KOLKATA: The Indian Tea Association (ITA) on Monday hailed the budgetary provision of Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare of tea workers in West Bengal and Assam.
It would improve sustainability and strengthen the alignment with sustainable development goals (SDG), ITA said in a statement.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier on Monday presented the first paperless Union Budget for 2021-22.
The association said it also expects that the tea estate population would be provided a more comprehensive coverage on welfare schemes related to housing, education, sanitation and medical facilities.
Most tea gardens in Assam and West Bengal are located in remote far-flung places and suffer from several transportation bottlenecks, it said.
"The allocation of Rs 3,400 crore for road infrastructure development in Assam and Rs 25,000 crore in West Bengal is expected to speed up the development of roads and infrastructure, thereby facilitating faster communication from tea gardens to destination points," ITA said.
Reacting to the budget announcements, MD of Luxmi Tea, Rudra Chatterjee said, "I think the focus on agricultural infrastructure will improve logistics for tea. The Rs 1,000- crore fund for women engaged in tea industry should improve social investments.