STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Member of the State Executive of the BJP, Bhagirath Karan has requested Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take certain specific measures to protect the tea industry of Assam, along with lakhs of its workers.
In a recent letter to the Chief Minister, Karan said that the tea industry has provided employment to lakhs of people within the State over the years, but at present it faces certain problems. He pointed out that there has been a steep increase in the sale of tea estates by various tea companies, which has led to various problems for the Government as well as at the tea workers' community. As such, Karan urged that the State Government should bring a strong legislation that would regulate such sales. He further mentioned various instances of tea estate owners using leased Government land for personal and commercial usage by placing it as collateral for getting loans from banks. The money is then invested in proliferation of various other businesses. As a result, many of the tea gardens are now in a dire situation, he said, adding that such illegal activities are being carried out with the involvement of officials in the State Revenue department, bankers and the tea estate owners.
"This illegal state of affairs needs due rectifications at the easiest", Karan said.
Karan stressed that land that has been leased for tea cultivation should be made non-transferable.
Further, he said, it has also been observed that most of the tea garden owners have illegally sold their estates - where private schools, hospitals, private establishments, brick kilns etc., have mushroomed. The Government should evict all such illegal infrastructures and take back such land and properties within its fold, Karan said.
He further mentioned that only a meagre 20 per cent of the total tea produced in Assam is sold through public auction, while the major portion of 80 per cent is sold through private entities. He said that since sales through private entities have an adverse impact on tea prices, at least 75 per cent of the total produce needs to be sold through the public auction window.
Karan also mentioned that there have been complaints regarding Bought Leaf Factories (BLFs) delivering substandard quality of tea. The matter has already been highlighted in front of the Tea Board of India by various stakeholders from Assam, he said, adding that the Tea Board should exercise its powers by restricting the BLFs from expanding and acquiring new estates within Assam, he said.
The BJP leader suggested that various tea estate managements should prominently display a signboard mentioning the amount of money spent upon developmental works of the estate as well as welfare of the tea workers' community. This would help in bolstering transparency, Karan said.
He said that there are around 1,000 tea gardens in Assam. Similarly, the small tea growers range between 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh. Almost 30 lakh people are directly or indirectly associated with the tea industry of Assam. Therefore, he said, in order to achieve an efficient and effective management within the tea industry, the presence of a dedicated Ministry at both the Centre and the State level is the need of the hour.
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