GTA to Provide Financial Relief to Workers of 4 Closed Tea Gardens Before Festive Season

Amitava Banerjee, MP, Darjeeling, Sept 19, 2025 : The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has announced plans to provide financial relief to workers of four closed tea gardens within its jurisdiction. This relief will benefit workers who are not covered under the Financial Assistance to Workers of Locked Out Industries (FAWLOI) scheme, and it will be disbursed before the upcoming festive season.

The decision follows a meeting between tea garden trade unions and GTA officials in Darjeeling on Thursday. The meeting addressed concerns regarding the 20 percent bonus that the West Bengal Labour Department had directed operational tea gardens to pay their workers ahead of the festivals. However, workers of closed tea estates were left out, as they are not covered under the FAWLOI scheme.

While some of the closed gardens are covered by FAWLOI, there have been reports of irregularities in payments to workers. GTA Chief Anit Thapa had previously met Labour Minister Malay Ghatak to urge for the regularisation of FAWLOI in the region. Thapa emphasized that workers in the closed estates needed urgent financial assistance, especially with the festive season fast approaching.

In response to this, political parties such as the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front pushed for the GTA to use its Covid Relief Fund, which had previously been tapped for similar relief efforts. Thapa confirmed the decision on Wednesday: "We have decided to distribute relief to the closed tea gardens that do not come under the FAWLOI scheme. The trade union representatives in the relief disbursal committee can work with GTA officials to finalize the process immediately."

A meeting held at the Gorkha Ranga Mancha Bhawan in Darjeeling on Thursday saw representatives from most trade unions, where the plan was solidified. The relief will be provided to workers from the Singtom, Pandam, Peshok, and Kalej Valley tea gardens. A total of 1,933 workers from these estates will benefit from the scheme.

However, the exact amount to be disbursed per worker is still undecided. There is a remaining balance of around Rs. 7 lakh in the relief corpus. S.K. Lama, from the Himalayan Plantation Workers Union (affiliated with the GNLF), stated that they have requested the GTA to add more funds so that workers can receive at least Rs. 4,000 each. JB Tamang, from the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha’s affiliated union, confirmed that the GTA would meet soon to finalize the relief amount and ensure its distribution before the festive season.

This initiative is expected to provide much-needed support to the workers during the crucial festive period and ease the financial burden on the families of those working in closed tea gardens.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post