The State government has decided to increase the minimum wages of the Tea workers of the state to Rs 176 starting from the month of April, said Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb as he met a delegation of the tea workers at his residence on Tuesday.
‘Mukhyamantri Cha Shramik Kalyan Prakalp’ scheme has been adopted for the welfare of the tea garden workers of the state. This scheme will accelerate the development of the tea industry and the socio-economic development of the workers, stated the Chief Minister
Tea garden workers present there expressed their gratitude to the state government and the Chief Minister for the scheme which has been adopted to improve the quality of living of the tea garden workers in the state.
While speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said, out of 54 tea gardens in the state, most of them are private. These tea gardens, which were once neglected, are now emerging as a result of timely and productive initiatives taken by the present state government to increase production and to develop this industry by overcoming the disruptions in the management of these tea gardens. He said, the scheme has been adopted to improve the quality of living of the neglected tea workers.
The overall welfare of tea workers and their families will be achieved by allocating about Rs 85 crore under the scheme. Under this scheme, the tea worker families who do not have land will be provided and housing will be arranged for them through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme. Tea garden worker families will also be provided with facilities such as Antyodaya card, education where various initiatives also will be taken for expansion of education, basic amenities such as advanced health services, road, toilet, clean drinking water, health insurance, pension and other kinds of necessary assistances.
The Chief Minister also said, initiatives are also being taken to revive the dying and gardens that are gaining no profit by forming cooperative societies and providing them loans on easy terms and conditions. As a result, many tea garden workers will benefit from this.
. Others present during the meet were Chairman of Tripura Tea Development Corporation Santosh Saha and the Board of Directors of the corporation.
