Meet with Nirmala on Duncans

TT, Jalpaiguri, Feb. 23: A delegation of the Progressive Tea Workers' Union and the BJP's Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh met the Union minister for state for commerce and industries, Nirmala Sitharaman, in Delhi today to discuss the revival of tea gardens of the Duncans Group.

Speaking to The Telegraph over phone from Delhi, John Barla, president of the PTWU, said the minister told them that the Centre would bring the estates out of the ambit of the Board for Industrial Finance and Reconstruction.

"She said there were some complications in taking over the estates as they were under the BIFR. The minister said the BIFR would have to release the cases and after that, the Centre can take full responsibility of reviving the estates. She was critical of the state government for being lenient on the Duncans Group. She said the state was carrying out rice distribution instead of ensuring that the gardens began functioning properly," Barla said.

He added that they told the minister that the state labour department had done nothing to ensure the management of several estates paid dues on time. "We are going to launch a movement against the state. We will announce our programme after returning to Siliguri tomorrow," Barla said.