Tea companies as PF defaulters

In what has been described as an unprecedented move in the history of the tea industry of the state, the Assam Tea Employees' Provident Fund Organization (ATEPFO), Tinsukia Zone has announced attachment of the property of Talap tea estate. Owned by Apeejay Tea Limited, one of India's oldest tea producers, the Talap tea estate has been declared as attached for allegedly defaulting in depositing outstanding Provident Fund (PF) dues amounting to over Rs 7.1 crore. What is worse is that the management of the tea estate had failed to honour the demand notice served by the recovery officer of the ATEPF Organization under the Department of Labour, Government of Assam, because of which the attachment of its movable and immovable assets and properties was announced. How the tea estate, which has on its rolls several hundred employees, will be able to come out of this will be worth keeping track of, especially because now the management of the tea estate will not be able to sell, transfer or lease out the immovable and movable property of the tea estate. While some tea estates are in the habit of defaulting in depositing PF funds of their employees to the authorities concerned, it is unfortunate that a highly reputed and one of the largest tea companies has figured in such notification of the PF authorities. It is worth noting that the Apeejay-Surrendra Group owns as many as 16 tea estates in the prime tea growing areas of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Udalguri and Sonitpur districts of Assam spread over 50,000 acres under three companies, these being Assam Frontier, Empire, and Singlo. Among them, Singlo is a historically very important tea estate in itself, having been established by none other than the legendary and pioneer Indian tea planter Maniram Dewan. With the Assam tea industry inching towards completion of two centuries of its existence since the first estates were established at Chabua, Jeypore, Gabharuparbat and Ligiripukhuri, the news from Talap is not at all encouraging. This is especially so when the tea industry as a whole has been facing a lot of problems including a threat from climate change and global warming.