‘Bonanza for tea community’

I was very glad to read the news item headlined under “Bonanza for tea community, others etc.” in the edition of the 13th instant of your esteemed daily because it appears that the Government has, though belatedly, realized that the genuine needs of the State’s tea community have to be earnestly addressed in order to bring this sizeable segment of population at par with the rest of the society. No amount of welfare measures will be enough for these most neglected people. Having been associated for nearly six decades with tea plantation workers they have become quite dear to my heart. I fully understand and empathize with their plight which, I believe, is a consequence of the evolution of the tea industry in Assam since the 19th century.

As per the Plantation Labour Act and Rules, the owners of tea estates are responsible for the lives of the workers virtually from “cradle to the grave”. Although this relieved the Government of its responsibilities towards a large segment of the State’s populace the bitter truth is that in spite of the best of intentions no tea estate owner can ever manage to have enough resources to properly look after all the needs of the people who work for him, nor can the government ever. My feeling is that by and large herein lies the reason why the development of the tea community has not taken place at the desired pace. These people have been mostly tucked away in isolated tea estates in the interior areas and cut off from and forgotten by the mainstream society. There are, however, glorious exceptions where individuals have broken the shackles and overcome all odds to educate themselves and rise and shine in society. There have been a Central Minister, State Ministers, a Chief Secretary, IAS officers, educators, writers, poets and artists from this community. But by and large, it is backward.

While welcoming all the welfare measures mentioned in the news item, I feel it is wrong to club construction of pucca quarters for ATC workers with these measures. The Plantation Labour Rules state that owners of tea estates are required to construct annually 8% of the quarters of approved specifications required to house the workers. How can delayed compliance of a statutory requirement be termed a bonanza? The poor workers were denied a basic right for a very long time. ATC will merely be rectifying their lapse. Furthermore, the pucca quarters should have been constructed from the coffers of ATC who are the owners, as is done in the case of every tea estate in Assam, and not out of Government funds. Is it fair? Now every citizen of Assam will be contributing towards the building of these pucca quarters of ATC. This brings me to the sorry tale of ATC which only goes to confirm the adage “Government has no business to be in business.” Less said about it the better.

Ranjit Chaliha,

Narikalbari, Guwahati