Tea data raise questions - Nirmala pegs jobs lost at 5,800, dues at Rs 15 crore

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, Aug. 5: A statement made by Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha, which elaborated on the status of six closed Bengal tea gardens, has prompted unions in the estates to ask what was stopping the Centre from acquiring them.

The answer given by Sitharaman, the Union minister of state for commerce and industry, to questions from two MPs mentioned Dheklapara, Bundapani, Dharanipur, Redbank, Surendranagar and Madhu tea estates. It said that in total 5,800 permanent and temporary workers had lost their jobs since the six gardens shut down.

Citu leaders in the tea industry said if the Centre could acquire seven Duncans tea gardens, what was stopping it from acquiring these six for which the state government had not found suitable buyers for years.

Of the six tea gardens, Dheklapara has been shut since 2005 (see chart) and the Calcutta High Court's attempts to sell the garden, when it was the estate's liquidator, also failed.

Sitharaman's reply to the Lok Sabha mentioned details like the number of workers in each of the six gardens and dues owed to them by the management as on August 1, 2016, the day she make the reply.

The data she provided show that around Rs 11.10 crore was due as provident fund, while outstanding wages stood at about Rs 4.10 crore.

Three of the closed estates are in Jalpaiguri district and the rest are in Alipurduar district.

About Dheklapara, the reply mentioned: "The estate was officially liquidated by Calcutta High Court. The garden was put up for e-auction by the Calcutta High Court (official liquidator) on May 11, 2012, but no prospective buyer was available."

Sitharaman said "the Government of West Bengal has cancelled the lease of gardens viz. Bundapani, Redbank, Surendranagar and Dharanipur for handing over the management of the gardens to prospective buyers".

As far as Bundapani, Redbank, Surendranagar and Dharanipur are concerned, the minister said the Bengal government had taken possession of the land of those estates.

On the sixth garden, Madhu, the Union minister said the Centre had unofficial information that "the owner is trying to sell the garden to a willing entrepreneur".

Citu leaders today said the Centre and the state government should take joint initiatives to reopen the six tea gardens.

"The statement by the Union minister and the data furnished by her show that the Centre is aware of the situation. We fail to understand why the Centre is not initiating a joint move with the state to facilitate the reopening of these six gardens?" said Ziaur Alam, the Jalpaiguri district Citu secretary.

Sourav Chakraborty, the chairman of the tea directorate formed by the state government recently, said talks were on with investors ready to buy some of the six gardens.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OUR JALPAIGURI & ALIPURDUAR CORRESPONDENTS