Storm in a cuppa

Despite their massive contribution to Assam8217;s tea production, the small tea growers have been deprived of the Tea Board incentives

After the unrest in Assam comes the invasion. Only, the tea state is happy about the 65,000 educated youth storming its hills. These are the small-scale tea planters who have taken over 10 districts in the upper Assam region and are contributing nearly 15 per cent to the state8217;s total tea produce.

8220;It8217;s a silent revolution that this army of youth has been engaged in during the past 10-15 years,8221; says Anup Phukan, MLA, whose constituency, Tingkhong, has over 10,000 such first-time tea planters. They are called the small tea growers STG. 8220;Had it not been for a group of entrepreneurs, these youth could have been lured by insurgent groups due to lack of opportunities,8221; he adds.

However, these first-generation planters are facing a peculiar problem. They have not been able to avail of the various incentives that the Tea Board offers. The reason? Most of them don8217;t have the land pattas required to be eligible for these incentives and have been growing tea on fallow government land for which they don8217;t have any documents.

8220;The government is seriously considering granting them land rights documents in a couple of months,8221; said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in the state assembly recently. 8220;The district authorities have already been asked to expedite the process so that the entrepreneurs don8217;t miss the incentives,8221; he added.

As most grow tea on government land for which they don8217;t have documents, the Tea Board has registered only about 2,900 in the past decade. According to the Board stipulations, a planter is considered a small tea grower if his plantation does not exceed 10.12 hectares.

Union commerce minister Jairam Ramesh is also pushing the STG case, given his recent exhortation to Gogoi to speed up the process. 8220;Possession of land documents is a must to avail of the incentives. The state government must do it quickly,8221; he said. Ramesh has also announced that an STG delegation would be sent to Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Tea Board incentives include up to 25 per cent subsidy and financial assistance for buying tractors, spray machines and other machinery. Small tea growers are also looking for R038;D support from the Tea Research Association, while the Assam Agricultural University AAU at Jorhat has already come out with various supportive steps. The union commerce ministry has also promised to set up of five cooperative tea processing factories under the Tea Board exclusively for the STGs.

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While the state government is yet to begin the process of providing land pattas, MLAs like Phukan say the planters need to be recognised in view of their socio-economic contribution. 8220;It is a new phenomenon which has generated massive employment. It is not just the 65,000 planters; each estate also provides jobs to at least 10 others,8221; says Phukan.