Assam Assembly: Bill to provide land rights to tea workers tabled in House

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: In order to provide land settlement to tea garden workers residing in labour lines, the state Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Keshab Mahanta on Tuesday moved a bill with the title The Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 2025, in the state Assembly. This historic move will provide land rights to the tea garden workers, who have been living in the labour lines without any title to such lands.

The Memorandum of Delegated Legislation states that this Bill proposes amendment of the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1956, to exclude “labour lines” from the purposes ancillary to special cultivation. At present, tea garden workers residing in labour lines occupy land without clear legal title or statutory protection. The amendment, by excluding labour lines from ancillary purposes and providing for preferential settlement with tea garden workers, secures their land rights. This will ensure long-term housing security and reduce vulnerability to displacement.

The Bill authorises the government to acquire lands under labour lines in such a manner as may be prescribed and provides that all rights, titles, interests and encumbrances of such acquired lands shall be vested in the government, and the persons affected by the acquisitions of lands under labour lines shall be entitled to compensation, as may be determined by the government under Section 12 of the Act. The Bill further authorises that such acquired lands may be disposed of by the Government in such manner as may be prescribed under section 17(A) of the Act.

The Bill empowers the Government to frame conditions regarding the extent of disposal of such lands and to notify provisions for utility and optimal usage of such lands for the welfare of the tea garden worker. The Bill also provides that the extent of land per family of a tea garden worker to be settled shall be such as may be notified by the Government from time to time. It further authorises that lands shall remain heritable but non-transferable for 20 years or as notified by the Government from time to time, and permits mortgage of such land in favour of institutions as may be notified by the Government from time to time.

As per the data shared by the districts concerned, the total number of tea estates is 825, and the total area under labour colonies is around 2,18,553 bighas.

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