KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has come up with a standard operating procedure (SOP) stating that if a tea garden is closed for more than three months, its lease will be cancelled.
The government has asked the district magistrates to prepare a list of the closed tea gardens and the period of closure, officials said. “The SOP was notified as it was found that many owners did not re-open their tea gardens even after the government addressed the workers’ issues,” an official said.
The Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS) has backed the government’s move. “PBCMS workers met the state labour commissioner and called for implementation of the SOP. There are about 25 abandoned tea gardens in north Bengal, particularly in the Terai and Dooars region,” said Anuradha Talwar, chief adviser to the tea garden union.
PBCMS president Kirsen Kharia said tea gardens appear picturesque from outside but there are plenty of issues relating to the plight of workers. He said many garden operators run the gardens in the tea plucking season and leave the workers to their own fate when the tea leaves are not plucked. “Persistent wage delays in multiple gardens, coupled with the non-payment of wages have pushed workers into financial despair,” Kharia said.
The union representatives expressed their anger against a particular company that runs over a dozen gardens in north Bengal. “The union raised concerns regarding payment of provident fund and statutory benefits to majority of retired tea garden workers. PBCMS made a public list of PF contributions of 30 tea gardens of which only four gardens have deposited PF for workers till September 2024,” Kharia said.