Strike defiance a success but Trinamul union worried - Tea union leaders say Mamata's announcement of taking over gardens not possible till Centre steps in

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, Dec. 1: The tea strike called by the Joint Forum in the Dooars and Terai in north Bengal was partial today, a matter for which Trinamul took credit though the party's union members expressed worry that the chief minister's declaration of taking over ailing gardens may backfire.

Under the Tea Act of 1953, the Centre, not the state, can take over the management of a tea garden that is found to be ailing.

In recent times, strikes called by the Joint Forum, a conglomerate of 24 unions of which Trinamul is not a part, have seen near-total success. But today, in several gardens of the Dooars and Terai, people came to work defying the call for strike. The forum is the biggest grouping of unions in the gardens.

Some Trinamul leaders were almost jubilant about the development and attributed it to Mamata Banerjee's statements last month, warning garden owners and ordering welfare means for workers. "The state government is providing adequate relief to workers of closed and ailing tea estates.... At the closed gardens, the state is providing financial assistance to workers and other kinds of aid. Despite such moves, political parties in Opposition tried to use their trade unions to do politics on the issue. The tea workers, however, have aptly replied to them by rejecting the strike," Sourav Chakraborty, the Trinamul president of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts, said. "Also, the chief minister's announcement that the state would take over gardens in case the planters do not run them properly has made a huge impact on the workers," he said.

Trinamul's tea union leaders, however, were circumspect, mainly because of takeover announcement made by Mamata. Under the Tea Act of 1953, the Centre, not the state, can take over the management of a tea garden.

"We are perplexed, should we rejoice or worry over it. The turnout of the workers at the tea estates today indicates that a considerable section is banking on the government. We have spoken to tea workers who have categorically mentioned that they are confident that the chief minister will take over gardens if planters do not deliver on their responsibilities to workers," a senior Trinamul leader based in Siliguri said. "This confidence of the workers in the government could turn out to be a double-edged sword for us as we know that the state cannot take over any tea estate. It can, at best, cancel the land lease of the garden, which does not mean taking over the company which owns the estate."

A Trinamul leader in Alipurduar spoke on similar lines. "On one hand, the state is not speaking to the Centre, asking it to take over some of the tea estates. On the other, the chief minister has said repeatedly that the state would take control of the gardens which are not being run properly. Now if situation continues to be the same in the tea estates of the Duncans group... in next few months, there would be a demand from the workers that the state take over these estates," he said.

"The state would not be able to take any step other than cancel the lease.... Opposition parties will launch a scathing attack on us then, mentioning that the state could not deliver even after the commitment was made by none other than the chief minister," the leader added.

There are already four tea estates where the state government has cancelled the leases last year because the gardens were ailing. These are the Bandapani, Redbank, Surendranagar and Dharanipur tea estates. The state has not yet found an owner for any of the estates.

"The state should at least try and get new owners for the closed tea estates.... If there are any legal entanglements, the state should also try and resolve them ahead of the Assembly polls. Such a development can largely help in consolidating our support base in the tea belts," a leader of the Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers' Union said.

Last year, the chief minister and the chief secretary had written to the Centre seeking its intervention in the closed gardens. State education minister Partha Chatterjee, who was returning from Cooch Behar this evening, said the state had spoken to the Centre. "We have taken up the tea garden issue and some other issues with the Centre and have spoken at different levels," he said. "Also, there is an inter-ministerial committee in the state that will soon submit a report to the chief minister on the affairs of the tea industry."

Garden death

A worker of Garganda Tea Estate of the Duncans group in Alipurduar district died at the TB Hospital in Jalpaiguri today.