Under the long-running pressure of agrarian distress, a seventy-seven-year-old farm leader who has walked this road from Nashik to Mumbai before has stepped back from the final stretch. The Maharashtra government has conceded a large part of a fourteen-point charter, though often in smaller measures than first demanded, and the farmers ended their march at Vasind after seeing the first signs of action on the ground. Whether this marks a lasting settlement or one more pause in a familiar cycle depends on promises that have not yet been tested by time.
Farm Leader Jiva Pandu Gavit Calls Off Nashik-to-Mumbai March After Government Begins Implementing Demands
One farmer in the march died, and many participating farmers fell ill during the protest.
Unlike before, the government has begun implementing on the ground
Mark
Why did Gavit end the march a day or two ahead of his own schedule?
Mimi
He says his condition was action on the ground, not just words in the Assembly. Collectors began visiting villages on March 18, villagers called to confirm it, and his team verified it.
Luke
Worth noting that the verification is his own account. The interview doesn't say what work was actually started, or how many villages.
Mark
He also mentioned a farmer's death and illness among marchers.
Mimi
Yes, he said the government knew about it and understood what a march into Mumbai would mean. One farmer died and many were ill.
Luke
He doesn't say how the farmer died or how many fell ill, so I wouldn't read more into it than that.
Mark
How much did the farmers win?
Mimi
Gavit says about 70 per cent of 14 demands. But onion relief is Rs 350 against Rs 600, and power is eight hours against 12.
Luke
And that 70 per cent is his estimate. He also says the government had already provided for most of these items in the Budget, so some of it isn't new.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The Forest Rights Act committee reports within a month, and the other demands need departmental talks and coordination with the Centre.
Luke
Whether he returns is open. He says he will wait and see.
O Pulso
- Farmers camped at Vasind since March 16 ended a 200-km march toward Mumbai earlier than they had planned.
- The Shinde-Fadnavis government accepted about 70 per cent of 14 demands, but onion ex-gratia came in at Rs 350 per quintal instead of the Rs 600 sought.
- Farmers refused to leave until administrative orders were issued and work began, and collectors reportedly started village visits on March 18.
- One farmer has died and many have fallen ill, a human toll that weighed heavily on the decision to stop.
- Remaining demands rest on departmental talks and central coordination, and a one-month committee report on Forest Rights Act implementation is the next checkpoint.
Under the long-running pressure of agrarian distress, a seventy-seven-year-old farm leader who has walked this road from Nashik to Mumbai before has stepped back from the final stretch. The Maharashtra government has conceded a large part of a fourteen-point charter, though often in smaller measures than first demanded, and the farmers ended their march at Vasind after seeing the first signs of action on the ground. Whether this marks a lasting settlement or one more pause in a familiar cycle depends on promises that have not yet been tested by time.
On Saturday afternoon, the farmers camped at Vasind since March 16 packed up and went home. Their 200-km march from Dindori in Nashik district toward Mumbai ended before it reached the city, called off by Jiva Pandu Gavit, a seven-time CPI(M) MLA who is seventy-seven years old. It was his third long march on this route in five years, each driven by agrarian distress and a list of demands.
Gavit says the Shinde-Fadnavis government accepted almost seventy per cent of the charter and, for the first time, began acting on it. Talks on March 16 produced agreement, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced it in the Assembly. But the farmers had attached one condition: work must start at once. Past governments, Gavit said, had promised and then done nothing. On March 18, villagers phoned the march leaders to report that collectors were visiting villages and beginning work. The leaders confirmed it and moved out that afternoon, earlier than the Monday they had planned.
The concessions were often smaller than what was asked. Onion growers will receive Rs 350 per quintal rather than Rs 600, and power supply will be eight hours rather than twelve. A committee including Gavit will examine Forest Rights Act problems within a month. Tribals who missed earlier loan waivers will be included, and anganwadi and ASHA honorariums were already set in the Budget. Much of the rest depends on departmental talks and on the state following up with the Centre.
The march carried a cost. One farmer died and many others fell ill along the way. Gavit said the government understood what would follow if the farmers reached Mumbai. Asked whether he would return if the promises are broken, he said only that he would see how things go. The one-month committee report is the first thing to watch.
On Saturday afternoon, farmers who had been camped at Vasind since March 16 packed up and left. The 200-km march from Dindori in Nashik district toward Mumbai was over, called off by its leader, Jiva Pandu Gavit, before it ever reached the city.
Gavit is 77 and a seven-time CPI(M) MLA. This was the third long march he has led from Nashik to Mumbai in five years, each over agrarian distress and a list of farmers' demands. In an interview with Vallabh Ozarkar, he said the Shinde-Fadnavis government had accepted almost 70 per cent of the demands, and that, unlike before, it had begun acting on them on the ground.
He described the sequence this way. Talks with the government were held on March 16, and the government agreed to the demands and said it would announce them in the Assembly and put them on record. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde did that. But Gavit says the farmers had attached a condition: implementation had to start immediately. Past governments, he said, accepted demands and then did nothing, so the farmers would not leave Vasind until administrative orders were issued and work began. Discussions continued on March 17. On March 18, he says, collectors began visiting villages and starting work. Villagers phoned the march leaders to report it, the leaders verified it, and after the afternoon they moved out of Vasind and ended the march.
That was earlier than planned. On Friday, after Shinde's statement, Gavit had said the farmers would stay until Monday and decide only after two days of ground reports. Asked why he ended it on Saturday, he said the condition had been that if nothing happened, the march would proceed toward Mumbai on Monday. He also pointed to the human toll: one farmer had died, and many others were ill. The government knew this, he said, and understood what would follow if the farmers reached Mumbai.
The charter had 14 points. They included an ex-gratia of Rs 600 per quintal for kharif onion, compensation for land acquisition, 12-hour power supply for farmers, a 100 per cent loan waiver, and implementation of the Forest Rights Act. It also asked for compensation for natural calamity damage and for the names of tillers to be entered in land records for forest land up to four hectares.
What the government conceded was often less than what was sought. Onion growers are to get Rs 350 per quintal, not Rs 600. Power supply is to be eight hours, not 12. A committee of Cabinet ministers and officials, including Gavit and current CPI(M) MLA Vinod Nikole, will examine problems in implementing the Forest Rights Act in Maharashtra and report within a month. Tribals who missed the farm loan waivers announced in June 2017 and December 2019 are to be included. Shinde also said that higher honorariums for anganwadi and ASHA workers were already announced in the Budget, and that an announcement on filling 20,000 vacant anganwadi posts will follow. Gavit noted that the government had already provided for most of these items in the Budget.
The remaining demands need sustained talks with different departments, and some fall under the central government. Gavit says the state has promised to follow up with the Centre.
He contrasted this with the earlier marches. In 2018 the main issues were forest land and the old age pension scheme, and the assurances given at Azad Maidan went unfulfilled. He returned in 2019, when he says nothing happened. Covid-19 prevented an earlier return. This time the list grew to include onion prices, loan waivers, crop damage compensation, power supply, the old pension scheme and anganwadi honorariums.
Asked whether he would march again if the assurances are not carried out, Gavit said only that he would see how things go and then decide. The one-month Forest Rights Act committee report is the first checkpoint to watch.
Citações Notáveis
Unlike the previous marches, the government has accepted almost all our demands and has also started implementation on the ground.— Jiva Pandu Gavit, farmers' leader and CPI(M) MLA
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Leia o original em The Indian Express ↗
Politics & Governance