Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma disburses financial incentives to tea gardens under industry special incentive schemes

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 30 attended the ceremonial distribution of financial incentives to around 370 tea gardens under the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes 2020 at a function held at Janata Bhawan. 

An aggregate of Rs 64.05 crore was disbursed to the 370 tea gardens under the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes 2020, originally formulated by the Government of Assam to mitigate the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tea industry.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Minister said the tea industry was the backbone of the economy of Assam, contributing to nearly 90 per cent of gross export value and on which and providing either direct or indirect employment avenues to more than a million people. It is due to the overwhelming effect of the tea industry on the economy of Assam that the Government of Assam came up with the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes to help the sector absorb some of the shocks of the deleterious impact of Covid-19.

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Elaborating on its components, the Chief Minister said apart from providing interest subvention of 3% on working capital loans of tea gardens, the promotion of production of orthodox tea over traditional crush-tear-curl (CTC) tea has also been accorded due attention. It is with this aim that under Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes, a subsidy of ₹10 per kilogram of orthodox and other special varieties of tea has been incorporated, the Chief Minister said. 

To mark the 200th anniversary of tea production in the State, an additional ₹2 for per kilogram of orthodox tea has been fixed for the financial year 2023-24, the Chief Minister added.

Moreover, a subsidy of 25% shall be provided by the government to tea gardens to set up units for orthodox tea production, the Chief Minister stated, adding that the government shall also forego agricultural income tax accruing from tea gardens for the next three financial years.

The Chief Minister exuded confidence the Assam tea industry would be able to claim its rightful place in the world and domestic tea market in days. He said the government was taking all 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 efforts to bear fruit.

Chief Minister Dr Sarma also spoke about the numerous initiatives of the Government of Assam aimed at the socio-economic empowerment of the tea tribes of the State. He said the Government of Assam, under the Chief Minister's Awaas Yojana, would provide financial support of ₹1.5 lahks each for the construction of the renovation of 10,000 houses of tea garden labourers located within the tea gardens. Further, funds have been earmarked for the upkeep and maintenance of roads in tea gardens. Smart meters would soon be installed at quarters and residences of tea garden labourers and their outstanding electricity dues to date would be compensated to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited by the government, he added. 

The establishment of model schools in tea gardens would help usher in an educational revolution among the members of the educationally backward tea tribe communities, he remarked. Around 25 colleges would also come up in tea garden areas, he added.

Appealed to both the tea estate management and the labourers to remain committed to each other's wellbeing, as both parties are in a symbiotic relationship and an adverse impact on one leaves a cascading effect on the other.

Assam Minister of Finance Ajanta Neog, Minister of Industries Bimal Bora, Minister of Tea Tribes Welfare Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Samir Kumar Sinha, Chairman of Indian Tea Association Nayantara Paul Choudhury were also present at the event.