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Small tea growers in State to get land pattas

By STAFF CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT, March 20 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said that his government has decided to issue land pattas to small tea growers (STGs) of the State to offer support to the people who have brought a revolution and contributed to Assam�s progress and prosperity.

Sonowal was speaking at a function at Assam Agricultural University here to launch the State government�s new plantation scheme (2017-18) for STGs under which financial assistance will be provided to the growers. Under the scheme, a grower will get Rs 5,000 per bigha. A maximum amount of Rs 1 lakh has been fixed for a single grower.

The Chief Minister, while praising the role of the STGs in opening a new chapter in the agriculture sector about four decades ago and successfully moving ahead in the journey, said the government will be extending necessary support to them to give a boost to the tea industry. He said the indigenous people of Assam in large numbers had undertaken tea cultivation much late compared to the British planters, but have come a long way now and need a proper direction.

Sonowal said the government was aware about the plight of about 1.3 lakh STGs (as stated by STG associations though the government figure was 78,000) in the State due to lack of land pattas of their plantations as a result of which the STGs were deprived of a lot of benefits. �Be it loans and various other government incentives for the small growers, they cannot avail it due to the government not issuing land pattas,� he observed.

He said �very soon� the government will start issuing land pattas to STGs, who were cultivating by occupying government land by collecting a premium of Rs 1,000 per bigha with maximum limit of 30 bighas to be allotted to a single grower.

The Chief Minister said that by getting ownership of the plantations the small growers could augment their production. He, however, cautioned them not to compromise on quality. He also urged the STGs and big gardens to join hands to face the challenges in the global market.

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