Closed tea gardens in north Bengal have been given one week to resume operations and clear workers’ outstanding wages and other dues, Bengal labour and transport minister Arjun Singh said after a meeting with industry stakeholders and government officials in Siliguri.
Singh issued the ultimatum at Shramik Bhavan in Mallaguri, where representatives of the tea industry and officials from the labour department discussed the condition of estates in the region. He said owners who failed to comply could face the possibility of their gardens being handed over to new promoters through formal government agreements.
“We have issued a fresh one-week ultimatum to owners of the closed tea gardens to resume operations by clearing all outstanding wages and other dues of the workers,” Singh said after the meeting. “If they fail to comply with the deadline, the state government would consider handing over these gardens to promoters through necessary official agreements.”
Labour department sources said around 30 tea estates are in distressed condition and 21 of them are closed. Singh said the government’s primary condition for any investor seeking to take over and reopen a closed garden would be the settlement of workers’ arrears, including provident fund dues.
“Once the investor fulfils the government’s primary condition for reopening the closed garden, we will sign an agreement,” the minister said. The proposed arrangement would link any change in management or operation to the clearance of liabilities owed to workers.
Singh also announced the formation of a task force comprising representatives of Tea Board India and officials from the labour, commerce and industry, and land and land reforms departments. The task force will examine the process of reopening closed tea gardens and address issues involving pending wages, provident fund payments and other worker dues.
The minister said the state government had so far recovered around ₹100 crore that was due as workers’ provident fund. He also directed tea companies to clear this year’s bonus by October 5, with the bonus fixed at 20 per cent. Some planters have sought permission to pay the amount in instalments, and Singh said district administrations and local stakeholders had been instructed to resolve the issue.
Raju Bista, the BJP MP from Darjeeling, said the state government had taken several measures to keep the tea industry in north Bengal functioning. Suraj Subba, president of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Workers’ Union affiliated with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, welcomed the initiatives but asked Singh to hold a similar meeting with stakeholders in the Darjeeling hills.
The task force is now expected to examine the reopening process and the outstanding obligations of workers as the one-week deadline for closed garden owners approaches.
