The march must carry on

In 2005, the landmark Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was launched, guaranteeing at least 100 days of wage employment for rural households, with adult members able to apply to volunteer for unskilled manual work. Importantly, it stipulated that to work was a legal right in India, and if work wasn’t provided within 15 days of application, the applicant could claim an unemployment allowance. 

MGNREGA sought to bring employment to rural workers without forcing them to migrate to cities. But the current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made no secret of their opposition to the scheme. In 2015, one year into his premiership, Modi remarked in parliament MGNREGA "[was] a living memorial to [the United Progressive Alliance (‘UPA’) government’s, consisting of Congress Party and its allies] failures.” 

According to The Leaflet, in 2024-25, MGNREGA supported 57.8 million households and employed 78.8 million individuals, where women made up 58 percent of its beneficiaries. 

In December 2025, the BJP rebranded the scheme and removed crucial protections that made MGNREGA transformative for rural workers. For instance, the allocation of work will no longer be demand-based, and the state governments will take on a 60 percent share of budget allocation, where previously the Union government allocated the total budget for MGNREGA. 

The revision of MGNREGA comes on the heels of the new Labour Codes, which were announced in November 2025. These Labour Codes reduced worker protection by weakening workers’ unions, introducing longer working hours and fixed-term contracts instead of permanent hiring. They also enable employers to fire their employees or even shut operations without government approval.

Onward to Palghar

To protest against these measures and more, about 50,000 farmers and workers, predominantly from the tribal communities of Palghar district in Maharashtra began to march on foot on 19 January 2026. Led by All India Kisan Sabha (All India Farmers Association), affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), their goal was to reach and surround the collectorate and demand reinstatement of of MGNREGA, right to land that they till, availability of water and the cancellation of the Vadhavan port. 

For many of the people who marched in January, it was imperative that the authorities not send them back with false promises but take into account their need to have access to water for irrigation and drinking, and days of work when farmwork is not available. It is important to note here that under the new revisions into MGNREGA, the government intends to increase participation in farming, an area which already sees heavy demand by workers. 

The result of the first march to Palghar was victorious; after seven hours of negotiations with a delegation that included members of the CPI(M) and AIKS, the District Collector gave written assurances, including resolving pending claims of land titles under the Forest Rights Act (which gives members of the Scheduled Tribes ownership of the lands that they till and live on) by 30 April 2026. Following this, a district-level committee was formed by members of AIKS to ensure implementation of the assurances. 

The march continues

One of the key demands of the workers participating in this march was the cancellation of the Vadhavan and Murbe port projects announced by the Government of India. The Vadhavan port, in particular, which falls in the district of Palghar, is an ambitious and expensive project which seeks to create a key node in India’s trade with much of the western world. 

However, the deep-water port is positioned in the ‘fishing golden belt’ of the Arabian Sea. Therefore, it will not only destroy the delicate ecosystem of coastal life (the eco-sensitive Dahanu-Vadhavan coastal area was designated as fragile by environmental authorities), but it will also deeply impact the livelihood of many fishers and restrict their already rapidly depleting fishing zones. Significantly, the people of Palghar also sense that the reverberations of building this port will be felt offshore as well, since much of the surrounding land would be acquired from the locals to build trade corridors. 

In order to reach the ears of the State Government authorities, the people of Palghar decided to continue their march to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, on 25 January, to seek out the Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis. 

This discussion, too, resulted in assurances that the state government will provide justice to the people of Palghar and fulfil the demands of proper irrigation, pending land deeds,  and employment opportunities for the youth. However, no decision was announced regarding the cancellation of the Vadhavan port. 

The recent announcement of the India-US trade deal, which seeks to bring not just gems and other precious metals into the Indian market, but also heavy machinery such as automobiles and aircraft parts, indicates that the building of the Vadhavan port is going to go ahead despite the concerns raised by the people of Palghar. 

While the march may have come to a pause, the fight for legal rights to livelihood, environmental stewardship, and the dignity of rural and tribal communities is far from over. Additionally, the silence on the Vadhavan port project, in light of the India-US trade deal, reveals that the state’s conception of “viksit” (developed) Bharat, built on ports and trade corridors, threatens to jeopardise the very communities it needs to serve. In addition, the CPI(M) politburo stated that the trade deal had adverse effects on farmers, with much of the US food imported flooding the market, calling it “an assault on sovereignty. ”

The people of Palghar have won battles over immediate rights, but the war over their future, their land, their waters, and their right to work, remains ongoing. 

Photo credit: Parth M.N.