Stay on tea takeover lifted

TT, Calcutta, Feb. 22: The interim stay on the acquisition of Duncans' gardens was lifted today after the company did not deposit Rs 4 crore with the court appointed special officer within the stipulated time.

The G.P. Goenka company was asked by a single bench of Calcutta High Court to deposit the amount in a designated bank account by 4pm today to pay the wages to workers of seven tea gardens in the Dooars in north Bengal.

While delivering the order on Friday, Justice Sanjib Banerjee had appointed director, tea development, the Tea Board of India, as the special officer to ensure distribution of wages to the workers.

"In the event the deposit is not made within the time permitted, the stay will stand vacated," the judge had said in the order.

Officials of the Tea Board, the central government agency that promotes tea, said Duncans Industries Ltd and Shantipara Tea Company did not deposit the amount even as it had opened a bank account as mandated by the court.

"We will inform the court tomorrow," a Tea Board official said.

Legal sources said Duncans submitted a supplementary affidavit today. The Tea Board will also file an affidavit and the case will come up for hearing on March 1.

No Duncans official could be contacted for comment.

Lawyers not connected with the case said the company could still make a plea before the court tomorrow seeking more time to pay the amount.

The Union government, through the department of commerce, had issued a notification on January 28, invoking the Tea Act to take over six gardens of Duncans and one garden of Shantipara, all belonging to G.P. Goenka group, which challenged it in the high court.

Justice Banerjee kept the welfare of the workers paramount while delivering the stay on Friday. Noting that employees might not get anything if the notification continues, the order devised an arrangement to ensure immediate payment is made to workers.

Accordingly, the special officer was appointed and Duncan was asked to pay the sum in lieu of the stay on the notification.

The Duncans group has 14 tea gardens in the Dooars and Darjeeling and has defaulted on wage payments since April last year. Deaths of several workers have been reported from Duncans gardens, which tea union leaders have attributed to starvation.

The state government has denied the charge of starvation in the tea gardens.