Assam tea planters body seeks release of ‘pending’ subsidies by Tea Board

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaApril 12, 2024

The Tea Association of India (TAI), a leading body of tea planters in the country, on Friday sought the release of “pending subsidies” from the Tea Board of India to carry out developmental activities undertaken at various gardens.

Tea Board of India has been extending subsidies/financial incentives/grants in aid for various activities carried out by different stakeholders for improving the production, productivity and quality of tea in India along with the promotion of Indian tea in the international market, which includes Tea Plantation and Development Scheme (TPDS) and Tea Development & Promotion Scheme (TDPS) covering period 2007-2017 which was followed by the Medium Term Framework (MTF) (2017-18 to 2019-2020).

“Under the above, the country’s tea estates had undertaken substantial development activities in their tea estates as per the scheme guidelines. Since a large proportion of the amount due to the tea estates remains unreleased, the matter was constantly raised by the Tea Association of India at consecutive meetings of the executive body meeting of the Tea Board of India starting from 2020,” TAI president Sandeep Singhania said in a press release here.

Singhania said at the 247th meeting of the executive body of Tea Board, it was stated by the Tea Board that in the first cases where sanction letters have been issued and the first instalment has been paid should be cleared, secondly where the Sanction letters are issued shall be cleared. 

“However no provision for liabilities created where NOC has been issued but no sanction letters, Singhania also said.

“The TAI had been steadfastly highlighting the issue before the Ministry of Commerce & Industry expressing its concern over the constricting view adopted on this subject by the Tea Board of non-disbursement,” he said. 

He also said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce recommended in their 171st Report that the Committee noted with concern non-receipt of tea estate’s outstanding dues for undertaking bona fide tea developmental activities. \

The Committee further observed that the administrative decision to accord no objection certificate (NOC) for conducting developmental activities leads to huge investments and expenditures by the tea growers and the Committee further recommended that the permit to undertake developmental activities in the form of NOC is an assurance to the tea growers which should be a basis for reimbursement to tea growers and estates.

In the 177th Report “Issues affecting the Indian Tea Industry” before the chairman, Rajya Sabha on March 24, 2023, the Committee came out on a recommendation on “Pending Subsidy”.

“The TAI persisted in its efforts to focus on the issue by highlighting the matter on January 6, 2024, before the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry wherein other officials including deputy chairman, Tea Board and additional secretary (Plantation), Ministry of Commerce and Industry were present,” Singhania further said. 

“However, in a recent development, the association learned that the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has stated that about the matter of pending subsidies, Tea Board has informed that all eligible cases where subsidy was sanctioned have been disbursed by the Tea Board,” he said.

“This statement has demoralized the industry, as it is in extreme distress. Disbursing the dues would have made a huge difference to the fortunes of the concerned Tea companies,” he added.