Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking to the media in Kolkata yesterday, clarified that only 15 per cent of tea plantation land will be used for tea tourism and local employment.

However, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista led a delegation to meet West Bengal Governor Dr C V Anand Bose, seeking urgent intervention regarding a gazette notification issued by the state government on 7 February.

Advertisement

The notification allows tea garden owners to use up to 30 per cent of their land for non-tea purposes, such as hotels, hydro-dams, and commercial activities.

Miss Banerjee emphasised that no changes are being made to tea garden land ownership laws. She stated that surplus land within estates can be used for commercial activities, but no single entity will be granted more than 30 acres at a time. She also criticised opposition parties for spreading misinformation, calling their claims about changes to tea garden land laws “completely untrue.”

The Joint Forum, a coalition of tea industry trade unions, cautiously welcomed Banerjee’s statements but expressed doubts, noting that recent government actions, like the gazette notification, seem inconsistent with her assurances.

Meanwhile, Trinamul Congress-backed trade union leaders in the Hills, Terai, and Dooars regions welcomed her remarks and hoped for new notifications based on her statements.

During their meeting with the Governor, Bista’s delegation raised concerns about the policy’s legality and its potential harm to tea workers, indigenous communities, and the tea industry. Bista argued that the policy violates several laws, including the West Bengal Land Reforms Act (1955), the Tea Act (1953), and the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act (1953). He also highlighted that the policy was introduced without consulting stakeholders like tea workers, unions, the Tea Board of India, or local representatives.

On the other hand, Ziaul Alam, convenor of the Joint Forum, stressed the urgency of the issue, stating, “The livelihoods of thousands of tea workers and their families are at risk. We cannot accept policies that favour corporate interests over people and the environment.”

The forum has three main demands: The government should adhere to its 18 February resolution, which focuses on protecting workers’ rights and reversing harmful land laws. They oppose short-term fixes for closed or poorly managed tea gardens and instead call for a meeting with the ministry of commerce and industry to develop long-term solutions, similar to the successful 2005 plan. They demand lawful land deeds for families who have lived in tea gardens for generations, based on the “as is where is” principle, and a gazette notification before any land survey is conducted.