'Steps taken to protect interest of small tea growers'

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 28: State Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary has informed the State Assembly that the deputy commissioners of the State have been asked to form district-level monitoring committees to see that the small tea growers of the State get remunerative price of the green tea leaves being produced by them. Patowary said this on the floor of the State Assembly on Wednesday while replying to a question from AGP MLA ren Sonowal. According to Patowary, there are guidelines from the Tea Board of India on green tea being produced by small tea growers in Assam. According to the information revealed by Patowary in the House on Wednesday, Assam produces around 650 million kg tea annually – 25 per cent of which is sold through the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) and 15 per cent through the Kolkata Tea Auction Centre (KTAC). The remaining 60 per cent tea, according to the minister, is sold by the tea industry directly to buyers in the market.  According to the minister, a baseline survey by the Tea Board of India has found 767 tea estates in Assam – 409 under private sector companies, 253 under proprietors, 82 in partnership and 23 in the public sector.