Opposition parties across the board condemn Mamata Banerjee’s move to allow commercial use of 30% of tea garden land

EOI, DARJEELING, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 :  Opposition parties in the hills and plains of north Bengal are up in arms against the announcement by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the Bengal Global Business Summit session in Kolkata that the state government would allow 30 percent of tea garden land to be diverted to purposes other than for producing tea.

BJP MP of Darjeeling Raju Bista said on Thursday that the decision of the West Bengal government to allow 30 percent of tea garden land to outside players would endanger the indigenous inhabitants. “This decision of the Bengal CM is an extremely dangerous proposition, and I fear if this policy is allowed to be implemented without the protection of traditional land rights of the indigenous people of our Darjeeling hills, Terai, and Dooars, they will be rendered homeless.”

The MP said it was “extremely worrisome that in the name of tea tourism, luxury hotels, including 5-star hotels, and massive resorts are already being constructed on the very lands that the tea workers have cultivated for generations. Now the state government intends to open up the tea garden lands for commercial real estate development and other purposes.”

Bista alleged that the West Bengal government had a history of drawing the blood of tea garden workers, be it in Margaret's Hope for demanding fair wages, or be it in Chandmuni tea garden to set up their Uttarayan project, where over 15,000 people were forcefully evicted without any rehabilitation or compensation.

The BJP MP said allowing tea garden land to be used for other purposes would destroy the tea industry of the region. “If this 30 percent land diversion is permitted, it will mean the end of the tea industry, as real estate will take over. Similarly, the cinchona garden workers, who have been kept deprived of rights to their ancestral lands, may also be displaced.”

The Darjeeling MP asserted that the West Bengal CM had once again displayed her dictatorial attitude towards the region by making this announcement without any consultation with the tea garden workers or the elected representatives from the areas where these tea gardens were based.

The Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) has written to the West Bengal Chief Minister, expressing their strong objection to her announcement. In the letter, IGJF Chief Convenor Ajoy Edwards said: "While the state government is facilitating land ownership for businesses and industries, the indigenous Gorkha and Adivasi communities of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars, and Terai – who have lived and worked in these tea gardens for generations – are merely being offered up to five decimals of land with homestead patta."

Condemning the announcement, he said: "This decision is deeply unjust and fails to recognize the historical, cultural, and rightful claims of the indigenous residents of the hills and plains of north Bengal. The tea garden workers and their families have been the backbone of the tea industry for centuries, yet their fundamental right to land ownership continues to be overlooked in favor of commercial interests."

Edwards demanded that land distribution be carried out based on physical possession, granting full ownership rights to the indigenous people who had lived on and cultivated these lands for generations. The IGJF convener urged the Chief Minister to bring amendment to the West Bengal Land Reforms Act if the existing laws did not provide for such recognition.

Asking the Chief Minister to take necessary steps, Edwards said, "Our people will not accept anything less than full land ownership rights, and we remain committed to advocating for justice in this regard."

The CPI (M)-affiliated Darjeeling District Chiyaa Kaman Mazadur Union (DDCKMU) trade union alleged that a conspiracy was afoot to destroy the tea industry. “The Bengal Chief Minister’s decision to give 30 percent of the tea garden land to traders for various businesses is an extremely dangerous and fatal step. The earlier decision of the government to allow 15 percent of the land of the tea garden for tourism has already changed the demography of the tea garden," DDCKMU President Saman Pathak said.