Affected farmers of Swargadwari Guthi have been staging a 14-day protest at the District Administration Office in Dang, demanding their land rights. Organized by the Struggle Committee, farmers have been stationed at the gate of the District Administration Office in Dang since February 20. Out of Swargadwari Guthi’s 1,500 bigha land, 753.4 bigha land is still occupied by farmers. These farmers, who have lived on the land for three generations, are demanding their rightful land ownership under the law, with the remaining land to be purchased by farmers at government rates.
While Swargadwari Guthi initially seemed inclined to grant Mohi rights, a Supreme Court order on February 26, 2006, prohibited the division of Swargadwari Guthi as a special type of Guthi, thereby depriving farmers of Mohi rights. Prabhu Chaudhary, coordinator of the Struggle Committee for Swargadwari Guthi-affected Mohi Farmers in Dang, highlighted that since the enactment of the new constitution in 2015, the constitution has empowered the legislation to address Guthi-related issues, urging the government to address the demands of the affected Mohi farmers through legislation.
With 16,267 farmers from 3,500 households dependent on 12 mauzas of Swargadwari Guthi in Dang, land rights activist Jagat Deujaexpressed solidarity with the Mohi farmers’ movement and stressed the government’s obligation to take the farmers’ demands seriously. To facilitate negotiations, the government formed a 5-member negotiation committee on February 29.
The Struggle Committee confirmed that preparations are underway for discussions between the protesting farmers and the government committee.