Dispur cracks whip, attaches 2 tea gardens

DEFAULTING IN PF DEPOSITS

Phased action against 100 more defaulter tea gardens, warns minister Pallab Lochan Das; total electrification of State by March next

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Dec 31: Two tea gardens in Assam have been attached by the Assam Tea Employees Provident Fund Organisation (ATEPFO) for defaulting in depositing provident fund (PF) money of its workers.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, State Labour minister Pallab Lochan Das said, “The two tea gardens of Sekoni in Kaliabor, gaon and Rajabari in Jorhat have been attached by the ATEPFO for failing to deposit provident fund money. They were given multiple chances to make the payments, even in installments, and as last resort, we had to attach these.”

The two gardens have been attached under section 15 of Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund Act, 1955 (since amended).

As per the Act, tea estate magement deducts 10% from wages of the employees for depositing in provident fund, while another 12% is contributed by the magement. But several tea gardens have failed to not only pay its 12% share, but also the 10% that has been shown deducted from workers’ wages.

The ATEPFO will hand over interested parties to run the tea gardens for six months and then sell it off to highest bidder, as per laid down rules, said Das.

Das, who is also the chairman of the ATEPFO, said 20 more such defaulting tea gardens have been identified and the whip will be cracked on them soon. “Out of nearly 800 tea gardens in the State, about 100 are defaulters. We will take action in a phased manner, if they fail to comply with the directives.”

On other welfare measures for tea garden workers, the minister said minimum pension will be increased from Rs 250 per month to Rs 500 per month, with a target to taking it up to Rs 1,000 per month.

The minimum benefit under deposit linked insurance will also be increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh per worker, he added.

Das said all provident fund settlements for tea garden workers in the State were being done through direct bank account transfer mode. He also said several initiatives are being rolled out to preserve the fold culture and dance of the tea tribes in an undistorted manner. The minister said the ATEPFO will seek additiol fincial assistance from the State government to implement these welfare measures effectively. On the other hand, 40 villages in the State will be lit up with power connections on New Year’s Day tomorrow, while the entire State will be electrified by March next. “The Power department will electrify 40 villages in 17 districts tomorrow, with local MLAs and authorities slated to iugurate it,” said Das.

He informed that 1,076 villages are yet to be electrified in the State, of which 508 are on grid and the rest off grid villages. While admitting that some villages have been only partially electrified, the minister said 10,000 villages are targeted for ‘intensive electrification’ by December 2017.

For the off-grid villages, solar panels and stand-alone connections will be installed, he said, adding that the Central government has been given the proposal for total electrification and the State government is pursuing it in a phased-manner.  On the current power demand in Assam, Das said the off peak hours demand is 1,100-1,200 MW, while peak hours demand is 1,500 MW, with Guwahati accounting for 46% of the total consumption.

The current power generation in the State is 228 MW.

The minister added that new measures will be unveiled soon for better power distribution and cut losses by adopting best technical practices.