A day after the State government agreed to meet the demands of the thousands of farmers who had marched to the city from Nashik, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday listed decisions agreed upon in the meeting between the Kisan Morcha organisers and the government.
Mr. Fadnavis said, “We have assured that appeals and claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) will be sorted out within six months. Up to four hectare of land will be allotted under the FRA in cases where actual land transfer is less than the land being tilled. A special mechanism will be set up to control and implement the process.”
A senior government official, who declined to be named, said the government will be focusing more on meeting demands concerning tribals. “The government has faced numerous farmer agitations in last few years, but this was the first time that tribals took to the streets. We will be more focused on the ensuring that their demands are met under a time-bound programme.”
Loan waiver for all
The government clarified that the suspension of the pre-condition under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 that makes it mandatory to get approval from the gram sabha while acquiring land will remain. It, however, said there will be no land acquisition without the approval of the farmer who will be giving up land, and assured the farmers that there will be no forceful land acquisition for Mr. Fadnavis’s pet Mumbai-Nagpur expressway project, or the bullet train.
Among the demands accepted by the government is the inclusion of farmers who didn’t receive benefits under the farm loan waiver scheme in 2008 in the current loan waiver scheme. The committee that will be set up to monitor its implementation will have farmer representatives and Ministers.
Mr. Fadnavis said, “A demand to consider each family member as an independent applicant for a farm loan waiver has been made. We can take a decision only after analysing the amounts oustanding. A committee will take a final decision within one-and-a-half months.”
The government has also asked Secretaries of concerned departments to individually probe isssues related to Public Distribution System shops.
Maharashtra has seen little progress in granting of land and community rights past decade under the FRA and the MVFR, 2014. As on July 2014, a total of 3,49,271 claims, including 3,43,729 individuals and 5,542 community claims were filed. Of these, only 1,08,112 titles were distributed spanning a total area of 3,05,61 ha. Earlier, in 2016, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had alleged dilution of FRA in the BJP-ruled states and announced a national campaign against the business-friendly Maharashtra Village Forest Rules (MVFR), 2014 introduced by the BJP governments.
Kalidas Apet, executive president, Maharashtra Shetkari Sanghtana, “This government has done little for the development of farmers and the landless. Farmers are struggling not only with milk prices, they aren’t getting their dues from the sugar mills.”
