The state government’s ultimatum last week, asking the owners of closed tea gardens to reopen their estates within 15 days, is likely to go unheeded.
M. Das Gupta, the secretary-general of the Indian Tea Association, said it was impossible to open the gardens in such a slapdash manner. He was talking to reporters after the 44th annual general meeting of the Terai Branch of the Indian Tea Association (TBITA) here today.
On January 20, state labour welfare minister Md Amin held a meeting with representatives of closed estate owners and trade union leaders, where he directed the planters to reopen their gardens within 15 days. “He (Amin) might have said such a thing, owing to some kind of pressure,” Das Gupta said. “But we had already said it was not possible to reopen the gardens unless the government considered certain difficulties the estates were facing.”
“For gardens, which have been closed owing to scarcity of funds, we have asked the government to have a separate meeting with the owners, banks and financial institutions. Banks have an important role to play here,” he added.
P.K. Lahiri, the Tea Board secretary, said the government was working on creating a Rs 4,700-crore special purpose tea fund, which will help owners uproot and replant bushes. The estates will get 15 years to utilise the funds. “The gardens must take immediate steps to improve the quality of tea, for which the bushes should be replanted,” he said. Das Gupta seemed glad that the government was ready to help the industry.
According to P.S. Jhala, the TBITA chairman, the government must devise schemes so that the tea industry diversifies into other commercial crops like spices and medicinal plants.
Source > The Telegraph
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment