Small tea growers in Tinsukia seek CM’s intervention to resolve pricing crisis
AASTGA accused the Tea Board & local administration of failing to enforce fair pricing norms
Tea garden workers in Assam (Photo: AT)
Doomdooma, Nov 2: The Tinsukia District Committee of the All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association (AASTGA) has appealed to Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to rescue the State’s struggling small tea sector, which they say is facing a severe economic crisis, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of growers.
During the Chief Minister’s visit to Doomdooma on Friday for a government programme, AASTGA district committee president Rana Moran and secretary Ajit Gogoi met Dr Sarma at the Rupai High School playground and handed over a detailed memorandum outlining their grievances.
The association alleged that both the Tea Board of India and the Tinsukia district administration have failed to ensure fair pricing for green tea leaves produced by around 56,000 small tea growers in the district, affecting nearly eight lakh people dependent on the industry.
Citing the Tea Marketing Control Order (TMCO) and the Tea Board’s NEZO directive issued on October 21 last, the association claimed that growers have yet to receive their Minimum Benchmark Price (MBP) and urged the Chief Minister’s direct intervention. They also called for the reintroduction of the NOC system in Tinsukia district to protect the quality and identity of “Assam Tea”.
The memorandum further alleged that some local bought-leaf factories have been procuring green tea leaves from Arunachal Pradesh, resulting in a steep drop in prices for local growers.
In protest against these practices and what they described as the “ineffective policies” of the Tea Board, small tea growers have stopped supplying green leaves to factories for the past three days.
After receiving the memorandum, the Chief Minister assured the delegation that the issue would be taken up for discussion.
It may be noted that State Industry Minister Bimal Bora recently acknowledged the complexity of resolving the small tea growers’ pricing crisis, even as the association reiterated the urgent need for government intervention to safeguard Assam’s famed “green gold”.
By Correspondent