TAI flags legal, financial risks in tea garden land patta plan, prices fall sharply
The Tea Association of India warns Assam and West Bengal govts that transferring tea garden land could trigger legal and banking complications
Guwahati, Jan 4: Tea Association of India (TAI) president Sandeep Singhania on Saturday said majority of the tea garden land is pledged as collateral to banks and any transfer of this land would create financial and legal complications.
Singhania was speaking at the 50th biennial general meeting of the planters’ body in Kolkata today.
Referring to the intent of both Assam and West Bengal governments to provide land pattas to tea garden workers, he requested both the governments to address the concerns before implementing the plan.
He also said the Land Ceiling Act pertains to land, not structures and “compensation for company-built assets such as labour quarters, etc. would need to be addressed separately”, insisting that the managements need to be adequately compensated under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.
Singhania further said the Plantations Labour Act 1951, which is now subsumed into Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, a Central law, mandates to provide housing and other amenities to workers.
State-level action on land distribution does not absolve management from these statutory obligations. Unless the present Act is amended, managements would remain responsible for housing, even after the land is transferred.
“We sincerely appeal to both the State Governments to address the above issues,” he said.
Singhania further said the pressure on tea prices has further intensified in the current year.
In 2025, the all-India average tea price declined by Rs 12.31 per kg, representing a reduction of approximately 6 per cent, falling from Rs 199.30 per kg in 2024 to Rs 186.99 per kg in 2025.
In North India (Assam and Bengal), the decline has been even sharper, with average prices falling by Rs 16.73 per kg, or about 8 per cent, from Rs 221.57 per kg in 2024 to Rs 204.84 per kg in 2025,” he said, adding that the situation has arisen due to the rapid increase in costs of the organised tea sector, without a corresponding increase in prices at the farmgate level.
The TAI president also expressed concern over pending disbursement of subsidies under the Assam Tea Industries Special Incentive Scheme (ATISIS) 2020.
“In a notice issued by the Finance Department of Government of Assam on November 7, 2025, it was communicated that the benefits under ATISIS 2020 for a particular financial year will be disbursed based on State’s budget availability for that year only.
Henceforth, there will be no carry forward for payments of benefits in the next financial year.
The above notification has put the industry in distress as some of the eligible applicants despite fulfilling all formalities within the stipulated timeline have not got the subsidy,” he added.