A central government undertaking, which owns four tea estates in the Dooars, has left dues of around ₹10 crore with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as it has not deposited a considerable portion of the amount meant for over 5,000 workers for almost two years.
On Friday, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, the minister of state for heavy industries, said in the Rajya Sabha that between September 2023 and June this year, a sum of ₹9.81 crore was due as provident fund of employees working in the Karballa, Choonabhutti, New Dooars and Banarhat tea gardens.
Located in the Banarhat block of Jalpaiguri, the four tea estates are owned by Andrew Yule & Company Limited, which functions under the ministry.
He furnished the data in reply to a question made by Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee.
“The data furnished by the MoS have once again proved the apathy of the Narendra Modi government towards tea garden workers and their families. Provident fund is a major retirement benefit that workers and other employees receive in the tea belt. Surprisingly, the gardens are owned by a central government enterprise that defaulted on the payment for around two years,” Banerjee said over the phone from Delhi.
In the reply, the MoS has mentioned that since 2023, Andrew Yule has been facing financial constraints as there has been a decline in tea production in the gardens.
The decline has been attributed to pest and fungal attacks on the tea plantations and adverse climatic conditions, which have led to lower earnings.
“The MoS has tried to come up with some clarification for the delay in the deposition of employees’ provident fund with the EPFO. But what we want to know is whether the PF authorities will take any legal steps against Andrew Yule, as it is an offence. The workers’ contributions, however, have been regularly deducted from their wages and salaries,” the Trinamool MP added.
BJP leaders, however, sounded unperturbed. “Such dues are cleared regularly. In the reply, the minister has also mentioned that over ₹18 crore has been deposited with the EPFO for the workers of these gardens so far,” said a BJP functionary in the district.
A Trinamool leader said the party would campaign in the gardens to apprise workers of the PF dues and BJP leaders’ empty promises.