Calcutta, Mar 13: Darjeeling tea gardens are unlikely to be opened to tourists any time soon despite the best efforts of the West Bengal government and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.The lease contracts between the tea garden owners and the state government do not provide for any tourism-related activity in the gardens. Therefore, the garden owners want the contracts suitably changed before they can allow tourists in. They also want specific guidelines regarding revenue sharing with the local government.
The secretary of the Darjeeling Planters' Association Ranen Dutta told The Financial Express that unless the contracts were changed the tea planters would not be able to open the gardens to the tourists.
"The lease contracts between the state government and the planters does not allow any sort of tourism activities. So we want the government to set a clear set of guidelines for allowing tourists in the garden and then follow it up with new contracts with the planters. Then only we will be able toenter into the tourism industry," Dutta said.
The tea planters also want guidelines regarding the procedure of collecting revenue from the tourists.
"We do not know how to charge the tourists because we are not into this business. Moreover, how will the revenue earned from tourism be shared between the government and the planters? All these modalities must be worked out beforehand," Dutta added.
The main problem is with the lease contracts, which had been worked out under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953, and the all dos & don'ts for the lessees (the tea garden owners) are clearly laid down.
The contracts do neither allow the garden owners to make new constructions within the prescribed area nor use a section of it for purposes not mentioned in the contract.
Section 12 of the contract does not allow the garden owners to let out any portion of the land except for cardamom cultivation. The lessee/lessees shall not sublet the said lands and hereditaments or any part thereof: provided thatlands comprised in the said lands and hereditaments may be licensed out for growing cardamom thereon...," the section notes.
Again, Section 5 of the lease contract does not allow the tea garden owners to make any construction which will stop the flow of water.
"The lessee/lessees shall not dam, obstruct or otherwise divert the flow of any stream or damage any spring on the said lands and hereditaments without the previous sanction in writing of the Collector of the district" according to the section. Similarly, Section 6(c) discusses the uses of the land and states that "except with the prior admission of the Collector, the lessee shall not bring under cultivation of tea any land which has not under such cultivation at the date of commencement of the lease and shall not make any construction for use as factory, office-building or quarters for labourers on any land on which there was no such construction at such date....", according to the section.
Even for the forests adjoining the gardens, there arestrict norms in the contract.
Section 6(d) states that "the lessee/lessees shall not leave any land comprised in a forest in a tea garden, if deforested in pursuance of any plan for new plantation, unplanted for more than two years: provided that the Collector may extend the time limit on the merits of a case but in any case such extension shall exceed three years," the section adds.
