CHENNAI: The decks have been cleared for winding up the operations at the Manjolai estate in Tirunelveli district and evicting the workers as the Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions challenging the voluntary retirement scheme announced by the Bombay Burmah Tea Corporation Limited (BBTCL) and praying for the state government to take over the plantation.
A special division bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders while dismissing the batch of petitions filed by the workers and Puthiya Tamilagam founder Dr K Krishnasamy while disposing of other petitions praying for livelihood aids.
On the question of the voluntary retirement scheme, for which the workers allegedly were forced to sign, the bench noted that out of 536 workers, 535 had signed the agreements and received 25% of the amount while 124 already received the remaining 75% amount as well.
It said the court cannot go into the issue of whether the agreements for voluntary retirement were signed by the workers under their own volition or duress.
“If at all the workers have any grievance over the agreements entered into by them with the BBTCL, they can very well redress their grievances before the appropriate forum as the Assistant Commissioner of Labour (Plantations) has already seized of the matter and the amounts payable under the VRS have already been deposited by the BBTCL,” the bench said in the order.
Referring to the plea for ensuring their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA), 2006, the bench said the workmen were governed either under The Plantations Labour Act, 151 or The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and were not depending upon the forest land for their livelihood neither are they tribes.
“Therefore, we are of the view that workmen in the tea plantations cannot lay any claim as forest dwellers to claim any right under the FRA, 2006,” the court said.
It observed, while stressing the need for preserving the forests as its pristine form, that forests are critical for the quality of global environment and they are of great importance to the sustainability and prosperity of human beings since they yield multiple benefits to the society; they play a crucial role in conserving the world’s biodiversity.
Empathising with the workers’ families which face dislocation, the bench stated that “when it comes to environmental issues the anthropocentric approach must be replaced with eco-centric approach which would be in line with the laws of nature.”
As a result, the eco-centric approach is certain to succeed over the anthropocentric one, it said.
The court also refused to direct the Tamil Nadu Tea Corporation (TANTEA) to take over the estates comprising Manjolai, Kakkachi, Nalumukku, Oothu and Kuthiraivetti villages, given the submissions about financial viability.
It issued a set of ten directions to the state government that included providing free house site pattas to homeless workers and extend financial support to build individual houses under the Kalaignar Kanavu Illam scheme by relaxing the norms and allotment of 240 houses at the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) at Pappankulam and 150 houses at Reddiarpatti at free of cost.
Financial support for self-employment; arranging for appropriate employment opportunities in the private sector; education facilities of the choice of the students and issuing the workers family card, Aadhaar card and voter identity card to the addresses they want to settle down.
The Manjolai estate spread over 8374 acres of land were given on a lease for 99 years to the BBTCL by the then Singampatti Zamindar in 1929. After the abolition of the Zamindari System in 1948, the government permitted BBTCL to continue the lease with certain conditions.
In 2007, the state government issued a GO declaring the entire estate as critical tiger habitat. In 2018, it was brought under the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Reserve Forest.
Further, with the lease approaching its end in 2028 and the company incurring losses, the BBTCL decided to wind up its operations and announced a voluntary retirement scheme for the 536 employees in May 2024.