Development should not disregard displacement: PM

New Delhi, Apr 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today cautioned against a kind of development that displaces people from their roots without proper rehabilitation and is consequently seen by them as a threat to their existence.

''India's industry must pay closer attention to the environmental consequences of industrial development. You must pay more attention to the rehabilitation of people displaced by the spread of industrial activity and urbanisation,'' Dr Singh said.

He was speaking after inaugurating the two-day annual conference of the Confederation of India Industry(CII) held on the theme of ''Sustaining Competitiveness: Fostering Development'' here.

The Prime Minister said it was high time the nation squarely addressed the issue of development, displacement and environment.

While stressing that ''expanding the pie through rapid economic development was essential to reduce poverty,'' he underlined the fact that the country frequently faces the situation where developmental activities displace people.

He called for quickly evolving a mechanism to solve this problem.

The Prime Minister said he was confident the country can not only sustain the current rate of growth of eight per cent but also realistically hope to target a rate of ten per cent. ''The real challenge was to make the growth process more socially and politically broadbased,'' he said.

''Our government is committed to providing an economic, political and social environment that allows the full flowering of the creativity and enterprise of our people,'' he said.

UNI