Jorhat, June 24: It will now be easier for planters to use garden land for commercial purposes like setting up tea tourism projects, thanks to a recent Tea Board of India directive laying down the guidelines for going about these.

The board will issue no-objection certificates to the planters for tea tourism projects or to build Indira Awas Yojana houses, provided the latter adhered to a strict set of guidelines mentioned in the directive.

The project, however, would have to be permitted by the state government first, sources said.

They said the Tea Board directive, issued recently by the Calcutta head office, stated that it had drawn up the guidelines in view of frequent applications by estate owners seeking no-objection certificates (NOCs) for tea tourism or other commercial projects.

The board has also prepared an NOC application format for the gardens interested in taking up these projects.

The guidelines drawn by the board are primarily aimed at ensuring that the proposed commercial activity does not affect the existing tea garden in any manner.

While the board said the NOC would depend on whether the garden in question had fulfilled all relevant government norms to undertake the project, it barred the applicants from uprooting tea bushes to make room for the commercial venture.

The applicant will also have to establish (see chart) that the proposed plot is unfit for plantation and that the land will not be required for future expansion of the garden.

The proposed plot cannot be used for construction of commercial housing projects; only guesthouses or tourist lodges are allowed.

It has also directed the owner to furnish an undertaking that the proposed venture will not adversely affect the tea plantation, its productivity and the quality of the leaves.

The directive said the application could only be made by the person/company owning a garden or an authorised representative.

The owner has to fill in 12 columns in the application form, even mentioning the source of manpower for the proposed project — whether the existing labour force will be used or the work will be outsourced.

It said certain documents would also have to be submitted along with the application.

These include a full map of the garden with the proposed project area clearly demarcated, a copy of the garden lease deed/renewal, a self-attested certificate stating that the proposed plot does not fall on the international border along with any document issued by the board at the time of issuing the licence for setting up the garden.

Indian Tea Association chairman Arun Singh said, “Tea tourism is good, as it gives planters an additional revenue stream. This can then be ploughed back into the plantations. But it is the state government that has to grant permission. The Tea Board can recommend a case.”