GUWAHATI, Dec 24 � The Tea Board has decided to locate its proposed Small Tea Directorate in Assam. But to get the decision formalised, the matter is being placed at the board meeting of the Tea Board scheduled for December 29, sources in the Board said.
Further, the sources told this correspondent, the Board has selected the four districts of Tinsukia, Golaghat, Darrang and Sonitpur in Assam to implement the Tea Marketing Control Order (TMCO) in a focused manner from the next year.
For the purpose, the Board will team up with the State Industries Department and the district administrations of the above districts.
This venture is expected to reveal the drawbacks and the administrative lapses in implementing the Price Sharing Formula under the TMCO in so far as the sale and purchase of green leaf are concerned. The remedies will thus become easier to be devised, sources said.
Then the Tea Board will go for covering the other districts of the State to resolve the dispute over the green leaf deals.
The Board at present is attaching top priority to maintain quality of the varieties of tea produced in the country, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Rs 100-crore triple five programme of the Board, which has been drawn up to make Indian tea irresistible in its traditional markets, is in progress.
