RTI When a Dam or Infrastructure Project Threatens Your Village

A dam is announced. Surveyors appear in your fields with measuring rods and clipboards. A notice is pasted on the panchayat board that no one can read. Government officials say compensation will be "fair." The rehabilitation colony shown in the presentation is 40 kilometres away from your ancestral farmland. Your village has no idea what law governs any of this, what you are entitled to, or what documents even exist.

This is the situation that hundreds of thousands of Indian families have faced — near dams, highways, thermal power plants, railway lines, and industrial corridors. And it is the situation where the Right to Information Act, 2005 is most urgently useful. Every step in the process of acquiring land and displacing communities generates government records: Social Impact Assessment reports, gazette notifications, Rehabilitation and Resettlement plans, consent records, compensation calculations, land acquisition awards, Environmental Clearances, and public hearing minutes. These records exist. They are held by public authorities. Under Section 6 of the RTI Act, you have the legal right to ask for them, and the authority must respond within 30 days under Section 7(1).

This guide explains what the law says you are entitled to, who holds which records, and how to frame RTI questions that produce real answers — not vague assurances.

The Legal Framework: What the LARR Act Requires

The most important law governing displacement is the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (commonly called the LARR Act or the 2013 Act). It replaced the colonial Land Acquisition Act of 1894 and introduced mandatory procedural protections that simply did not exist before.

Section 4 — Social Impact Assessment (SIA): Before any land acquisition can proceed, the government must conduct a Social Impact Assessment. The SIA must study the affected area, identify the number of families likely to be displaced, assess the impact on livelihoods, common property resources, public infrastructure, and the overall socio-economic impact. The SIA report must be made public and must be reviewed by an independent expert group. No acquisition can advance without this step.

Section 11 — Public Notice and Preliminary Survey: Once the government decides to proceed with acquisition, it issues a preliminary notification under Section 11 in the official gazette and in local newspapers. This notice must be published at the district collectorate, the sub-divisional magistrate's office, and in the affected panchayats. It marks the beginning of the formal acquisition process and triggers the right of land owners and persons interested in the land to object.

Compensation provisions: The LARR Act significantly increased compensation over the 1894 Act. For rural areas, the market value of acquired land is multiplied by a factor of up to two. For urban areas, the market value is used directly. On top of this, the law provides for solatium (an additional 100 per cent of the compensation amount as a solatium), and various rehabilitation entitlements for displaced families — alternative housing, land-for-land where feasible, livelihood support, and employment or annuity options.

Section 16 and 17 — Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R): For projects displacing more than a threshold number of families, a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme must be prepared and notified. This scheme covers where affected families will be relocated, what infrastructure (housing, schools, health facilities, roads, water supply) will be provided in the resettlement area, what livelihood support will be given, and the timelines for each commitment.

Consent requirements: For private companies acquiring land for certain types of projects, the LARR Act requires prior consent of 70 to 80 per cent of the affected families before acquisition can proceed. For public-private partnership projects, the threshold is 70 per cent. For purely government projects, the consent requirement does not apply — but the SIA and R&R obligations still do.

Understanding these provisions is the starting point. RTI lets you verify whether any of these steps were actually followed in your case.

Forest Rights and Tribal Land: The Forest Rights Act, 2006

If your village is in a scheduled area or a forest area, a separate and equally important legal framework applies: the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly called the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

The FRA recognises two categories of rights that are particularly important when infrastructure projects are proposed:

Individual forest rights include the right to live on and cultivate forest land that tribal and other forest-dwelling families have occupied and cultivated for at least three generations. These are not informal possessory claims — the FRA requires that these rights be formally recognised by the Gram Sabha and the sub-divisional and district-level Forest Rights Committees, and that title deeds (called pattas) be issued.

Community forest rights include rights over community forest resources — grazing areas, water bodies, minor forest produce collection areas, and sacred groves — that the community as a whole has traditionally used and managed.

The critical point for displacement cases is this: no diversion of forest land for any purpose, including infrastructure, can proceed in a scheduled area without the prior free and informed consent of the Gram Sabha under Section 5 of the FRA. This provision has been upheld by multiple High Courts and the Supreme Court. The consent of the Gram Sabha is a pre-condition, not a formality to be obtained after the project is announced.

Through RTI, you can ask whether FRA rights have been recognised on the land proposed for acquisition, whether the Gram Sabha passed a consent resolution, and if so, the date of the resolution and the text of the consent given. If rights have not been recognised, you can ask whether any FRA claims are pending and at what stage.

Who holds these records: FRA title deeds and Gram Sabha consent records are maintained at three levels — the Gram Sabha itself, the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC), and the District Level Committee (DLC). All three are public authorities. For state-level records, second appeals go to the State Information Commission (SIC) of the relevant state.

Environmental Clearance: What MoEFCC and SEIAA Must Disclose

Any large infrastructure project — a dam, a highway, a power plant, a thermal project, a port — requires an Environmental Clearance (EC) under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The EIA process involves four stages: screening (to determine whether the project requires a full EIA), scoping (determining the terms of reference for the EIA study), public consultation (which includes a mandatory public hearing in the affected area), and appraisal by an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) before the clearance is granted. The final EC order specifies conditions the project proponent must comply with — mitigation measures, environmental management plans, compensation for afforestation, and ongoing monitoring requirements.

Who holds EC records: For Category A projects (large dams, major highways, thermal power plants, large industrial projects), the Environmental Clearance is granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in New Delhi. MoEFCC is a Central Government body — if the CPIO refuses and the First Appellate Authority does not help, the second appeal goes to the Central Information Commission (CIC).

For Category B projects (smaller projects, certain state highways, medium-size industries), the clearance is granted by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) of the relevant state. SEIAA is a state body — second appeal to the SIC of that state.

What to ask: At a minimum, ask for:

• Whether an Environmental Clearance was required for the project, and whether it has been granted.
• The full text of the EC grant order, including all conditions attached.
• The EIA report prepared for the project, including the baseline environmental assessment and the predicted impacts on the affected villages.
• The public hearing minutes: the date the public hearing was conducted, the venue, the list of attendees, the objections raised by affected communities, and the project proponent's responses.
• Any environmental compliance monitoring reports (ECMRs) submitted by the project proponent since the EC was granted.
• Whether any show-cause notice or suspension of EC has been issued.

The Parivesh portal (parivesh.nic.in) has digitised EIA documents for projects that went through the online process after 2014. Check there first — it is faster than an RTI. But for older projects, for certified copies you need for legal proceedings, or for documents that the portal shows as "submitted" but cannot be downloaded, RTI is the correct route.

NHAI and State Highway Authorities: Highway Displacement Records

If the project is a National Highway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is the executing agency under the National Highways Act, 1956 and the National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002. Land acquisition for national highways proceeds under the National Highways Act, which has its own procedure — different from the LARR Act, though many states have adopted LARR-aligned compensation norms by state-level notifications.

NHAI is a Central Government body under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. RTI applications to NHAI should be filed through rtionline.gov.in. Second appeals go to the CIC.

What to ask from NHAI:

• The approved alignment plan for the highway section affecting your village, with a certified copy of the notification specifying the alignment.
• The land acquisition award for the affected survey numbers in your village: the compensation rate per acre or square metre offered, the basis of calculation (market value, guideline value, registered sale deed average), and whether solatium has been included.
• The number of families identified for displacement in the social impact assessment for the relevant highway section.
• Whether a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan has been prepared for displaced families, and a copy of that plan.
• The current status of land acquisition proceedings for your survey number, including whether an award has been passed.

For state highways, the relevant state's Public Works Department (PWD) or State Highway Authority handles acquisition. These are state government bodies — second appeal to the SIC of that state.

State Revenue Department: The Land Acquisition Records

For most projects (except National Highways), the actual land acquisition process — serving notices, conducting inquiries, passing the award, and disbursing compensation — is handled by the Land Acquisition Collector (LAC), who is typically the District Collector or a designated Additional Collector. These officers work under the State Revenue Department.

State Revenue Department bodies are state government bodies. Second appeal goes to the SIC of the relevant state.

What to ask from the Land Acquisition Collector:

• A copy of the Section 11 preliminary notification (gazette notification) specifying the land proposed for acquisition in your village, including the survey numbers.
• A copy of the Social Impact Assessment report prepared under Section 4 of the LARR Act for this project.
• The list of all persons and families identified as "affected families" in the SIA, including those who will be displaced and those whose livelihoods will be affected without physical displacement.
• The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme prepared under Sections 16 and 17 of the LARR Act: the proposed resettlement site, the housing entitlements, the timeline for construction of infrastructure at the resettlement site, and the livelihood support measures.
• Whether any consent survey was conducted, and if so, the results — the number of families who consented and the number who objected.
• A copy of the land acquisition award passed under Section 23 of the LARR Act for the survey numbers in your village, showing the compensation assessed for each parcel.
• File notings and correspondence related to any objections you or other residents filed under Section 15 of the LARR Act.

State Pollution Control Board: Environment Compliance at the State Level

For projects that affect local water bodies, discharge effluents, or generate emissions, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) — or the Pollution Control Committee (PCC) in Union Territories — holds consent and monitoring records.

For dams in particular, the SPCB may have issued a no-objection certificate or consent for the project. For industrial projects like thermal power plants or industrial corridors, the SPCB issues Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Through RTI to the SPCB, you can ask:

• Whether consent (CTE or CTO) has been granted to the project.
• A copy of the consent order and all conditions attached.
• Whether any inspection has been carried out, and copies of the inspection reports.
• Water quality monitoring data for rivers or water bodies upstream and downstream of the project site.

SPCB is a state body — second appeal to the SIC of the relevant state. In Delhi, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is administered by the GNCTD — second appeal to the Delhi Information Commission (DIC).

Using RTI to Participate Meaningfully in Public Hearings and Challenge Clearances

The EIA Notification, 2006 mandates a public hearing in the affected district before an Environmental Clearance is granted. This hearing is the single most important opportunity for affected communities to put their objections on the formal record — before the clearance is given. Objections raised at a public hearing must be considered by the Expert Appraisal Committee.

But in practice, affected communities often do not know that a public hearing is scheduled until it is too late, or find that the hearing was held in a location far from their village, or discover that the minutes as submitted to MoEFCC do not accurately reflect what was said. RTI can be used at every stage of this process:

Before the hearing: File an RTI with SEIAA or MoEFCC asking for the date, time, venue, and public notice details for the public hearing for the project in your area. Ask for the draft EIA report that the project proponent was required to submit before the hearing, so that you can read it and prepare your objections. You have the right to receive the EIA report — it is a public document under the EIA Notification.

After the hearing: File an RTI asking for the certified copy of the public hearing minutes. Compare them against your own notes of what was actually said. If objections your community raised are absent or misrepresented, this is a ground for challenging the clearance.

Challenging before the National Green Tribunal (NGT): Under Section 14 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, the NGT has jurisdiction over "substantial questions relating to the environment" including challenges to Environmental Clearances. An appeal against an EC granted for a project can be filed before the NGT under Section 16 within 30 days of the grant of EC, by any person aggrieved by the order. The documents you obtain through RTI — the EIA report, the public hearing minutes, the EC conditions, the compliance reports — form the documentary foundation of an NGT challenge. Certified copies obtained through RTI are admissible before the NGT.

Challenging before the High Court: For violations of the LARR Act — an SIA not conducted, a public hearing under the Act not held, an R&R scheme not notified — a writ petition before the relevant High Court is available. Here again, RTI documents build the factual case. If the RTI response shows that no Section 4 SIA was conducted, or that the 30-day objection period under Section 15 was not provided, that evidence directly supports the legal challenge.

What RTI Cannot Get: Section 8(1)(a) and National Security

Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act exempts from disclosure information "whose disclosure would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence." This provision is sometimes invoked to deny RTI responses about large infrastructure projects, particularly dam or defence-related projects.

For the vast majority of infrastructure RTIs — a highway displacing a village, a dam submerging farmland, a power plant affecting a river — Section 8(1)(a) has no legitimate application. The compensation awarded to a displaced family, the SIA report identifying affected households, the public hearing minutes, the land acquisition award — none of these are strategic or security-related documents. If a CPIO cites Section 8(1)(a) to deny information about a civilian infrastructure project's land acquisition or R&R plan, that refusal should be challenged at the First Appeal stage under Section 19(1) and if necessary at the Second Appeal under Section 19(3).

The exception applies to genuinely strategic matters — certain dam project details at the national security level, classified military infrastructure. But blanket invocation of Section 8(1)(a) to avoid disclosing displacement figures or R&R plans is not legally defensible, and Information Commissioners have rejected such claims in multiple decisions.

Sample RTI Questions for Affected Villages

These questions can be adapted to your specific project, state, and situation. Always provide the name of the project (or highway/dam name), the survey numbers or khasra numbers affected, and your district and tehsil. Specific questions get specific answers.

To the Land Acquisition Collector (State Revenue Department):

"1. Please provide a certified copy of the preliminary notification issued under Section 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, in relation to the project name project, specifying the land proposed for acquisition in Village X, Tehsil Y, District Z.

2. Please provide a certified copy of the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report prepared under Section 4 of the LARR Act, 2013, for the land acquisition proposed in connection with the above project.
3. Has a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Scheme been prepared under Sections 16 and 17 of the LARR Act? If yes, please provide a complete certified copy of the scheme, including the proposed resettlement site, the housing entitlements per family, the timeline for construction of housing and infrastructure at the resettlement site, and all livelihood support commitments.
4. Please provide the list of all affected families identified in the SIA report, along with their names and survey numbers, to the extent that this information has been compiled by your office.
5. Whether a consent survey was conducted for the above acquisition and, if so, the number of families who consented and the number who objected.
6. A copy of the land acquisition award (Section 23 award) for khasra numbers list the numbers in Village X, showing the compensation assessed per bigha/acre/square metre, the market value basis used, and whether solatium has been included."

To MoEFCC or SEIAA (Environmental Clearance):

"1. Please confirm whether an Environmental Clearance under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 has been applied for or granted in respect of project name at location. If granted, please provide a certified copy of the EC grant order and all conditions attached.

2. Please provide a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment report submitted by the project proponent in connection with the above project, including the public hearing notice, the date and venue of the public hearing conducted, and certified copies of the public hearing minutes.
3. Has any environmental compliance monitoring report been submitted by the project proponent since the grant of EC? If yes, please provide copies of all such reports submitted to date.
4. Has any show-cause notice been issued to the project proponent for non-compliance with EC conditions? If yes, please provide a copy."

To the Sub-Divisional Level Committee or District Level Committee (FRA — for tribal areas):

"1. Have any individual or community forest rights claims been filed by residents of Village X under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006? If yes, what is the current status of each claim — are claims pending, decided, or rejected?

2. Has the Gram Sabha of Village X passed a resolution consenting to the diversion of forest land for the project name project under the Forest Rights Act? If yes, please provide a certified copy of the Gram Sabha resolution. If no, please confirm whether such consent has been sought."

RTI Act: Sections, Fee, and Appeals

Every RTI application is filed under Section 6 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The statutory fee is ₹10, payable by demand draft, Indian Postal Order, online payment at rtionline.gov.in, or cash at an APIO counter. BPL cardholders are exempt from the fee and from charges for copies of documents.

The public authority must respond within 30 days under Section 7(1). For applications involving life and liberty, the deadline is 48 hours.

If you do not receive a response within 30 days, or the response is incomplete or evasive:

• File a First Appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days of the date of the decision or the expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever applies. Address it to the First Appellate Authority (a senior officer in the same department). No fee.
• If the First Appeal fails, file a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) with the Central Information Commission (CIC) for Central Government bodies (MoEFCC, NHAI, MoRTH, FCI), or the relevant State Information Commission (SIC) for state government bodies (Revenue Department, SPCB, State PWD, State Forest Department, SEIAA), within 90 days of the First Appellate Authority's order or the expiry of the appeal period.
• Under Section 20, the CIC or SIC can impose a penalty of ₹250 per day, up to ₹25,000, on the CPIO personally for unjustified delay or refusal.

Key sections to cite in your applications and appeals:

• Section 2(h): Defines "public authority" — Land Acquisition Collector, NHAI, MoEFCC, SPCB, Gram Sabha bodies, and SEIAA are all public authorities obligated to respond.
• Section 4: Proactive disclosure obligation — the SIA report, R&R scheme, and land acquisition notifications should already be publicly available under Section 4(1)(b). If they are not, note this in your application and appeals.
• Section 6: Your right to request information in writing.
• Section 7(1): The 30-day response deadline.
• Section 19(1): First Appeal.
• Section 19(3): Second Appeal.
• Section 20: Penalty on the CPIO for unjustified non-disclosure.

A Practical Note on Timing

The most effective time to use RTI in a displacement situation is before the land acquisition award is passed and before the families are actually displaced. Once the award is passed and possession is taken, your legal options narrow significantly — you can challenge the quantum of compensation, but the displacement itself may already be a fait accompli.

Use RTI early to find out:

• Whether the SIA was conducted and whether your family was counted as an affected family.
• Whether the public hearing under the EIA Notification was actually held and whether your village's objections were recorded.
• Whether the R&R scheme provides what the LARR Act entitles you to.
• Whether the consent survey (if applicable) was conducted honestly and whether your consent was correctly recorded.

Early RTI also gives you the documents you need to file objections under Section 15 of the LARR Act within the prescribed period, or to challenge the EC before the NGT within the 30-day window, or to file a writ petition in the High Court before the acquisition is completed. A family that knows what documents exist — and what those documents actually say — is in a fundamentally different position than a family that only knows what a government official chose to tell them.

If your village is facing displacement from a dam, highway, power project, or any other infrastructure development, and you need help identifying which authority to file your RTI with, drafting your questions precisely, or preparing a First or Second Appeal after an incomplete or refused response, RTISathi.com has tools and guides built for exactly this situation. Filing the right RTI at the right stage can mean the difference between a family that receives its full legal entitlement and one that is moved without ever knowing what the law guaranteed them.