India, May 25 -- The Himachal Pradesh cooperation department is finalising a lease agreement to revive the Sidhbari Cooperative Tea Factory in Dharamshala, which has been defunct since 2014. The move is expected to provide a major boost to small tea planters in the region.

The auction process for the factory is in its final stages. Of the three bidders, the highest has cleared the initial requirements, and officials are currently drafting the lease deed. The officials declined to disclose details of the highest bidder until the agreement is finalised.

Boom to liquidation

Spread over about 20 kanals (about 2.5 acres), the factory began operations in the 1980s. High operational costs and mounting losses forced it to shut down in 2014. An...