Bengal budget sets up tea workers board, tightens tea garden land use

The BJP government’s first West Bengal budget on Monday announced a set of welfare and infrastructure measures for the tea sector, including the creation of a Tea Workers Development Board and the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana in partnership with the Centre.

The budget also proposed reducing the share of tea garden land that can be used for tea tourism and other commercial activities to 15 per cent.

Presenting the budget in the Assembly, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said tea workers in north Bengal continued to face challenges such as inadequate healthcare, food insecurity and delayed wage payments.

The package also drew a mixed response from industry stakeholders, with support for the welfare and infrastructure push, alongside concerns that direct financial support sought by the sector was missing.

Dasgupta said, "To address this in a holistic way, I propose to establish a Tea Workers Development Board. The board will oversee the implementation of various welfare schemes for the tea garden workers regarding health facilities, modern housing, and distribution of other social welfare benefits."

He also said the state government would implement the PMCSPY with the Centre to improve the living standards of tea garden workers and their families. Earlier, Deputy Tea Board Chairman C Murugan had said this would unlock Rs 314 crore from the central budget exclusively for tea garden workers in the state.

According to the budget speech, the scheme will offer a broad package of welfare measures covering social security, healthcare, housing, educational support, skill development, nutrition assistance and livelihood diversification. Dasgupta also said the government would work closely with the tea industry on issues linked to closed tea gardens and the overall health of the sector.

In a major policy change, the government proposed cutting the portion of tea estate land that can be diverted for tea tourism and other commercial use from 30 per cent to 15 per cent. The previous Trinamool Congress government had proposed raising the limit to 30 per cent from 15 per cent in its interim budget after former chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced it at the last investment summit.

Explaining the rollback, Dasgupta said, "Concerns have been raised by tea garden workers and other marginalised groups living in tea garden areas against this policy on account of environmental issues. In order to maintain ecological balance and preserve cultural heritage in tea garden areas, I propose to reduce the quantum of land that tea gardens can commercially utilise for tea tourism and other business activities to 15 per cent."

Industry veteran Harsh Neotia said the reduction was unlikely to have a major effect on most tea estates. "In most tea gardens there will be no impact as 15 per cent would be enough for any standard-sized garden. It may create some issues for very small tea gardens," he told PTI.

The Tea Association of India welcomed the overall direction of the budget for the sector, though it said direct financial support measures sought by the industry had not been included. TAI secretary general PK Bhattacharjee said the industry had asked for interest subvention on working capital loans, subsidy on plant and machinery, and special power tariffs in its pre-budget memorandum submitted in January.

Bhattacharjee said, "Financial support in the form of financial packages would have made an immediate impact on the fortunes of the industry. However, the overall thrust laid by the present government on the improvement of infrastructure and welfare measures is a step in the right direction."

He added that the Tea Workers Development Board and PMCSPY would strengthen healthcare, housing and social security coverage for tea garden workers.

The industry body also welcomed the government’s focus on reviving closed tea gardens, improving tea garden infrastructure and setting up a common tea processing centre at Siliguri. Bhattacharjee said the proposed Tea Processing Zone, to be developed with the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port and equipped with tea processing centres, packaging units, auction houses and trade infrastructure, could support the sector’s long-term viability.

Summing up the expected impact of the budget measures, Bhattacharjee said, "The combined impact of all the measures should augur well for the Tea Industry both from its existential and viable aspects."

Overall, the budget paired worker welfare and infrastructure plans for the tea sector with a tighter land-use policy for commercial activity in tea garden areas.

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