The Centre said on Friday that wage disbursal had been delayed by five to six weeks in four tea gardens owned by a company which functions under the Union ministry of heavy industries.

Jitin Prasada, the Union minister of state for commerce and industry, mentioned in writing in the Rajya Sabha that a financial crisis had hit the payment in the Banarhat, Karballa, New Dooars and Choonabhutti gardens in the Dooars.

The four tea plantations are in Jalpaiguri district and are owned by Andrew Yule & Company, a central government enterprise.

Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee raised a question in the Upper House about the pending wages.

“In these four tea gardens, workers haven’t been getting wages regularly for the past year. I had asked in the Rajya Sabha whether it was true and how the central government planned to address the issue,” Banerjee said over the phone.

Prasada replied that wages used to be disbursed every week, and there was
a delay.

“Wages in respect of the workers of tea estates are being paid on a weekly basis and are delayed by five to six weeks due to financial crisis in tea division of Andrew Yule & Company Limited…” reads the reply.

“…the Company has taken efforts to regularise the wages by engagements with all stakeholders to increase productivity and quality to increase revenue,” it added.

In most tea gardens in north Bengal, workers are paid wages every fortnight.

Banerjee, who is also the state president of the INTTUC, the trade union of the TMC, said the minister had dodged a direct mention of the root cause and the long-term solution. “Unfortunately, workers of the tea estates run by the central government are not getting wages on time. BJP leaders and legislators in north Bengal should accept this fact and their failure to exert pressure on the Centre to ensure the wage payment on time,” said Banerjee.

Tea garden dwellers determine the results of 10 to 12 Assembly seats in north Bengal. In 2021, the BJP had bagged most of these seats. As the Assembly elections will be due in a year, the TMC is desperate to revive its support base in the tea belt and the party was quick to flag the issue on Friday.

“Tea garden workers in North Bengal have faced year-long wage delays under @BJP4India-controlled Andrew Yule & Co.

After our MP @RitabrataBanerj raised the issue in Parliament, the Centre finally admitted to a 5-6 week delay but gave NO real solution!

While BJP boasts of ‘Viksit Bharat,’ the backbone of Bengal’s tea industry suffers due to systemic neglect and financial mismanagement,” read a post made on Trinamool’s official X handle.

Manoj Tigga, the BJP MP of Alipurduar, said he had already taken up the issue with the authorities concerned.

“Trinamool is simply trying to do politics. People are aware of the challenges faced by the tea industry these days. There are many other gardens across north Bengal where the payment of wagers is irregular. The TMC MP and his party are silent about those gardens,” said Tigga.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar correspondent