Kolkata: A delegation of the Tea Association of India, led by its President, Shashank Prasad, called on the Union Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh, in New Delhi on Wednesday and drew to his attention to the crisis facing the tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions of northern part of West Bengal.
Complimenting the Minister on his initiative to reopen the closed gardens in Dooars, the delegation appealed to him for a package to bring the gardens back to health. Nearly half the tea gardens in the region were ailing and the problem had been compounded by the lower productivity of both land and labour. The average price realisation of tea produced in the region, too, was low.
The delegation suggested that the package should offer, among other things, bank loans at concessional rates for replantations. It also suggested that the relevant provisions of the North East Industrial and Investment Policy be extended to the tea industry in North Bengal.
The delegation felt that there was an urgent need for the allotment of foodgrains to tea gardens at BPL rate for distribution of the same at the subsidised rate to tea garden workers and their dependents in the gardens.
Complimenting the Minister on his initiative to reopen the closed gardens in Dooars, the delegation appealed to him for a package to bring the gardens back to health. Nearly half the tea gardens in the region were ailing and the problem had been compounded by the lower productivity of both land and labour. The average price realisation of tea produced in the region, too, was low.
The delegation suggested that the package should offer, among other things, bank loans at concessional rates for replantations. It also suggested that the relevant provisions of the North East Industrial and Investment Policy be extended to the tea industry in North Bengal.
The delegation felt that there was an urgent need for the allotment of foodgrains to tea gardens at BPL rate for distribution of the same at the subsidised rate to tea garden workers and their dependents in the gardens.
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