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The SPTF, with a corpus of Rs 4,700 crore under the Tea Board, was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in December 2006 to bail out ailing tea gardens by funding productivity improvements and replacement of ageing tea bushes. “Out of the nearly 280 tea gardens in Bengal, we have received applications from 100 gardens, but disbursement is yet to begin as the banks want to ensure the lease status of the tea gardens,” Ramesh said.
On Saturday, Ramesh met West Bengal’s commerce and industries minister Nirupam Sen and land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Molla to discuss the status of the closed tea gardens and review an action plan.
Tea garden owners who have not renewed their lease or failed to keep the lease going are not eligible for aid under the SPTF.
“The Tea Board is going to give a list of the applicants for the SPTF and the list of their lease status within the next week to the state land reforms department. The matter is going to be sorted out soon,” said Ramesh.
He said the SPTF was important for the tea industry in West Bengal, where 48 per cent of the bushes are over 40 years old, against the national average of 38 per cent.
“This problem is unique to Bengal and I came to know of it only today. There is no precedent in other states,” Ramesh said.
At today’s meeting, various other initiatives were also taken. “We have decided to invoke Section 16(E) against some of the closed tea gardens in the state and terminate leases that have not been renewed,” said Sen.
Provisions of Section 16(E) of the Tea Act of 1953 allow the Union government to take over a garden if it has been badly managed or if has been lying closed for three months or more. Of the 14 closed tea gardens in the state, only one (Surendranagar) has been reopened. The closed gardens in West Bengal employ around 16,000 workers.
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