The 96th memorial of the Chirner Jungle Satyagraha in Uran became a platform for renewed disagreement over the proposed NAINA project and the wider idea of a third Mumbai, with farmers raising slogans against giving up their land during the ceremony on Friday.
Tributes were paid at the martyr memorial in Chirner in the presence of Raigad district guardian minister Bharat Gogawale, legislators Prashant Thakur and Mahesh Baldi, and Raigad Zilla Parishad president Mangesh Wakadikar, among others. Police fired three ceremonial rifle volleys at noon in honour of those who died during the freedom movement.
Gogawale said the martyrs had sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence and promised to continue attending the memorial day programme. He also said discussions could be held on farmers’ problems in the context of the third Mumbai and that the Chirner Satyagraha would remain an enduring part of public memory. He said a centenary-plus memorial observance would be organised in the future.
The event also brought competing positions on development and land ownership into the open. Wakadikar said development should proceed while protecting the rights of local residents. Baldi said efforts would be made to address problems connected with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, or MMRDA. He also said farmers were welcoming NAINA, the planning project at the centre of the dispute.
That position drew an immediate response from farmers attending the memorial. After Baldi spoke in support of MMRDA, participants raised slogans including “No, never” and said they would not give their land. The episode placed the land question alongside the ceremony’s historical focus on resistance and sacrifice.
The disagreement reflects the pressure created when large regional planning proposals meet existing settlements and agricultural land. In the report, local representatives did not describe a settled agreement on land acquisition or development. Instead, the statements indicated that the political and administrative debate over NAINA, the proposed third Mumbai and the role of MMRDA remains active.
Local infrastructure concerns were also raised at the memorial. Chirner Gram Panchayat sarpanch Bhaskar Mokal asked the guardian minister to intervene in the proposed third Mumbai project, saying it could destroy farmers’ livelihoods. He also sought funds for Chirner’s development and action to address growing traffic congestion in Uran’s eastern area, which he said was troubling residents.
The event therefore combined three immediate demands: protection of farmers’ land, funding for local development and measures to ease congestion. The report does not provide details of any approved land-acquisition decision, project timetable or specific traffic intervention. The next steps mentioned by the officials were continued engagement on farmers’ concerns, efforts to resolve MMRDA-related problems and consideration of development funding for Chirner.
