Exploration of Rural People’s Problems of Relocation Caused by Dam Construction: A Case Study of Roudbar Village of Behshahr County in Iran

Relocation project of Roudbar village of Behshahr County in Iran was implemented in 2009, due to the construction of Gelevard dam and the risk of flooding. It had many consequences for the rural people. Considering the importance of research, this study aimed at exploring these rural people's problems of the relocation. It was conducted in a census method through questionnaire (n=92), the validity and reliability of which were confirmed by faculty members of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department and then, using Cronbach's alpha measurement (α=0.89). Results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that lack of physical-infrastructural considerations, environmental non-compliance in the construction of the new village, poor social performance of new settlements, change in access to important areas, problems related to the economic situation of the rural households, poor residential performance of the new settlements were the most important problems, estimating by 52.46 percent of the cumulative variance.