Tea Garden Workers in Biswanath Celebrate as Assam Assembly Approves Land Pattas

Biswanath: A wave of happiness swept through the tea garden communities in Assam after the Legislative Assembly approved the decision to grant land pattas to tea workers. The long-awaited announcement has brought enormous relief and joy to the thousands of families who have lived on the tea estates for generations without land ownership.

Workers in different tea gardens in Biswanath, including Mijikajaan Tea Garden and the Sakomotha Tea Garden. People gathered together to thank the government for fulfilling the long-pending demand of the workers. They celebrated the decision as a transformative moment that promises stability, empowerment, and a better future for their families.

The Assam Legislative Assembly passed the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings, 2025 Amendment Act, which was seen as a major step toward securing land rights for one of Assam’s most marginalised communities of workers. The amendment gives workers land ownership in ‘labour lines’, or the residential areas near the tea estates in which workers have lived without legal titles for many decades.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the move a ‘historic moment’, while Assam Tea Tribes and Adivasi Welfare Minister Rupesh Gowala called it a long-awaited victory for about 3.33 lakh tea worker families. He said that after 200 years of deprivation, the workers will finally get ownership of the land they occupy.

The amendment will provide long-term housing security, protect workers from displacement, and ensure statutory land rights, according to the statement of objects and reasons accompanying the legislation. Specific land extent per family would be notified by the government in due course.

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