Impact of Rehabilitation in Guchchagram (Cluster Village) on Livelihood and Living Conditions of Its Inhabitants

A Case Study of Nijbari Guchchagram at Saidpur in Nilphamari District

Abstract

Rehabilitation of people, as a part of poverty alleviation and human development program (Powelson 1987), has become one of the most important challenges for governments all over the world, as people are frequently becoming homeless and shelter-less due to poverty, climate change and disaster and, eventually, becoming the victims of migration that takes place in two forms; i.e. internal and cross-border migration. Governments of the countries like Bangladesh are responsible to rehabilitate those people either temporarily or permanently in cases where they are unable to ensure their shelters or they become homeless as victims of migration. Different governmental regimes in Bangladesh being responsible to ensure shelters for the homeless and shelter-less people as enshrined in Article 15(a) of the Constitution of Bangladesh has been implementing a variety of rehabilitation projects, i.e., ‘Cluster Village’, Adarshagram, Abashon, Ashrayan, and Guchchogram on Khas Land and Char land (government-owned land) since the independence of the country in 1971. But the impact of rehabilitation on improvement of livelihood and living conditions of the rehabilitated people is still, almost, unexplored. The study about the people rehabilitated in Nijbari Guchchagram at Saidpur Upazila in Nilphamari district found that providing the title and ownership of a house with a piece of land, skill-based training and micro-credits have had contributed much to significantly upgrade their livelihood and living conditions which, eventually, rehabilitation in a suitable place has created an opportunity for them to be connected with the mainstream of development of the country.