A snapshot of distress migration in Odisha

An ongoing research, supported by the FAO and International Organization for Migration, show that the recurrent nature of heatwaves in Ganjam and cyclones in Kendrapada severely affect agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

An estimated 1.75 million people moved from Odisha to other States in 2023, many of them driven by distress and desperation. Last month, the Odisha government set up a special task force to look into distress migration, which is defined by the World Bank as involuntary movement due to poverty or disasters. The task force aims to provide recommendations and targeted intervention measures, including infrastructure improvement and department-specific schemes.

Distress migration usually occurs in conditions where the individual or household is left with no viable means to maintain a life with dignity other than to migrate. This could be due to extreme economic deprivation, natural and environmental disasters, or even intolerable social and gender discrimination. In Odisha, the agricultural sector, which is central to the economy, faces multiple challenges, including landlessness, small landholdings, heavy reliance on rain-fed farming, and extreme weather events. These push people, particularly the vulnerable rural population, such as women, the elderly, children and those from backward groups, to migrate.

The Odisha Migration Survey, 2023, a comprehensive survey funded by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad and the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Kerala, with a representative sample of 15,000 households, offers reliable district-level estimates of inter-State migration from Odisha. According to the survey, more than 30% of the households are directly dependent on agriculture as their main source of income. It finds that 86% of inter-State migrants have moved to urban areas and 63% of them have relocated in search of better employment opportunities.

Further, nearly half of Odisha’s inter-State migrants are from families living below the poverty line. About 33% of them are landless, and 40% own less than one acre of land. An overwhelming 80% belonged to backward castes (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes combined) and 40% of the migrants reported having poor and kutcha houses.

What is a particularly worrying finding is that return migrant households in Odisha performed low on development indicators. This suggests that migration has not led to lasting benefits for most returnees and raises questions about the efficacy of migration as a pathway to sustained economic upliftment.

Aggravating the problem is the escalating strain caused by unpredictable weather patterns on agrarian livelihoods. Notes by the first author from an ongoing research, supported by the Food and Agricultural Organization and International Organization for Migration, show that the recurrent nature of heatwaves in Ganjam and cyclones in Kendrapada severely affect agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. The farmers in Odisha, aided by the government, are employing several resilience strategies, including the Spice, Mushroom, and Millet Missions to enhance their livelihoods. However, income losses caused by extreme weather events remain severe and push many agricultural families to migrate — some on a long-term basis, others seasonally — to other States.

Disaster management in Odisha requires coordinated efforts across departments. Key agencies such as the National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force are central to rescue operations. To bolster these efforts, the State is enhancing its disaster response network and implementing the Incident Response System, an effective mechanism for reducing ad hoc measures in response, to streamline efforts at the block level. As climate crises persist, Odisha’s strategies for managing migration and building resilience will be crucial for its socioeconomic future.

A significant challenge for the recently formed special task force will be the lack of robust data to account for the regional disparities in migration patterns. Insights from the Odisha Migration Study, 2023 could help address this gap. This data will help policymakers and the task force understand better the region-specific migration dynamics, identify vulnerable groups, and tailor interventions accordingly.

S. Irudaya Rajan is Chair, IIMAD, Kerala, and Amrita Datta is Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts, IIT Hyderabad