The orphaned sons of soil

Sangli Chamber of Commerce’s Sangli Spice and Food Park Association has been following up with MIDC for the plot

Local farmers and traders in Sangli are upset with the state industries department for ignoring their demand for preference to the Marathi manoos. A traders and farmers association is eyeing a 166-acre MIDC plot in Kavlapur in Sangli in order to create employment for locals and promote their produce. It is seeking preference for locals in allotment of the plot.

Accordingly, the Sangli Chamber of Commerce (a 120-year-old institution) formed the Sangli Spice and Food Park Association. The association has been following up with MIDC for a plot to ensure a competitive market for local produce, and a good rate for farmers' products. In fact, Jayant Patil, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and senior minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, wrote a letter to Industries Minister Subhash Desai in 2021 about the issue. In his letter, Patil, who hails from Sangli, urged the industries department to consider the requests of local farmers and traders while allotting the plot. Sangli produces turmeric, chillis, jaggery, raisins and spices. The association, which is an NGO, requires the plot for a space to store, process, market and also prepare the produce for export.

Suresh Patil, Sangli Spice and Food Park Association

Suresh Patil, chief promoter of the association, said that with the Shiv Sena at the helm of affairs in the state, they were hopeful that Thackeray Jr would implement the late Balasaheb Thackeray's vision of promoting the bhumiputra.

But with no such move from the MVA government, an irked Suresh Patil said, "The current government seems to be turning a deaf ear to locals' demands. We are not against allotment of a plot or development in the region. We are not asking for any discount or concession that will lead to revenue loss to the state exchequer. Our only contention is that while allotting the MIDC plot, locals should be the first choice."

The Sangli Chamber of Commerce's association requires the plot for a space to store, process, market and also prepare the produce for export

Letter to the CM

The association has even written a letter to the chief minister on April 4 and urged him to personally look into the issue. In its letter it has categorically asked for the plot to be allotted via a bidding process. "Interested parties [be it a local or from outside] can participate in the process. By adopting this procedure, the highest bidder will get the plot and the government will earn revenue," Suresh Patil added.

Speaking to mid-day, Desai stated that he could not comment specifically on the plot. However, he maintained, "MIDC follows standard operating procedure for allotment of plots."

Asked about locals being ignored during the process, the minister refuted the charges. Desai reiterated, "MIDC allots land through a tendering process. No one is bypassed. Everyone is given a fair chance. So, there is no question of ignoring locals."

"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's father, the late Bal Thackeray, was the first to espouse the cause of the sons of the soil. But the industries department, which is headed by the Shiv Sena, seems to be singing a different tune," said locals in Sangli.