Palghar: The 60-kilometre long march organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Palghar district, demanding solutions to long-pending issues related to water, land and forest rights, was suspended
on Wednesday following detailed discussions with the district administration. Around 40,000 farmers, workers and tribal residents participated in the two-day agitation, which culminated in a marathon meeting lasting over six hours between the protesters’ delegation and officials.
Traffic Chaos On Mumbai–Ahmedabad National Highway Due To March
The long march, led by CPI(M) leaders Ashok Dhawale, Dr Ajit Nawale, Mariam Dhawale and MLA Vinod Nikole, began from Charoti and caused major disruptions on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad national highway. Traffic was severely affected and the Palghar–Boisar road was closed after protesters laid siege to the district collectorate, causing inconvenience to commuters, students and workers.
In view of the situation, a meeting was convened at the Palghar collector’s office on Wednesday afternoon with the Thane–Palghar District Action Committee. After six-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the administration agreed to several local demands and issued a written assurance that the remaining issues would be resolved in a time-bound manner, as reported by Dainik group's Marathi news portal Divya Marathi.
Details On Demands Accepted
Among the key decisions was the acceptance of the demand to allot additional forest land to cultivators already tilling such plots. The administration agreed to conduct on-site inspections to assess the extent of additional land under cultivation. It was also decided to take a policy-level decision on regularising barren land, temple land, grazing land and other categories of land in the names of eligible beneficiaries. For this purpose, a special committee will be formed to carry out field inspections and submit recommendations.
The administration further assured that basement claims would be prepared to regularise housing land for tribal and working-class families residing on various categories of government land. Taking note of strong opposition to smart electricity meters among farmers and tribals, officials said the issue would be taken up with senior authorities and that no coercive installation of meters would be carried out. The administration will also pursue the demand to exclude Palghar district from the smart meter scheme.
According to the report, officials promised that works under the Jal Jeevan Mission would be completed by the end of the year and that a comprehensive plan would be drawn up to reserve water from district dams for agriculture and drinking purposes. Assurances were also given regarding timely wages and guaranteed work under the employment guarantee scheme. The administration expressed readiness to provide three kilograms of rice and two kilograms of wheat per family through the public distribution system.
The district administration also assured a special recruitment drive for contractual teachers to fill vacant posts in Zilla Parishad schools. It was decided that review meetings would be held every three months to monitor progress on the agreed points.
Following these assurances, MLA Vinod Nikole announced the suspension of the long march and related protest actions for three months. The administration also agreed to convey the protesters’ demands regarding the cancellation of the Vadhavan and Murbe ports to the state government, while committing to closer coordination with officials to address smaller local issues in tribal areas.
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