Mamata Banerjee has threatened to cancel the land leases of tea estates if they fail to run properly. She also stated the intention of her government to recommend Rs. 176 as the daily minimum wage for tea garden workers. It is Rs. 159 a day currently. This comes in the wake of a number of tea estates being closed down in the recent past. The producers have claimed a glut in supply for the fall in revenue from tea estates but the West Bengal government has strongly supported an increase in minimum wage and even suggested to the central government to either manage the tea gardens that have closed down in West Bengal or allow the state government to deal with the issue. The state government has also constituted a committee to recommend policies and programs to improve the lives of over 8 lakh people who are dependent on the work in tea estates for a living.

Venkat T., Srividya Tadepalli & Thomas Manuel

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletters in English and or French. You will receive one email every Monday containing links to all articles published in the last 7 days.