Guwahati, Oct. 1: Bidyananda Barkakoty, vice-chairman of the Tea Board of India, has asked the Tea Research Association (TRA) to market itself aggressively to get more work from government and international agencies to improve its financial situation.

Barkakoty said this at the TRA's 52nd annual general meeting in Calcutta yesterday. Nearly 200 members from across the tea industry attended the meeting.

The TRA, based at Tocklai in Jorhat, has been passing through unprecedented financial crisis because of non-release of approved funds by the Centre.

TRA chairman Prabhat Bezboruah said Rs 37 crore is due from the Centre till September, while TRA owes Rs 10 crore to its workers. The association is opening up different verticals, including outsourced research, from abroad for revenue generation and self-sustenance.

Sources said the Centre had allocated Rs 6 crore for tea research whereas Sri Lanka and Kenya allocated Rs 17 crore and Rs 14 crore, respectively.

Barkakoty said TRA should also approach medium and small gardens for membership and give them advice. He supported the idea of starting a course on tea for students at Tocklai.

Assam industry and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, who was the chief guest at the event, said the association should be provided proper funds either from the government or the industry. Patowary said he had already taken up the issue of funds release to the TRA with Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He said Sitharaman had given an assurance but expressed concern that the funds crunch affecting TRA would affect the tea industry. Patowary said tea companies were not spending the required two per cent corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds in Assam. Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, who was the guest of honour, asked TRA to start soil health card system in all Assam gardens. He urged small tea growers to provide full wages and benefits to workers and requested the heads of tea companies to start Jan Dhan Yojana for the workers' benefit.