Mill owners have disappeared leaving families in the lurch

There seems to be no solution in sight for the thousands of workers who are “trapped” in the closed tea gardens in North Bengal. Most of the tea estates were closed down in 2003-04 when declining tea prices felled many a promoter, especially where gardens were inherently weak.

However, while a major part of the industry recovered, quite a few did not. The phenomenon impacted gardens in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala. Most of the affected gardens were in West Bengal and Kerala.

However, although Kerala was able to reopen many of the gardens mainly by putting in place a concept of workers ownership, West Bengal had no such success.

West Bengal accounts for a quarter of the 1,100 million kg of tea that India produces. This tea is grown on the slopes of the famed Darjeeling hills in the eastern Himalayas, but the majority comes from the plains of North Bengal in the Dooars and Terai region. There are 225 tea estates in West Bengal of which an estimated 23 are now closed.

Over the last decade, especially for a few years between 2006 and 2009, the then UPA government had taken a proactive role to get the tea gardens reopened.

A financial rehabilitation package was also announced for them.

Measures were taken to invoke the Tea Act to take over gardens, where promoters had abandoned the workers and run away.

Expressions of interest were invited from interested bidders. However, most of these cases ended up in courts.

Said an industry source on hearing the latest news of the reported starvation deaths at Raipur tea estate: “We had earlier heard that there were many traders , non resident Indians and NRIs willing to give these closed gardens a try. However, nothing seems to have got off the ground.” And neither were there any brave hearts in the domestic industry willing to take over any of these gardens.

Most of the closed gardens had accumulated liabilities, and banks, faced with substantial bad loans and non-performing assets, were unwilling to arrive at easy settlements. Their total outstanding loans exceed Rs. 200 crore.

Over 30,000 employees and their families are now in a way trapped in these gardens.

Most of them, especially the old and the infirm, continue to live in their quarters without electricity, water or any wages, as mill owners have simply disappeared leaving them to their fate.

The State governments have provided subsidised ration and also Rs. 1,500 subsistence per head, but bereft of other basis amenities many were falling victim to malnutrition and diseases.