DIBRUGARH, Oct 2 � The Tea Division of the All India Manufacturers� Organisation (AIMO) and the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers� Association (ABLTMA) have jointly flayed the Tea Board of India for its alleged leniency towards McLeod Russel, Amalgamated Plantations, Apeejay, Dhunseri, Jayshree and other major tea companies while trying to regulate the tea sector in the State.
Although factories intending to buy green tea leaves, whether from the organised sector or from the bought leaf sector, have to make the purchases as per the cropping pattern, the rule has not been adhered to by the tea majors, alleged the AIMO and ABLTMA. The two bodies maintained that the tea majors do not observe any stipulated norms issued by the Tea Board of India or the district administration. The big players in the tea industry buy, reduce or stop purchasing of green tea leaves as per availability of their own green tea leaves, the two organisations added.
The AIMO and ABLTMA complained that due to the unregulated buying pattern adopted by the big companies with the motive of profiteering, bought leaf factories are being compelled to accept higher quantum of leaf from the suppliers during the peak cropping periods. In low harvesting months, estate factories buy green leaves at higher rates regularly, causing lesser arrival of green tea leaves at the bought leaf factories and eventually causing losses to the bought leaf factories due to lower production and higher green leaf rates, they stated.
�The State Government and the district administration want the buyers of green tea leaves to maintain the discipline of buying green tea leaves as per the cropping pattern. However, the complete silence on the part of the Tea Board of India on the issue suggests a malicious collusion between the major tea groups and the Tea Board of India,� Chand Kumar Gohain, chairman of ABLTMA, and Deven Singh, chairman of AIMO (Tea Division), alleged. The efforts of the district administration to prevent theft of green tea leaves have also been thwarted by the tea majors which openly flout the regulations by purchasing green tea leaves from unauthorised green leaf suppliers, they said.
The ABLTMA and AIMO stated that when the green tea leaf production goes up, the quality also declines due to a variety of factors. They further said that the Tea Board of India, instead of insisting on big tea companies to buy green tea leaves as per the cropping pattern, wants the bought leaf factories to process the inferior quality of leaves and then blames them for making inferior teas. �This attitude of the Tea Board of India is completely discriminatory,� the two organisations pointed out.
