Assam govt. distributes ₹64 crore as special incentive to 370 tea estates

Adivasi women plucking freshly grown tea leaves in a tea garden in the outskirts of Guwahati on March 10, 2021. File
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

GUWAHATI

The Assam government on Thursday, distributed ₹64.05 crore as a special incentive to about 370 tea estates, to mitigate the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the beverage industry.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also announced a subsidy of ₹12 per kilogram of orthodox tea fixed for fiscal 2023-24, to mark the 200 ^th year of commercial cultivation of tea in Assam.

“The tea industry was the backbone of the economy of Assam, contributing to nearly 90% of the gross export value and providing direct or indirect employment avenues to more than a million people,” he said at an official function to disburse the assistance under the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes 2020.

“It is due to the overwhelming effect of the tea industry on the economy of Assam that the State government came up with the special incentive schemes to help the sector absorb some of the shocks of the debilitating impact of COVID-19,” Mr. Sarma said.

Orthodox vs. traditional tea

Apart from providing an interest subvention of 3% on working capital loans on tea gardens, the promotion of production of orthodox tea over traditional crush-tear-curl (CTC) tea has also been accorded due attention under the schemes, he said.

“A subsidy of 25% shall also be provided by the government to tea gardens to set up units for orthodox tea production. The government shall also forego agricultural income tax accruing from tea gardens, for the next three financial years,” he said.

Claiming rightful place

The Chief Minister exuded confidence that the Assam tea industry would be able to claim its rightful place in the world and domestic tea market in the days to come. He said the government was taking measures necessary to make the State’s tea industry more resilient than ever before, and the industry players must also do the needful for the government’s efforts to bear fruit.

Mr. Sarma further underlined the initiatives of the State government aimed at the socio-economic empowerment of the plantation workers. These include ₹1.5 lakh each for the construction or renovation of 10,000 houses of tea garden labourers within the tea gardens, funds earmarked for the upkeep and maintenance of roads in tea gardens, and model schools in the tea gardens for the children of the plantation workers.