Tribal protesters call off march to Mantralaya after Fadnavis directs officials to act on demands

Thousands of tribal protesters marching from Thane district towards Mantralaya in Mumbai have called off their march. The decision came after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed officials to speed up measures on the problems of tribal communities.

The march, held under the name "Samvidhan Haq Sangharsh Morcha", was led by Vivek Pandit, founder of the Shramjivi Sanghatana. About 49,000 people set out for Mantralaya from Bhiwandi in Thane district on Tuesday afternoon. The protesters had come from the districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Nashik.

Education, forest rights, drinking water and other problems faced by the tribal community were at the heart of the agitation. A delegation of the Shramjivi Sanghatana, which works for tribal rights, met Fadnavis on Tuesday and discussed the demands.

The organisation's demands included free, quality and skill-based education for all tribal students up to the age of 18. It also wanted separate educational complexes to be set up in every taluka.

The other major demands were that pending claims under the Forest Rights Act be settled quickly and that tribal hamlets get clean drinking water. The protesters also raised problems related to rehabilitation and Aadhaar registration.

After meeting the delegation, Fadnavis directed officials to prepare time-bound action plans and to speed up work on resolving the problems of the tribal community.

Deputy Chief Minister and Thane Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde reached Thane late on Tuesday night. At the Kharigaon toll naka, he spoke to the protesters and informed them about several Government Resolutions (GRs) issued in connection with their demands.

Shinde said he had never seen so many Government Resolutions issued in a single day. He said this was a victory for the protesters and their leadership. Shinde handed copies of the decisions to Vivek Pandit, after which the protesters called off the march.

At the meeting, Fadnavis said the Shramjivi Sanghatana and partner organisations would be involved in preparing the vision document for Viksit Bharat 2047. Suggestions given by various organisations would also be considered while preparing a separate development plan for the tribal community.

The Chief Minister said a decision on the proposal for free and compulsory education for tribal students up to the age of 18 would be taken only after it is examined. He also directed officials to take immediate steps to provide free tuition and adequate scholarships to tribal students.