JORHAT, Oct 4 - The Assam Tea Employees� Provident Fund Organisation (ATEPFO), under the State Labour Department, has started the process of attaching tea gardens owned by the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL) in Jorhat district for default in deposit of provident fund (PF) and other allied dues to the government for a long period.
The ATCL is a wholly-owned public sector undertaking of the State government, which was established in 1972. The corporation owns 15 tea estates across the State.
Once the government attaches the property of a defaulting company, it cannot sell or transfer or lease out any immovable property owned by it to any other party or organisation.
Assistant PF Commissioner-cum-Recovery Officer (ATEPFO, Jorhat zonal office) Someswar Barhoi told this correspondent that altogether the ATCL gardens in the district have been default of dues amounting to the tune of Rs 61.56 crore. The estates have not deposited the dues since April 2005.
Barhoi said that the breakup of the dues were: Naginijan Tea Estate Rs 12.22 crore, Sycotta Rs 16.98 crore, Katanibari Rs 8.18 crore, Cinnamara Rs 12.18 crore, Murmuria Rs 10.48 crore and the ATCL Jorhat branch office near the Cinnamara garden Rs 1.52 crore.
The assistant PF commissioner-cum-recovery officer said that though Katanibari and Murmuria are divisions of Sycotta and Cinnamara, respectively, as per ATEPFO records they are treated as separate entities. He said that the headquarters of his department while initiating the attachment process, has issued the �recovery certificates� to be served to the ATCL gardens, which his office will be dispatching soon.
It may be mentioned that the Cinnamara Tea Estate was set up by Maniram Dewan, the first Assamese and Indian commercial tea planter in 1845.
Barhoi said that the attachment of a property is carried out for violation of provisions of the Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund Scheme Act, 1955, after a company fails to deposit dues despite serving of several reminders and a deadline by the government. He said that during the attachment period, the day-to-day business activity of the garden could continue.