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Saswati Ghosh Belliappa Principal Safeguards Specialist (Social), Office of Safeguards, Asian Development Bank
Saswati serves as principal safeguards specialist (social) with the Policy and Technical Services Team in ADB’s Office of Safeguards. Her experience spans development planning and social safeguards, bridging policy and operational practice. She advocates for development that benefits vulnerable communities and has a particular interest in affordable housing and its role in fostering inclusive and resilient communities.
In communities exposed to earthquakes, landslides, and glacial floods, safer housing requires affordable construction and careful settlement planning.
Effective resettlement begins with keeping people at the heart of planning and decision-making.
Strategies include a regulatory planning framework, area-based development, green infrastructure, and community engagement.
Regular consultations, monitoring, and follow-up measures can help successfully restore the income of project-affected persons.
Experience from two projects shows digital tools for database management help ensure a fair and transparent process and efficient resource allocation.
A hackathon in Nepal nurtured innovative tech solutions to improve sanitation practices in the country.
An urban housing project in India is using carefully sequenced interventions to help climate-vulnerable households relocate to safe areas and sustainably rebuild their lives.