Duncans workers in a fix: CM - Plea to centre to help labourers

Mamata in Alipurduar’s Hasimara on Tuesday. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Avijit Sinha and Anirban Choudhury, TT, Hasimara (Alipurduar), June 28: Mamata Banerjee today said workers of seven tea gardens, which the Centre had asked the Tea Board of India to take over from the Duncans Group, were in a fix now and she would request the Union government to give wages and other benefits to the labourers.

The chief minister said the Centre had taken over the estates ahead of the Assembly polls and seven other gardens run by the Duncans were reopened and workers were getting wages because of pressure from the state government.

“There are seven tea estates which the central government had said would take over. Nothing has happened in those gardens so far. We will take up the matter with the Centre. The state government did a lot and could compel Duncans to reopen its other seven estates where wages are paid to workers. But the gardens which the central government had decided to take over are closed now. We provide food grains and medical help to workers in the acquired gardens and even pay their electricity bills. We have done a lot,” Mamata told a news conference after the Alipurduar district review meeting here this afternoon.

Mamata went on: “We would like to request the Centre to provide wages and other benefits to the jobless workers. Ahead of the elections, they (Centre) had said they would acquire the tea estates but the workers are in the middle of nowhere and in a fix. The Centre should take necessary initiatives in this regard.”

The Union ministry of commerce and industry had invoked a rarely used section of the Tea Act of 1953 in January to take control of the gardens in the Madarihat block of Alipurduar district, saying they “are being managed in a manner highly detrimental to the tea industry and to public interest”.

The seven gardens can potentially generate 10 million kg of tea and employ 17,555 workers. Chaired by Gouri Prasad Goenka, Duncan, which has 14 gardens in Bengal, has run up dues on salary and statutory benefits. 

Told about Mamata’s remark, Santosh Sarangi, the chairman of the Tea Board, told The Telegraph: “None of the gardens has been taken over by the Tea Board. We have only taken steps to pass on the management control of the tea gardens.

e had called for expression of interest for the tea gardens. For three tea gardens, bids have been received and are being evaluated. Fresh bids for four other gardens has been issued. Till the management is handed over to the bidders, wages to workers are the responsibility of Duncans.”

Political observers said Mamata was trying to corner the Centre as the BJP won the Madarihat Assembly constituency, in which the seven acquired gardens are located.

“It is a fact that the decision to acquire the seven tea estates of the Duncans Group helped the BJP bag the Madarihat Assembly seat. Now that the polls are over and the Tea Board has failed to find any investor for the seven gardens, Mamata is trying to bring the BJP to book,” said an observer.

At the district review meeting today, discussions were also held on six other closed tea estates (not owned by the Duncans Group). “We are planning to adopt a policy in this regard. A review would be done on these tea estates and wherever possible, the state will take over the tea estate and auction it off,” said the chief minister. 

Although Mamata said the state would take over the gardens, the Tea Act needs to be invoked for it and only the Union government can do it.