Supreme Court Considers Auctioning ATCL Assets Over Unpaid Dues of Tea Garden Workers

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The property of the ATCL (Assam Tea Corporation Ltd) may go under the hammer as the state government has not been able to clear the accumulating arrear dues of the tea garden workers.

Such an apprehension looms large with the Supreme Court of India dropping a broad hint to auction ATCL property and directing its Chairman-cum-Managing Director (AMD) to submit details of ATCL property before it by December 7 this year.

The apex court made this statement after hearing the PIL filed by the International Union of Food and Agriculture Workers (IUFAW) for the payment of arrears dues and pension benefits of tea garden workers. At present, ATCL owes its workers around Rs 70 crore in arrears dues.

The Supreme Court issued repeated directives to the state government to make the payment of dues to the ATCL workers, but to no avail. On October 21, 2024, the apex court said, “The government of Assam will have to seriously answer the question of why there is no sincere effort made by the state government and ATCL to pay the dues to the workers.”

Earlier, the court asked the Chief Secretary of Assam to file his affidavit in this regard. In the hearing on November 14, 2024, the Chief Secretary submitted before the court the Cabinet’s decision in this issue that ‘further diverting budgetary resources to loss-making ATCL is neither prudent nor in the interest of the public at large. We are quite ok if ATCL explores any statutory remedies under the Companies Act and NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal).’

The apex court said, “The state is a welfare state, and it has to take care of its citizens, and it cannot say that it is obliging by making payments to its workers.”

On behalf of the Assam Government, senior advocate Nalin Kohli told the bench, “We’re a deficit state and don’t have funds. Tomorrow again someone will come and urge the court to pass a direction for payment of arrears.”

The bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice AG Manish directed the ATCL CMD to submit details of ATCL property, ‘specifying their particulars to facilitate potential asset liquidation, if required… In the absence of a substantial proposal from the state government, the court might have no option but to proceed with orders for the sale of ATCL’s assets’.

The state-owned ATCL had 15 tea estates, and the government has already leased out nine of them. The leased-out gardens are also not in good health. At present, ATCL is running with a loss of around Rs 120 crore. The blame goes to mismanagement, political interference, jumbo-sized staff, improper upkeep of machinery and gardens, etc., for the sickness of ATCL.

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