Bengal sets 7-day deadline to reopen closed tea gardens

Siliguri, Sept. 25 -- A seven-day deadline for the reopening of closed tea gardens across the state has been set by the West Bengal government. Gardens that fail to resume operations within the stipulated period could be taken over by the government and handed over to new owners. Arjun Singh, state Labour and Transport minister made this announcement on Friday following a meeting on tea garden-related issues at the Labour Department office in Dagapur, Siliguri. The minister also announced measures to recover Rs 100 crore in pending Provident Fund (PF) dues and assured that tea garden workers would receive a 20 per cent bonus before Durga Puja.

According to the information shared during the meeting, 21 tea gardens are currently completely closed, while another 11 are partially closed. To address the situation, the government has formed a task force comprising officials from the Tea Board, the Land and Land Reforms Department, the Industry and Commerce Department and the Labour Department.

The task force will assess the conditions of the closed gardens and oversee measures to resume operations. Friday's tea meeting was attended by Minister of State for Transport Anandamay Barman, Minister of State for Hill Affairs Vishal Lama, MP Raju Bista and Manoj Tigga, along with departmental officials, tea garden owners and representatives of the workers.

The government has also directed prospective owners taking responsibility for closed gardens to clear outstanding dues before the gardens are handed over to them. Singh said: "We have made it clear that those who take responsibility for closed tea gardens must first clear the outstanding dues. Only then will we hand over the gardens to them. If any promoter wants to take over a garden, they will also have to comply with all the conditions set by the government."

He added that 19 tea gardens have already paid the 20 percent bonus, with the remaining gardens expected to make the payments before Durga Puja. Singh also raised concerns over allegations that tea leaves were being sold through unauthorised channels. He said the administration had been instructed to remain vigilant and take action against those involved.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.