Palghar long march: we won’t go home unless land ownership is received, say protestors

As thousands join a protest outside the Collector office in Maharashtra’s Palghar, 50-year-old Draupadi Bhuyal said she had spent half of her life receiving ownership of land, which had been tilted by eight generations of her family.

“I hope my grandchildren don’t have to put up a fight against the government,” said Ms. Bhuyal, who was raising slogans while marching towards the Palghar Collector office, demanding land ownership under the Forest Rights Act, removal of smart meters, and cancellation of the Vadhavan project in Dahanu, a coastal region of Palghar.

Ms. Bhuyal has around three acres of land in Vasai’s tribal village and earn her livelihood through farming. She earns some extra income by working on other people’s farms, while her son drives an auto rickshaw on rent. “If I don’t have ownership of my primary source of income under my and my husband’s name, how will I feel secured?”

Around 30,000 protestors march to the Palghar Collector’s office, where they will stay till their demands are met.
| Photo Credit:
Snehal Mutha

Many of the landless tribals and farmers like Ms. Bhuyal from areas like Vasai, and the tehsils of Palghar, including Charoti, Manor, Wada, Vikramgad, Talasari, and Mokhed, participated in the “long march” protest led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) from Charoti to Palghar Collector office covering about 60 km on foot. The protest started on Monday (January 19, 2026) and continued on Tuesday (January 20) at the Palghar Collector office, where the demonstrators will stay till all the demands are fulfilled.

According to Palghar Police officials, around 30,000 protestors joined the long march. The demands include full implementation of the Forest Rights Act, the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act PESA, revival of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme to provide work, cancellation of the smart meter scheme, appointment to all the vacant posts in the government service of Palghar district, providing the benefits of the Gharkul scheme, and cancellation of the development of Vadhavan and Murbe ports.

CPI(M)’s women wing State secretary Prachi Hatiwlekar said, “This struggle is age-old, starting from bonded labour to now working for long pending issue of land ownership transfer. Central government is only trying to dilute the Forest Rights Act.”

Police officials in Palghar overseeing the tribals “long march”.
| Photo Credit:
Snehal Mutha

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and All India Kisan Sabha (farmer wing of the party) President Ashok Dhawale and the party’s two-term MLA from Dahanu Vinod Nikole, also walked with the demonstrators for two days. The other organisations that took part in the march were Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Democratic Youth Federation of India, Students’ Federation of India and the Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch.

‘Only one gunta’

Surekha Danane (66), a rice farmer from Wada region, pointed out that she has only one gunta of land under her name, saying, “I am supposed to own five guntas as my forefathers used that much of land for farming.”

“We keep taking follow-ups on our application. They call us, ask for our Aadhaar card, and send us back. Government only gives assurance,” she added.

Similar was the story of Sunita Kongil (50), who is also from Wada, 125 km away from Mumbai. Ms. Kongil says, “We are a family of nine… where to live and where to grow food in one gunta?”

Participants from the long march to Palghar.
| Photo Credit:
Snehal Mutha

Her friend Hira Lahange (45) fears being evicted. “If someday some project comes here, then how will I prove my ownership to oppose the project or eligibility for compensation,” she asks.

Ms. Hatiwlekar, the CPI(M) leader, claimed that due to land acquisition in projects, including the Bullet train, the compensation was given to landlords and not the tribals because the land is yet to be transferred under their name. In some cases, middlemen kept the maximum compensation and gave some part of it to the actual user of that land. This is also going to happen in Vadhavan port, along with destroying the ecosystem and environment.

Hefty electricity bills

Nutan (34) from Charoti asked, “I own one room hut with one fan, one bulb outside the house and one inside, should I get a bill of ₹5,000 monthly,” adding that the smart meters were installed forcefully without consent.

The protest shows discontent among tribal communities over land ownership, large infrastructure projects in the district and changes to MGNREGA.
| Photo Credit:
Snehal Mutha

Ms. Nutan and her relative wants government reinstall old meters and instruct their officials not to impose smart meters. Gulab Wadia, former sarpanch of Uplat village, said, “There are people in the protest who have also received bills of ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh. Is it possible for an economically weaker family to use this much electricity to get a bill of ₹50,000?”

Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) rolled out the smart meters in 2021, which automatically record real-time power consumption and send the data to the electricity distribution company. However, the device has been criticised for bill hike, no consent for installation, and poor awareness about tariff changes.

The protest shows discontent among tribal communities over land ownership, large infrastructure projects in the district and changes to MGNREGA. All the protestors unanimously reiterated that unless and until “we don’t get all our papers stamped, we won’t go home”.

Published – January 20, 2026 11:05 pm IST