extraction has exacerbated its vulnerability to climate-induced disasters. The colonial administration viewed the Sundarban delta as a grand reservoir of rice for the city of Kolkata, suspending land tenure systems to reclaim land for agriculture and migrate labour populations for extractive production. Over time, the land reclamations deteriorated the ability of land to flow or change shape in response to tidal force and destroyed its natural defences against cyclones and other climatic events.
Poorly planned and managed eco-tourism and forest conservation practices have resulted in changes in topologies such as coastal erosion and loss of land. Current relocation efforts have focused on landed populations, leaving the landless to adapt through temporary migration by able-bodied men. This leaves the vulnerable population to in-situ maladaptation practices and creates further vulnerabilities. She emphasised the need for a nuanced understanding of migration patterns and the importance of considering the social and ecological factors that shape these movements.
Exclusionary Urbanisation, Informal Migrant Challenges and Narrative Shift in Urban IndiaThe second panel with three eminent panellists—Prof. Ram Babu Bhagat, Divya Varma, Benoy Peter—deliberated on the issues in urban India.
Using a value chain assessment analogy, Prof. Bhagat described urbanisation as the transformation of “place” into “space” through various means, including technological advancements.
“Such transformations generate inequality, further exacerbated by risks due to climate change. Historical evidence shows that urbanisation is not limited to post-industrial revolution times. It is a continuous process, creating and recreating space through time and space compression. Urbanisation can never be halted or completed. We need to widen our limits by understanding the process of production of space and place, driven by the push towards freedom, fraternity and equality.”
— Ram Babu Bhagat, Visiting Professor TISS, GIPE and IHD
Divya Varma highlighted the precarious lives of 140 million informal migrant labourers, who form the backbone of urban India but are often excluded from urban governance and public services. Most of this migration is seasonal circular, predominantly by marginalised communities, who lead trans-local lives in cities and face a market that violates labour laws. Climate change only worsens these challenges, especially for those living in vulnerable peri-urban areas. She called for inclusive enumeration processes and universal social rights.
Benoy Peter emphasised that cities are becoming increasingly exclusionary for migrants. Drawing from joint studies by Gram Vikas and the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development on migration from rural Odisha, he highlighted the complex interplay of factors—landlessness, lack of opportunities, wage differentials, and climate change—that drive rural-urban migration. The invisibility of migrants within urban systems limits their access to essential services and resources. He advocated for regulated housing markets and rural development to mitigate forced migration.
Cross-cutting Themes from Rural and Urban Panels
While each panel was enriching in their individual sense, three major cross-cutting themes emerged from the deliberations. These themes could be imagined to be placed in the intersections of the focus areas covered in the discussions.
Climate Change and Vulnerabilities: Climate change intensifies risks in both rural and urban settings. Policies must integrate environmental considerations, such as slope-specific land use in Odisha and sustainable relocation strategies in the Sundarbans.
Social Equity and Inclusion: Migrants’ rights must be linked to labour and urban governance. This includes recognising informal labourers as legitimate urban constituencies and addressing gender-specific challenges.
Holistic Rural-Urban Development Models: It is essential to strike a balance between state interventions and individual agency. Solutions should empower communities while addressing structural inequalities.
Acknowledgement: The panel organisers thank Deepika Jha (IIHS) for moderating the panel on urban issues. We also acknowledge the contributions of Ravi Ankush (IIHS) in preparing the notes from both panels.