Urban development refers to the situation in which cities are viewed as potential sources of economic, social, and ecological progress, and cities themselves play a role in promoting development. This phenomenon initiates a huge demand for land and expedites the transformation of rural land into urban areas, subsequently displacement and resettlement of people in rural areas. Although the goal of any development project involving displacement is to restore the livelihood of the resettlers or bring it to their prior condition,  that has not been considered or neglected in most development-induced displacement and resettlement projects worldwide, including in India. The impact of loss of livelihood, which is the major issue associated with development-induced displacement, can be reduced through the enhancement of people's ability to cope with changing trends. &lsquoLivelihood resilience&rsquo here is a distinctive capacity of people to sustain or improve their livelihood opportunities and well-being in case of any disturbance, including development.

This research presents a comprehensive assessment of the livelihood resilience of rural households affected by urban development-induced displacement and resettlement. The sustainable livelihood approach (SLA), proposed by the Department for International Development (DFID), has been utilised to achieve this objective. This research has proposed a measurement model through a systematic selection of indicators under five livelihood assets, namely physical, social, economic, human, and natural. Later, the measurement model was verified by interviewing 348 Households and applying a confirmatory factor analysis. The result, however, shows satisfaction only with four dimensions of livelihood assets: physical, social, economic, and human. Next, a pair-wise comparison of three scenarios of households (already displaced, economically displaced, and to-be displaced) applying Mann-Whitney U-tests, the study evaluated the livelihood resilience of the households of Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, Chhattisgarh, India. Findings show the variability in physical assets across the scenarios, and there is no significant difference in social assets. The economic assets are significantly different for economically displaced and to-be displaced households. Moreover, the result also shows that economically displaced households suffer the most while the already displaced households get accustomed to the changing situation with time.

Further, this research identified the livelihood recovery interventions (LRIs) that can be initiated by local government/ institutions for the people affected by urban development projects. Following a literature review and field visit, an initial list of LRIs was prepared. A panel of experts from India wasinvited to check the interventions' applicability and determine additional context-specific interventions to attain livelihood resilience in the Indian context through a Delphi technique. The results show that maximum interventions related to i) empowering the people in rural areas, especially for their active participation in the implementation of the development project ii) additional facilities to reduce outmigration iii) long-term strategies by the government to achieve sustainability are the most relevant, as gained the consensus with aggregate preference 90%, in three rounds of Delphi.

With a novel methodological approach and obtained results, this research provides valuable insights for scholars, planners, professionals, and policymakers to identify the indicators affecting livelihood resilience and formulate appropriate policy measures through recovery interventions that simplify the complex process of developing sustainable urban development solutions. Although physical assets have been improved after resettlement, providing only the infrastructural facilities and a high amount of compensation would not make the displacees and resettlers more resilient in the long term. Intensifying agricultural or farming activities and transparent and clear knowledge/ information related to the development project (as human and social assets) would better ensure the sustainable development of affected people and the efficacy of urban development projects for enhancing livelihood resilience. The results of the study would be helpful in such a scenario of rural-to-urban transformation in India and other developing countries of similar nature as well.