E-Paper
Foot march ends as state govt assures implementation of demands
The protestors had been opposing the new labour codes, the dilution of MGNREGA and the proposed Vadhavan and Murbe ports
The protest march on foot by farmers, labourers and fisherfolk from Nashik, Palghar and Thane organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) concluded on Thursday with the state government giving written assurances to implement the farmers’ demands.
An All India Kisan Sabha delegation and senior ministers, along with officials from revenue, tribal development, water resources, forest and school education, held a three-hour meeting on Tuesday, followed by discussions with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured implementation of protestors’ requests.
The protestors had been opposing the new labour codes, the dilution of MGNREGA and the proposed Vadhavan and Murbe ports; they have also demanded the scrapping of the smart electricity meter scheme and the implementation of the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA).
The state government assured that forest landholders across Maharashtra would be allowed to apply for a re-examination of their land claims. The applications will be scrutinised, and committees headed by sub-divisional officers will take action to grant forest rights based on village committee reports and two proofs required under the Forest Rights Act.
Following the assurance, thousands of applications were collected at the protest site in Khardi, Shahapur taluka on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, Nashik district collector visited the site, accepted the applications and apprised of the government’s discussions to the leaders who had led the protest.
Later, a homage was paid to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who had died in a plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday.
