How is cess on green tea leaves utilized?

The government failed to use this money for welfare of workers, according to Asom Gana Parishad

October 22, 2014 08:09 am | Updated May 23, 2016 03:53 pm IST - Guwahati

The Asom Gana Parishad on Monday demanded the Assam Government to publish a white paper on collection and utilisation of cess on green tea leaves.

The regional party alleged that while the State Government has been collecting Rs 23 crore annually from small tea growers as cess on green leaves since 2009, the government failed to utilize the money for the growth of small tea cultivation and for the welfare of the growers and workers.

Minimum support price In a press statement AGP President Atul Bora also demanded a minimum support price for green leaves produced by small tea growers. Referring to recent protests by small tea growers of dumping green tea leaves on streets following alleged refusal by some tea factories to buy the leaves citing that their factories were running above capacity, the AGP president demanded the Centre to devise an insurance scheme linking it with minimum support price for green tea leaves produced by small tea growers. He accused Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of going back on his assurances of fixing a minimum support price for tea produced by small tea growers.

The Opposition alleged that the Tea Board was yet to give permission to small tea growers for setting up mini and micro tea factories within the plantation areas of small tea gardens despite the Board’s announcement. Assam has about one lakh small tea growers and about 800 big tea gardens.

'The small tea growers contribute about 35 per cent of the total tea production in the State. In 2013 the state produced over 600 million kg of tea.

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