Bengal launching SOP to temporarily run closed tea gardens
The Bengal government is developing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure that the responsibility for a tea garden following its abrupt closure can be temporarily delegated to a person or a group, thereby preventing hardship for the workers.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set up a group of ministers (GoM) tasked with formulating this SOP, in collaboration with the state advocate-general.
Law and Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak is heading the GoM, which includes Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, Industries and Commerce Minister Shashi Panja and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Buluchik Baraik.
Being representative of the tea garden regions, Anit Thapa, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha and Prakash Chik Baraik, Trinamool Congress MP (Rajya Sabha) are serving as its members.
According to sources from the Labour Department, there are currently 16 closed tea gardens in north Bengal.
Ten of these were being operated by Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Pvt Ltd (DOTPL) till their proprietors abruptly departed. A case is pending against them with the National Company Law Tribunal. Four other gardens, including Red Bank and Dharampur, are undergoing liquidation, while one garden has remained closed since 2002.
