State panel for tea and jute

TT, Oct. 21: The state government has formed a committee with seven ministers and an MLA to look into the issues of the tea and jute sectors.

Sources said the panel would work for tea workers, the small tea sector, look into issues like price of jute and explore options for improving both the sectors.

Headed by the state finance minister, Amit Mitra, the committee has the minister of panchayat and rural development, Subrata Mukherjee, state education minister Partha Chatterjee, state labour minister Moloy Ghatak, state agriculture minister Purnendu Bose, food minister Jyotipriyo Mallick and north Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh.

Sourav Chakraborty, Alipurduar MLA and the chairman of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority, who is also a member of the panel, said: "It (the committee) will maintain liaison with different state departments and agencies and the stakeholders of the tea industry to resolve issues related to tea workers and the industry as a whole. The committee will also look into the problems of the small tea sector which has mushroomed in north Bengal in the past two decades."

The government formed the panel through a notification on October 17.

"The committee will keep a watch on the activities of tea planters and trade unions and make necessary intervention to discourage the closure of tea estates. Whether tea workers and their families are getting their dues from the companies and the necessary assistance provided by the state government through different social welfare schemes will be monitored by the panel," Chakraborty said.

He added: "The committee members will meet at regular intervals to discuss specific issues and submit a reports to the state. The committee will also make recommendations to the state on how the jute sector can be improved through better marketing mechanisms."