Jay Shree Tea: Future nos to tell how well sugar foray is

Kolkata-based BK Birla group company Jay Shree Tea & Industries, which is in the businesses of tea, chemicals and fertilisers, is set to diversify into the sugar business. The Rs 400-crore company is acquiring MP Chini Industries, an unlisted sugar company in Bihar.

MP Chini Industries is an integrated sugar company with a capacity of 4600-tonne crush per day (TCD) and having a power generation capacity of six mega watts. Its sugar-manufacturing unit is located in the land-locked region in West Champaran, Bihar. The company has maintained high levels of capacity utilisation (over 95% in ’06-07) and has also maintained a base recovery rate of 9% over the past four years, which is on par with average players in the industry.

However, its long distance from the Kolkata port limits the company’s ability to export sugar or import raw sugar for processing. The company is estimated to close this fiscal year with a profit of Rs 26 crore, earned on a topline of Rs 80 crore.

The sugar industry in Bihar is poised for growth. Oxfam International, a UK-based NGO, has released a report in ’08-09, recognising the potential of Bihar in producing good quality sugar, during its trade fair campaign in the state recently. According to the latest available official data, the sugar industry in the state had already attracted private investments of Rs 4,600 crore in the past one year.

At Rs 112.50 crore, Jay Shree Tea & Industries is acquiring the sugar company at close to one-and-a-half times the revenues of the company. The company is bullish on the agri-commodity business which is why it has diversified into the sugar business. It has already been expanding its tea business for a while now. With tea prices rallying, the company’s stock also witnessed positive action. The stock has vaulted 282% in the past year — significantly outperforming the Sensex’s gain of 85% during the same period.

However, the stock market did not react positively to the company’s acquisition announcement and the stock fell over 8% on Monday. A buyout in the sugar sector at a time when the bullish commodity cycle is turning is not being perceived as the right move. The company’s performance in the forthcoming quarters will be a reflection of how well timed its entry into the sugar business has been.

From The Times of India

Mob sets tea factory on fire after owner ‘shoots teen’

A tea estate on the outskirts of Guwahati turned into a cauldron of violent protest after a boy died when the proprietor fired at villagers who had gathered near his bungalow to protest his alleged attempt to molest a woman this morning.

Police seized a Winchester rifle and a revolver from Mridul Bhattacharjee, the proprietor of Rani tea estate, but struggled to extract him from the estate as villagers went on the rampage demanding that the man be handed to them for street justice.

Security forces fired tear gas shells and wielded the baton for nearly eight hours during which time the villagers relentlessly attacked the estate property, reducing it to ashes.

The largely outnumbered security forces watched helplessly as they were more worried about protecting Bhattacharjee, who had confined himself to his bungalow, which is protected by an electric fence.

The mob burnt the factory, several vehicles, tea bushes and even attacked the animal farm owned by the garden. Several pigs and goats were butchered and charred in the onslaught.

By afternoon, the picturesque Rani tea estate factory area resembled a battle zone with fire and smoke everywhere.

The police finally evacuated Bhattacharjee around 4.30pm after teargas shells dispersed the mob that had been baying for his blood all day.

Trouble began after Bhattacharjee allegedly beat up and molested an NREGA worker, Jogomaya Boro, who was passing through the garden, for trespassing, around 8.30 this morning.

Jogomaya, a resident of Andherijauli village, was late for work and decided to take a short cut through the garden to her work site, about a kilometre from her house.

“She was accosted by the proprietor and was beaten up for entering the garden. Her clothes were also torn by him,” said Dhireswar Boro, secretary of Upardani Taluk Samabai Samiti.

Jogomaya reported the matter to the villagers who went to Bhattacharjee’s bungalow around 9.30am to protest against the ill-treatment.

“He (Bhattacharjee) opened fire on us from inside the house, killing Pradip Murari, a Class VIII student of Upardani High School and injuring four others,” Boro said.

The injured, Katiram Rabha, Suren Boro, Jagdish Boro and Ajoy Rahba, are being treated at Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

The police arrived soon after and confined Bhattacharjee to the bungalow along with his wife and a servant as the crowd went on the rampage, setting fire to the tea factory.

The crowd did not even allow the fire tenders to enter the factory and squatted at the entrance with the boy’s body and demanded that Bhattcharjee be arrested immediately and handed over to them.

All efforts of senior police and district administration officials of Kamrup (rural) and written assurance from the local MLA, Ramendra Narayan Kalita, and deputy commissioner, S.K. Roy to take stringent action against Bhattacharjee, failed to pacify the crowd, and the vandalism continued.

It was around 3.30pm that the police brought Bhattacharjee out of the bungalow, his hands tied with a rope, to prove that he had indeed been arrested.

That, too, failed to appease the crowd which set dry tea bushes along the pathway leading to the bungalow on fire.

Bhattacharjee presented a picture of calm despite the frenzy around.

The only time he reacted was when villagers were beating up a pig.

Finally, the IGP (central western range) Pallab Bhatacharyya, who arrived around 4pm, ordered the final assault of teargas.

The proprietor was then whisked away in a police vehicle under tight security.

Owned by the MKB (Asia) Private Limited, Rani tea estate was certified as organic in 2005.

Another tea estate, Satrupa, owned by the company, is in Tinsukia district.

Small growers on saving spree for tea factory

Siliguri, Nov. 5: A group of small tea growers of Jalpaiguri is contemplating setting up a factory by 2010 by saving Re 1 from every kg of tealeaves sold.

The 300-plus members of the Panbari Small Tea Growers’ Society in Jalpaiguri’s Mainaguri block have been mobilising funds for the past one year for the factory which they claim will be the first of its kind in the country.

The society has recently been identified as a model self-help group by the Tea Board of India. Small growers are spread over four tea producing states of Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

“The members of the society have agreed to keep aside Re 1 for every kg of tealeaves sold by them. As their annual sale is around 18-20 lakh kg, they can garner Rs 40-60 lakh by 2010,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the vice-president of the United Forum of Small Tea Growers’ Associations. “An investment of Rs 1.50 crore is necessary to set up the factory if the tealeaves produced by them need to be processed in the plant.”

While the society members will contribute to the factory, they will also ask for subsidy from the tea board for building the plant. “We are also taking up the matter with Nabard for additional funds,” Chakraborty said.

The society has 317 members with the plantation spread across 800 acres, which is almost the area of a tea estate. Recently, the members have purchased a plot of five bighas in the area for constructing the factory.

“The factory will be the first in India to be set up by small growers,” said Badal Debnath, a society member.

Tea board officials are keen to see the factory coming up at Panbari. “The society members are doing excellent work but it will definitely take some time for them to assimilate the funds. We cannot fund the entire project because of some limitations,” G. Boriah, the director (tea development) of the board, told The Telegraph from Calcutta today.

“Once the factory comes up, we will encourage more such plants to help small growers process their tealeaves,” Boriah said.

The board has decided to open small growers’ cells in all tea producing states in the country. The ones in Jalpaiguri and Dibrugarh will be opened soon, he added.

“These offices will take care of the small growers. The Union commerce and industry ministry has sanctioned 11 posts for them.”

July 1 meet for wage revision

Siliguri, June 20: Tea garden workers have insisted on major changes in the existing wage structure and mode of payment, which includes a hike of almost 100 per cent.

In their 18-point charter placed before the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations, an organisation of planters, and the Bengal government, trade unions in the tea industry have insisted on conversion of the daily wage system to monthly payments for permanent workers.

The Bengal labour department has invited planters and trade union leaders to discuss the revision of wages and salaries of more than three lakh tea workers at a tripartite meeting in Calcutta on July 1.

The last three-year-old agreement expired on March 31 this year.

Leaders of the Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers, an apex body representing trade unions like the Citu, Intuc and Himalayan Plantation Workers’ Union, will be present at the meeting.

“Unlike the Rs 53.90 paid to field workers and Rs 58.40 to factory workers on a daily basis after a week or a fortnight, we want them to get monthly salaries,” said Chitta Dey, convener of the Coordination Committee. “The minimum monthly salaries that we have proposed are Rs 3,120 and Rs 3,400 for field and factory workers respectively.”

For temporary workers, who also earn Rs 53.90 a day, trade unions have proposed a hike of Rs 120 per day for field workers and Rs 130 in factories.

The other demands include revised pay scales for technicians, clerical and medical staff. “Those who need to operate computers or are in hazardous jobs should be given an allowance of 25 per cent on their salaries. Plus a variable dearness allowance at the rate of one per cent per point of rise in the All India Consumer Price Index should be paid to the workers,” Dey said. “We also suggested promotion of women, who are mostly pluckers, to supervisory posts.”

‘Bad-year’ fund for small tea

Siliguri, May 25: The Union ministry of commerce and industries has created a fund to compensate small growers of tea, coffee, rubber and tobacco for crop loss and low prices.

The Price Stabilisation Fund Trust, formed by the ministry, has also floated accidental insurance cover for the small growers and their workers.

Small growers are those with plantation area of not more than four hectares.

“A corpus of Rs 500 crore has been created by the Centre for this purpose,” Amit Chatterjee, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Trust posted in Delhi, told The Telegraph here. “Small growers will be paid compensation in bad years, when prices are low.”

The Trust will ascertain good, bad or normal year on the basis of average domestic price of Indian CTC tea vis-à-vis the price it fetches in international markets.

“The average domestic price should be plus or minus 20 per cent of the average international price,” the CEO said. “Lower than 20 per cent will mean a bad year, within the lower and upper limits, normal and more than 20 per cent, good.”

For example, in 2006, the average international price of CTC tea was Rs 64.02 a kg. The average domestic price, on the other hand, was Rs 63.62/kg, which means it was a normal year.

“Growers need to join the scheme by opening a savings account in a bank with a contribution of Rs 500. In a bad year, we will deposit Rs 1,000 as compensation. In a normal year, the grower and we will contribute Rs 500 each and in a good year, the grower alone will deposit Rs 1,000. The amount can be withdrawn only in a bad year,” Chatterjee said.

The Centre also plans to help growers by insuring their crop and will pay them the average price of the total yield of their plantation plus 20 per cent as compensation if they suffer crop loss because of inclement weather, pest attack or for some other reasons.

During his visit here, the CEO briefed small tea growers on the Trust’s accidental insurance scheme.

“A grower or a worker serving in a small tea plantation can claim up to Rs 1 lakh in case of partial or total disablement or death,” Chatterjee said. “A worker who falls sick and remains absent from duty for over three months can get compensation up to Rs 15,000.”

For this, the Trust and the grower/worker will pay Rs 7 each as annual premium.

The Trust plans to bring in 12.77 lakh growers and 51.08 lakh workers under the insurance scheme. Of them, 85,000 growers and 3.40 lakh workers will be from the tea industry.

Growers in north Bengal have welcomed the initiative taken by the Trust in association with the Tea Board of India. “We appreciate the initiative. Although the compensation for low prices is not a huge amount (Rs 1,000), in a bad year all help is welcome,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the vice-president of the United Forum of Small Tea Growers Associations. “The workers can also reap the benefit of the insurance.”

Brew belt demands pay hike

Siliguri, Feb. 4: Trade union leaders in the tea belt of north Bengal have demanded a pay hike for workers just before discussions begin on a new wage agreement.

The existing tripartite industry-wide agreement expires on March 31. The three-year deal was signed in Calcutta on July 25, 2005.

“Though some gardens are still closed and a few are short on funds, the tea industry in north Bengal has done much better in the past couple of years,” said Chitta Dey, convener, Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers. “So, we want planters to revise the salary structure of employees before the new wage agreement is implemented from April 1.”

The Coordination Committee is the apex body of tea trade unions, including the Citu and the Intuc.

Last time, it took more than two years to reach a consensus (the earlier wage agreement had expired on March 31, 2003) and that too after chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee intervened and the unions went on an indefinite strike.

“We don’t want the industry to suffer this time, but expect the planters to consider the need for an immediate pay hike,” said Dey.

Before the 2005 agreement, the daily wage of a permanent worker was Rs 45.90. Now, it is Rs 53.90, much lower than the Rs 88 promised by union leaders in 2005.

“At that time, we had to consider the problems faced by the industry,” a union leader said. “This time, we will demand a substantial rise because tea prices are on the rise, exports have increased, new overseas markets have been identified and domestic consumption has swelled.”

The planters were guarded in their response.

“The tea industry in north Bengal has definitely shown signs of improvement in the past few years, but the social costs, too, have gone up,” said N.K. Basu, the convener of the apex body of the planters. “It is difficult to think of a wage revision right now.”

Exemptions for frozen account

Jaigaon, Dec. 24: The regional provident fund office in Jalpaiguri has allowed the management of Dalsinghpara Tea Estate to deposit the education stipend sent by the Tea Board and the salary savings of workers under an LIC scheme in its account, which has otherwise been attached.

The account was sealed after the garden management defaulted on provident fund dues of nearly Rs 76 lakh.

The regional provident fund commissioner II, Jalpaiguri, Gautam, said the account of the garden in the United Bank of India’s Birpara branch, was attached in August. It was done after the management failed to respond to several pleas to deposit the amount deducted from the workers’ salaries as provident fund.

“The garden management had given several undertaking before the high court that it would pay up the dues, which stood at Rs 75.26 lakh till March 2007, in instalments but failed to keep its word,” Gautam said.

Kalatush Kullu, the unit president of the National Union of Plantation Workers, an Intuc affiliate, said because of the frozen account many schoolchildren had been deprived of the Tea Board stipend. “As it is we don’t get our salaries and ration on time. Now even schoolchildren are not getting their stipends. Last September, a draft of Rs 40,013 was sent by the board in the name of the garden manager. This was meant for distribution among nine students. The money is yet to be disbursed,” Kullu said.

A woman worker of the garden, Kabita Rana, said her son, Abhisek, who studies in Class XI at B.D. Memorial School in Jaigaon, was to have received Rs 7,334 as education stipend for one year.

Gautam said the representatives of several unions like the Intuc, Citu and the UTUC had appealed to him to exempt the education stipend and the salary savings scheme. “We found out that these two items had no bearing with the management and so gave them permission to use the account for these two purposes,” the regional commissioner said.

Sources in the garden said that the management was now operating through the account of the Dalmore Tea Estate, which is owned by the same Octavious Group. Their account, too, is in the same bank.

Source: The Telegraph

Agro Bio-diversity in tea culture

In order to make the ailing tea gardens profitable, the Tea Research Association is experimenting with introducing agro bio-diversity in tea culture.

The experimenting has started with inter-cropping in some old tea gardens where productivity has fallen, resulting in low profitability. With productivity decreasing in older gardens, inter-cropping is one of the best methods to make them viable.

“We are experimenting with several crops which can be grown in similar conditions,” Dr M Hazarika, director, Tea Research Association said. The crops which are being tested for growing along with tea are, black pepper, amla (Indian gooseberry), cashew nut and betel vine.
The project has a dual purpose, that of enhancing the quality and flavor of tea as well as to make the gardens more profitable.

“We are trying to find an ideal combination of crops which will grow well with tea as well as may help develop different flavours. The crops also need to be grown in a small space so as not to overshadow the tea shrubs,” Dr Hazarika observed.

The move has been propelled by the continuous depression persisting in the Indian tea market resulting in closure of several tea gardens.

A number of others in West Bengal and Assam are ailing because of decrease in profitability.
“The government is doing its bit by providing funds for re-plantation through the Special Purpose Tea Fund to replant tea shrubs in old tea gardens. This apart, the industry has to encourage innovation and research to survive in the long run,” Mr CS Bedi, chairman, TRA said.
The Association, for the first time, has completed chemo-profiling of more than 100 varieties of Assam tea and about 30 varieties of Darjeeling tea. Biotechnology will play a big role in the turnaround of the Indian tea industry. It will bring down the conventional breeding trial period from 10-12 years to about five years as well as result in new varieties, Dr Hazarika said.
It has also selected several varieties of water-logging resistant tea which is presently under trial in 26 gardens of Assam and West Bengal for commercial exploitation.

Another innovative experiment being carried out is the use of insects to enhance the flavor of Darjeeling tea. Tea is one of the most chemically complex plants. It has been noticed, some insects feeding or living on its leaves increases the flavor.

“However, we need to study the phenomenon further to arrive at a conclusion,” Dr Hazarika said.

Source: The Statesman

Family run tea garden sets example

A family-run tea estate in the Dooars has set an example to others in the region. It does not have any union, nor do the workers want it.

The Gopimohan tea garden is locally known as the “garden of five brothers” where all the five siblings run the show. All of them are directors of Jahury-Durga Tea Company Private Limited and hold the posts of office clerk, store clerk, head clerk, assistant manager and manager as well.

According to the youngest of the brothers, Pranablal Mukherjee, when their father, Jahurylal Mukherjee, passed away in 1971, he and his six brothers took over the reins of the garden. Two of his elder brothers have died since then.

One of the 30 permanent workers of the 45-hectare garden, Thuli Kami, said the owners treated them like their own family members. “We have no need for unions in the garden as we get all our dues on time,” she said.

Till a month ago, the estate had been selling plucked tealeaves to neighbouring gardens with factories. “But recently we installed a CTC plant spending Rs 3 lakh. We have a good relation ship with traders in Bhutan and have a ready market here for our manufactured tea,” Mukherjee said.

“Our father was one of the first Bengali planters in the Dooars to set up a garden in 1939 and we are proud to carry on his legacy,” said Alokelal Mukherjee, another brother.

Source: The Telegraph

Bad roads and a broken bridge affect tea distribution

Over 50 lakh kg of tea ready for distribution is stuck at warehouses in Siliguri after bad roads in Bihar and the broken Bailey bridge in Raiganj disrupted traffic in the region.

S.K. Saria, chairman of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee (Stac), said the situation is likely to have a spiralling effect, ultimately hitting the planters and workers at a time when the industry is trying to cope with the twin effects of low production and price.

“About 50 lakh kg tea auctioned off in the past three weekly sales (Sales 33, 34 and 35) is lying idle in the warehouses,” Saria said. “This means about Rs 40 crore is stuck up at a single point of the supply chain.”

Following requests from buyers to defer tomorrow’s auction at Siliguri Tea Auction Centre, the Stac sales advisory committee held a meeting today. “However, we decided not to let the auction be affected for it will hit the sellers hard,” Saria said. “For the sake of the buyers, the seller members have agreed to increase the ‘prompt’ by two days.”

Prompt in industry terminology stands for the number of days by which the buyers are supposed to pay for the stocks bought at the auction. According to Stac rules, a “prompt” of 13 working days is granted to a buyer for each sale. “The buyers will now get a respite of two days each for the last three sales as well as tomorrow’s sale.”

Saria said Stac has also decided to submit a memorandum to the government on the situation.

Shankar Agarwal, general secretary of Siliguri Road Transporters’ Association, said tea movement has almost come to a standstill. “Since the last one month, the Bihar floods and bad roads resulting out of it have caused a near total halt of movement of trucks to and from north India through Bihar (mainly the seven-eight km stretch in Naugachia),” he said.

“On an average, 100 truckloads of tea move out of Siliguri daily, but now because of the road disruption not a single vehicle is being dispatched,” Agarwal said.

S.K. Bhattacharya, the secretary of Siliguri Tea Traders’ Association, said the buyers were at a loss. “If the primary buyers are unable to deliver tea to up-country buyers, they will not receive payments. On the other hand, they will have to make the necessary payments to the sellers within the prompt period. However, the relaxation in prompt has brought some relief.”

Source: The Telegraph

Intuc threatens stir over tea issue

The Congress and its affiliate, the Intuc, have decided to launch an intensive movement against the Center and state if no steps are taken after the deadline for opening closed gardens ends on August 31.

The Union ministry for commerce and industry had specifically declared that owners of closed gardens should avail of the financial package and reopen their gardens by August 31 or else the estates would be acquired by invoking sections 16(D) and (E) of the Tea Act, 1953.

“We will wait for one week after the deadline before resorting to demonstrations, blockades and rallies,” said Aloke Chakravorty, the Darjeeling district president of the Intuc.

The decision follows the announcement made by the Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers — an apex body of tea trade unions — to start a movement in October to demand workers’ benefits like housing, health and drinking water.

Source: The Telegraph

Minister intervention plea in felling shade trees

Tea planters in the Dooars and Terai have sought the forest minister’s intervention in felling shade trees.

No shade tree can be cut without the permission of the respective panchayat within which the garden is located. However, since the process involved is lengthy, planters feel the utilisation of Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) — under which old bushes will be uprooted and new saplings of shade trees planted — will receive a setback.

The applications for felling are made to panchayats first, which in turn recommend them to the district level tea committee, which takes the final decision and intimates the applicant garden.

“In many cases, it takes about a year,” said N.K. Basu, the principal adviser to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association. “We want the process to be simplified and have invited forest minister Ananta Roy to a meeting. He is yet to respond.”

Some planters alleged that permissions were often determined by how felled trees were utilised. “When it is a commercial felling, that is, the timber is sold through the forest department, the permission comes early,” a garden owner said. However, when the timber is consumed within the garden as firewood, the permission takes a year to come, he alleged.

Foresters, however, blamed incomplete applications and absence of necessary documents as the cause for delay.

M.R. Baluch, the conservator of forests (northern circle), hinted that a new arrangement would be operational soon. “The range officer will grant permission for felling shade trees. But the entire sales proceeds will have to be used for workers’ welfare.”

Source: The Telegraph

Major Ration crisis for tea gardens

Tea planters in the foothills of Bengal have hinted at a major crisis in disbursement of food grain in the next few months, considering the consistent shortfall in government allotment since January this year.

“The distribution of ration in the brew belt might face a sudden jolt as managements in the Terai and Dooars are being forced to purchase rice and wheat from the open market,” said Shashank Prasad, the president of the Tea Association of India.

According to Prasad, considering the state of the industry, the situation can worsen if the gardens fail to buy foodgrain from the open market. “We want the governments to intervene,” he added.

Under the wage agreement of 1969, a tea worker is entitled to 1kg of rice and 2.26kg of wheat every week. An adult dependant of the worker is supposed to get 1kg of rice and 1.44kg of wheat while a minor 500gm of rice and 720gm of wheat.

In 2005, the FCI used to allot 5,890 quintals of rice and 35,340 quintals of wheat per month to the gardens of the Dooars and the Terai. The figures changed to 34,830 quintals and 14,930 quintals in 2006.

“In June last year, though the allotment of rice remained the same, only 7,460 quintals of wheat were allotted,” a source said. In January 2007, when the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was launched, the allotment became 22,399 quintals against a requirement of 18,854 quintals of rice and 11,015 quintals of wheat (which makes the total 29,869 quintals) each month.

“Now each month, we have to purchase about 7,500 quintals of foodgrain from the open market, where we pay Rs 1,125 for every quintal of rice and Rs 1,200 per quintal of wheat,” a planter said. “If this continues for a year, we will be spending around Rs 10 crore for around 90,000 quintals.”

Tea estates were brought under the purview of the TPDS scheme this year wherein workers and their families were issued ration cards with managers acting as ration dealers.

“When the FCI was in charge, the shortages were sporadic, but ever since the TPDS was introduced, the shortage has become constant,” said N.K. Basu, the convener of the West Bengal branch of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations. “We want the government to do something.”

Bengal food minister Paresh Adhikary, however, said the state government has little to do with the allotment. “The Centre allots the foodgrain,” he said. “Our role is limited to routing it to the industry. We have always told the planters to write to the Union government. Nevertheless, we will take up the issue with Union food minister Sharad Pawar.”

Source: The Telegraph

Tea Managers forced to leave tea garden

Two members of the management at Dalsinghpara Tea Estate were forced by workers to leave the garden after they failed to pay up their monthly dues.

Garden manager Jagannath Mahato and factory-in-charge Govind Purohit came to their office around 8am and were immediately confronted by workers. Supporters of unions affiliated to the UTUC, the Intuc and the Citu jointly demanded this month’s wages, revision of pay scale and arrears.

The duo admitted that they did not have the funds to pay the dues and pleaded helplessness in not being able to get in touch with company officials in Calcutta.

According to Sankar Ghosh of the UTUC-affiliated North Bengal Cha Bagan Employees Union, the two men were told to march to the bus stand 500m away where there were phone booths. They were accompanied by over 300 garden workers.

“Once there, they called up the office of Octavius Tea and Industries Ltd, which owns the garden. After the call they said the management would not be able to send funds before next week,” Ghosh said.

The leaders present then decided that they would not allow the two officials to return to the garden and reportedly forced the duo on to a bus and asked them to leave.

“We had no options but to ask them to leave as the company has been failing to pay up the wages and the arrears after repeated promises,” Ghosh said. “Earlier the wages were paid regularly on the fourth of each month. This month we allowed them time till the tenth. When they did not pay us our dues even on August 14 we stopped the despatch of tea from the factory.”

The president of the Intuc-affiliated National Union of Plantation Workers, Kalatush Kullu, said the company owed the workers nearly Rs 4 crore in provident fund and gratuity dues, wage arrears, ration and medical bills.

Police said the two managers had gone to the Jaigaon police station to register a complaint.

“We tried to tell the unions today that about 25,000 kg of tea was awaiting despatch and this payment would be made by August 22. But they are not willing to listen to us and instead we were insulted. The plucked leaf is lying unweighed since 7am today. There are no security arrangements in the garden,” Mahato said.

Till late in the evening the two managers were still at the police station.

Source: The Telegraph

Tea Tax Waiver a relief

Darjeeling : The Bengal government has waived agriculture income tax across the state for the next three years. The decision is expected to bring relief to the tea industry, which has been reeling from losses for more than a decade.

A notification issued by the government on July 5 — a copy of which is with The Telegraph — has also spelt out a special scheme to settle the amount of unpaid agricultural income tax and the interest incurred as penalty over the years. The waiver will come into effect from the 2006-2007 financial year and will continue till 2008-2009.

In a particular year, the agricultural income tax is computed on 60 per cent of the profits earned by a company/ garden in that year. The normal income tax is calculated on the remaining 40 per cent. Under the new scheme, there will be no change in the income tax policy: the tea companies will have to continue paying that.

Sources said agriculture income tax for the tea companies was as high as 30 per cent of the 60 per cent of profits on which it was calculated while the interest payable as penalty for non-payment was two per cent of the tax each month. For the next three years, the gardens will not have to pay this tax.

Under the special scheme, provisions have also been made to reduce the penalty incurred by 75 per cent, provided the tax has been paid for any previous year on or before March 31, 2007. But the arrears (the remaining tax and the 25 per cent penalty) will have to be paid in “lumpsums” anytime between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2009.

However, if no agriculture income tax for any year has been paid on or before March 31, 2007, the government will waive the total interest on condition that the unpaid taxes will be paid by March 31, 2009. The notification will be considered as having come into effect from June 1, 2007.

Sources said the state government decided to come up with the special scheme so that gardens find it “attractive to pay the tax”. Some of the reasons why these estates have been defaulting on payment are erosion of good market and high cost of production.

Sandeep Mukherjee, secretary, Darjeeling Tea Association, while confirming the special scheme, said: “We welcome the move. It will bring about some relief to the tea gardens.”

Source: The Telegraph

Chamurchi Tea Estate workers want co-operative society

Labourers of the closed Chamurchi Tea Estate in the Dooars want the Centre to acquire the garden and hand it over to a workers’ cooperative society.

Chamurchi has been shut for more than six years. Currently, a Citu-controlled operations and management committee (OMC) oversees the plucking and selling of green tealeaves at the estate.

This morning, about 400 Chamurchi workers demonstrated in front of the offices of the tea board and the joint labour commissioner here, demanding steps to facilitate the formation of the cooperative society and the acquisition of the garden. They also submitted memorandums signed by 820 of the 846 permanent labourers of the garden, who have enrolled as members of the society.

“We are not satisfied with the way the OMC at our garden has been working,” said Rasho Mahali, a worker of Chamurchi. “The owner, on the other hand, has stayed away for the past six-seven years. We can run the garden on our own through the cooperative society.”

“We have already applied for the registration of the society,” said Kamruddin Ansari, the secretary of Chamurchi Tea Estate Workers’ Cooperative Society Limited. “The Centre should now acquire the garden by invoking Sections 16 (D) and (E) of the Tea Act, 1953, and hand over the ownership to the society.”

Union minister of state for commerce and industries Jairam Ramesh had declared at a meeting in Calcutta on June 14 that Sushila Kejriwal, the owner of Chamurchi, was unwilling to run the garden. “It has been thus decided that a cooperative society, on the lines of Durgabari tea estate of Tripura, would be formed at the garden,” Ramesh had said.

Tea board officials admitted that the formation of a society could be one way of re-opening the estate, but also spoke of the possibility of a new owner.

“Kejriwal has informed us of an agreement between her and Omprakash Mal (a known face in the jute industry), who wants to buy the garden,” a board official said.

Most workers, however, claimed that the new owner is after the sops declared by the Centre for reopening closed gardens.

Source: The Telegraph

Management Fled tea garden without notice

Work in Nimtijhora Tea Estate under Kalchini police station was suspended today after the management fled the garden without serving any notice.

The suspension of work follows last Monday’s incident in which garden manager T.L. Pandey was confined to his chamber for 17 hours for allegedly assaulting a pregnant worker. The workers had gone to him to complain that the amount of tealeaves being put against each of their names was wrong. Pandey had denied the allegation.

Before leaving the garden, Pandey wrote to all trade unions and the subdivisional officer of Alipurduar, P.D. Pradhan. “We will not return to the garden unless our security is assured and normality restored” the letter reads. Pradhan said a tripartite meeting will be held soon.

Prabhat Mukherjee, the general secretary of the National Union for Plantation Workers, said the main problem in the garden was the law and order.

Source: The Telegraph

Diya New CTC tea brand

Within just 30 days of its launch, Diya, a new brand of CTC tea, has set the cash registers ringing.

Promoted by Jagriti Mahila Unnayan Sangha — a cluster of 30 self-help groups (SHGs) — more than 2,000kg of the new brew has been sold and orders are pouring in from across the state.

“The attempt to merchandise branded CTC tea has shown an overwhelming initial response,” said Biswajit Das, the secretary of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, North Bengal (Focin). “We had estimated a maximum sale of just about 500kg during the first month.”

Officials of the District Rural Development Cell (DRDC) of Siliguri and Focin had been instrumental in launching the product. All necessary initiatives to promote the branded tea were made and the brew was formally launched by Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on June 30.

At present, the SHG members are operating from a garage within the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad premises, that has been renovated and made suitable for blending and packaging of tea.

“Members of the Sangha have already become experts at their job,” said Paritosh Roy, the project director of DRDC. “They are also managing ancillary tasks like maintenance of accounts books and stock registers and depositing VAT and other central sales tax on their own.”

The tea is at present available in 100g packs, which have been priced at Rs 14 for the common people, while it is Rs 10 per packet for wholesalers. According to Das, packets of 50g and 250g will also be launched soon to cater to popular demand.

“We have sent our tea to Bankura, Hooghly, 24-Paraganas (South), Midnapore and Malda besides the Siliguri market,” said Swapna Chik Barik, the secretary of the group. “New orders are pouring in from Howrah, North Dinajpur, Burdwan, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri.”

The members, however, are looking forward to orders from Writers’ Buildings as proposed by the chief minister during the launch. “The chief minister had told us that our tea could be purchased for consumption at Writers’ Buildings,” one of them said. “We are eagerly waiting for the order and are banking on local minister Asok Bhattacharya to push the deal through.”

The success of the venture, which was considered offbeat for SHG members — most groups are engaged in toy making, tailoring, handicrafts, dairy and animal husbandry — has brought cheer to the 325 families which are dependent on the project’s success.

“It is like any other company. The profits will be calculated after the earnings accumulate at the end of the year,” said Barik. “However, we are planning to fix a salary for the group of 20-25 members who are putting in time and effort on a regular basis.”

Source: The Telegraph

Rhinos and Elephants in Tea Estate

Till about three days ago, it was Kanjhi Oraon’s responsibility as the sardar (overseer) of workers at Jadabpur Tea Estate to roam around the plantation, monitoring the pluckers.

Now, he does not dare to go anywhere near the northern fringes of the estate for fear of the four-footed hulks who have planted themselves there.

A herd of wild elephants and two-three rhinoceroses have come uninvited from Gorumara National Park — located right next to the estate, around 75km from Siliguri — and are refusing to leave.

“We are facing a tough time as no worker is ready to go to those parts of the plantation that are located close to the forest,” said Pradip Ghosh, the manager of the estate. “I don’t think I can persuade them otherwise until the animals clear away.”

Ghosh was one of the first to notice the pachyderms. “I was out on a recce of the garden on Tuesday morning when I saw the elephant herd and the rhinos. We are keeping a safe distance, fearing that they might turn aggressive any moment,” he said.

While the rhinos can mostly be seen squatting on the ground, nibbling at grasses and shrubs, the elephants, about 30-40 of them, are ravaging the area, leaving no option for the management but to suspend operations.

Kanjhi though said it was the rhinos that worried them more.

“We are accustomed to elephant intrusions and were not too bothered when we saw the herd this time,” he said. “However, the two or three rhinos that followed the elephants came as a shock — we are terrified of being charged at by those one-horned beast.”

The Jadabpur estate has 330 workers and a total area of 277 hectare, with the plantation spread across 150 hectare. It is frequented by wild animals because of its proximity to Gorumara National Park.

“The road leading to the garden separates it from the forest,” said Ghosh. “There is a fence near Kalipur, but that is not effective in stopping animals from entering the garden.”

About a month ago, some elephants came in, injured a person and damaged a couple of houses, the garden residents said. They admitted to having a mixed reaction to the presence of the rhinos: wonder at seeing the animals for the first time from such close quarters and fear at being chased or injured by them.

A forest official posted at Gorumara said he and his colleagues knew about the situation at Jadabpur tea estate and were keeping a close watch on the animals.

Source: The Telegraph

Duncans charged for cutting down tea wages

Jaigaon: The Congress-affiliated National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) has alleged that provident fund deductions from the wages of workers have been reduced in 14 tea gardens owned by Duncans across the Dooars, Terai and the hills.

“During the months of May and June the company has deducted 10 per cent of the workers’ wages as provident fund instead of the regulation 12 per cent. This means they will get far less than their statutory dues at the time of retirement. I have faxed a complaint to the central and regional provident fund commissioners in Delhi and Jalpaiguri respectively about the discrepancy,” said Pravat Mukherjee, the general secretary of the NUPW.

A worker of the Duncans’ Killott tea garden, Suraj Thapa, said if a person works for 26 days a month his wages, including the food concession, comes to around Rs 1,472.

“If 12 per cent is deducted, the employee’s share comes to Rs 177 and with a matching contribution from the employer is supposed to deposit Rs 354 to the provident fund account each month. However, at 10 per cent, the total amount comes to Rs 294, which is Rs 60 less than the actual amount,” Thapa said. Observers feel the cumulative difference for the 30,000 workers of Duncans would amount to Rs 18 lakh per month.

N.C. Poddar, the regional provident fund commissioner-II, told The Telegraph at his office in Jalpaiguri that the discrepancy had already come to his notice and he had informed the central provident fund commissioner’s office in Delhi about the development a fortnight ago. He also confirmed that Mukherjee had met him with workers from the Bagrakote garden of Duncans last Monday with a complaint on the issue.

“I have forwarded the complaint to our Delhi office,” Poddar said.

The secretary of the Dooars Branch Indian Tea Association, Prabir Bhattacharjee, said it was statutory for all tea companies to deduct 12 per cent from the workers’ wages. “There has been no amendment of the laws lowering the percentage,” Bhattacharjee said.

An executive of Duncans, K.K. Mehra, when contacted on his mobile phone said he had nothing to say on the issue. “You can contact the regional provident fund commissioner in Jalpaiguri,” Mehra said.

Source: The Telegraph