Dams are claimed as symbols of development for their multipurpose utility and contribution to the welfare of mankind. But compulsory displacement caused by dams has raised major issues of social justice and equity. Contextualising the Rawls’ general conception of justice and examining the case of the Hirakud dam, this study illustrates how the oustees not only lost their income and wealth but also social goods (liberty, opportunity and the very basis of their self-respect) raising the question of equality and justice. Initiatives to rehabilitate them by the Indian state of Odisha proved to be a total failure because of poor planning and a callous attitude. Better consultations and negotiations with the oustees could have mitigated the risk of their impoverishment; it can be argued that relocation would not have been involuntary. But the government did not consult those whose vital interests were at stake. They could have been resettled and rehabilitated in the irrigated area of the Hirakud dam and would not have lost their only source of income and their self-worth would have received a boost.
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