Farmers and indigenous people take part in the All India Kisan Sabha’s long march from Nashik to Mumbai, demanding land rights, agricultural assistance and implementation of forest rights, in Kasara, Maharashtra, on January 27. Photo credit: PTI
Story so far: Over the past few days, thousands of tribal farmers from Palghar and Nashik districts have embarked on two separate long marches in Maharashtra. The marches were organized by the All India Kisan Sabha and the Communist Party of India (M) (CPI-M) over unresolved tribal land rights. The Palghar long march was launched on January 19 and was partially suspended on January 22 after the district administration accepted local demands related to administrative action. However, protests continued due to tribal demands at the political level and a long march started from Nashik on 25 January. It was declared successful and withdrawn on January 29. Both Nashik and Palghar districts have a dominant tribal population.
What are their requirements?
The primary demands of the tribes are related to their land rights, employment, irrigation and education. They are demanding that under the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the forest land they have cultivated for generations should be cultivated on their behalf. They raised concerns about the current format in which land titles were issued. They claim that the current format in which the government put their names on the headlines excluded them from availing of any government programs or institutional loans.
Other requirements include the construction of small dams and river-linking projects for irrigation requirements. They state that west-flowing rivers should be held back by small dams and diverted to east-flowing rivers to help irrigate regions facing water shortages. This act, the tribesmen say, will enable them to harvest all year round. Currently, they take only one season’s crop of rice. Besides, they want agricultural produce other than paddy which includes maize, soya, onion, strawberry, mango, ragi, jowar, bajra etc. to be sold at minimum support price (MSP).
They also demand completion of pending recruitments under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996, which will provide job opportunities to the educated tribal youth. PESA empowers tribal communities in “Scheduled Areas” with self-government. Other demands include filling vacancies of teachers and other staff in Zilla Parishad schools; more educational opportunities for tribal children; and 24-hour electricity supply.
What are the concerns?
The biggest demand at the heart of all the long marches was the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The tribals claimed that their individual claims were being denied; that they are allotted only a tiny fraction of the land they actually cultivate, making them ineligible for government programs. The tribal groups state that currently the land ownership record is in the name of the entire village and their individual names are listed only in the village title deed. They want the ownership record to reflect their individual names. Demands for irrigation and implementation of the Forest Rights Act have been constant since 2018. Government sources said they have taken note of the concerns of allotting just a fraction of the land cultivated by the tribals. They also said they were looking into the possibility of digitizing the driving records, which would lead to irregularities and rejections in several cases.
What does the government say?
According to data accessed by The Hindu, more than 45% claims under the Forest Rights Act have been rejected so far. The Maharashtra government recently held a round of talks with a 15-member delegation of protesters, comprising leaders of the All India Kisan Sabha and the CPI(M). Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government was taking a positive approach to solving the problems. According to the 2025 data on claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (tabled in the Lok Sabha in July 2025), Maharashtra has cleared 3,80,966 of the 4,09,156 claims filed so far. Out of 3,80,966 claims, 2,08,335 titles were distributed while 1,72,631 were rejected. Dependency in the state is 28,190 claims.
Government sources said that work on the law was progressing gradually, admitting that there was a difference in interpretation of the law. Renowned environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, who died recently, in his article published this year observed that misinterpretation of the provisions of the Forest Rights Act has led to anomalies. “There is a constant ideological tension between the traditional conservationist approach that resists human presence in forests and the perspective of a forest rights law that engages forest dwellers in forest conservation and management. This tension reflects a deeper thinking framed as ‘conservation versus forest rights,'” he said in an article published in The India Forum titled ‘Making Forest Conservation Work for Forest Communities’ with co-author Vijayy Redho.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 08:30 IST
