Guwahati, March 31: On Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma distributed financial incentives worth ₹64.05 crore to around 370 tea gardens under the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes 2020 at a function held at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati.
The incentive scheme was originally formulated by the Government of Assam to mitigate the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tea industry.
The tea industry is the backbone of the economy of Assam, contributing to nearly 90% of gross export value and providing either direct or indirect employment avenues to more than a million people. The Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Schemes aimed to help the sector absorb some of the shocks of the deleterious impact of Covid-19.
Apart from providing interest subvention of 3% on working capital loans of tea gardens, the promotion of the production of orthodox tea over traditional crush-tear-curl (CTC) tea has also been accorded due attention. A subsidy of ₹10 for per kilogram of orthodox and other special varieties of tea has been incorporated under the scheme.
An additional ₹2 for per kilogram of orthodox tea has also been fixed for the financial year 2023-24 to mark the 200th anniversary of tea production in the State.
Moreover, a subsidy of 25% shall be provided by the government to tea gardens to set up units for orthodox tea production, and the government shall also forego agricultural income tax accruing from tea gardens for the next three financial years.
CM Sarma exuded confidence that the Assam tea industry would be able to claim its rightful place in the world and domestic tea market in days. The government was taking all necessary measures to make the State’s tea industry more resilient than ever before, and the industry players must also do the needful for the government’s efforts to bear fruit.
Sarma also spoke of the numerous initiatives of the Government of Assam aimed at the socio-economic empowerment of the tea tribes of the State.
The Government of Assam, under the Chief Minister’s Awaas Yojana, would provide financial support of ₹1.5 lakh each for the construction of the renovation of 10,000 houses of tea garden labourers located within the tea gardens.
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Further, funds have been earmarked for the upkeep and maintenance of roads in tea gardens. Smart meters would soon be installed at the quarters and residences of tea garden labourers, and their outstanding electricity dues to date would be compensated to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited by the government.
The establishment of model schools in tea gardens would help usher in an educational revolution among the members of the educationally backward tea tribe communities, and around 25 colleges would also come up in tea garden areas.
The CM appealed to both the tea estate management and the labourers to remain committed to each other’s wellbeing, as both parties are in a symbiotic relationship, and an adverse impact on one leaves a cascading effect on the other.
With the government’s efforts and the support of the industry players and tea garden labourers, the Assam tea industry could soon recover from the pandemic’s impact and thrive once again.
