No wage hike in Assam tea gardens for now, says Gauhati High Court
3 years, 9 months ago

No wage hike in Assam tea gardens for now, says Gauhati High Court

The Hindu  

The Gauhati High Court has given tea estate owners in Assam the “liberty” to decide if they want to follow the State government’s order on increasing the daily wages of plantation workers by ₹50. Hearing a petition of the Indian Tea Association and 17 tea companies for staying the wage hike, Justice Michael Zothankhuma on March 16 said the interim order passed more than a week ago “shall continue until further orders”. Tea plantation workers’ wage has been a major issue in poll-bound Assam where Adivasis – loosely referred to as “tea tribes” – are the deciding factor in 45 of the State’s 126 Assembly seats. The ITA and the tea companies had in their petition said the notification was “illegal in as much as, no Committee/Sub-Committees have been formed as required under Section 5 and Section 9 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.” The two rival alliances headed by the BJP and the Congress have been trying to win over tea workers who constitute almost 20% of the State’s population spread across 803 major plantations and many of the 1.75 lakh small tea gardens.

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History of this topic

Will Pay Tea Garden Workers' Dues Of Rs. 70 Crores Within Two Years: Assam Tells Supreme Court
1 month ago

Will Pay Tea Garden Workers' Dues Of Rs. 70 Crores Within Two Years: Assam Tells Supreme Court

Live Law  

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Assam government to file an affidavit detailing its plan to pay the balance dues of Rs. Justice Oka had emphasized the state's duty as a welfare state and urged the state to present a viable payment scheme, warning that the Court might order the sale of ATCL's assets if the government failed to …

State assures SC ₹70 cr payment to Assam Tea Corp workers over two financial years
1 month ago

State assures SC ₹70 cr payment to Assam Tea Corp workers over two financial years

Hindustan Times  

Faced with the Supreme Court’s stern warning about selling off Assam Tea Corporation Limited’s assets to clear worker dues, the Assam government on Monday assured the court that it would pay ₹70 crore to the workers over the next two financial years. “On instructions, senior counsel Nalin Kohli states that the amount of ₹70 crore will be paid within the …

Congress will increase MGNREGA wages to ₹400, Rahul Gandhi says in Madhya Pradesh
8 months, 1 week ago

Congress will increase MGNREGA wages to ₹400, Rahul Gandhi says in Madhya Pradesh

The Hindu  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Madhya Pradesh on May 5 that his party, if elected to power in the ongoing Lok Sabha election, will increase the wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to ₹400 per day. Mr. Gandhi also claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party would not even get 150 seats in these elections. यह …

Assam to conduct socio-economic survey of indigenous Muslims
1 year, 3 months ago

Assam to conduct socio-economic survey of indigenous Muslims

India Today  

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the officials concerned to carry out a socio-economic assessment of the state's five indigenous Muslim communities, stated the Chief Minister's Office on Tuesday. "In a meeting held at Janata Bhawan, HCM Dr @himantabiswa directed the officials concerned to carry out a socio-economic assessment of Assam's Indigenous Muslim communities," CMO posted on X. Earlier …

Himanta Biswa Sarma orders socio-economic assessment of indigenous Muslim communities in Assam
1 year, 3 months ago

Himanta Biswa Sarma orders socio-economic assessment of indigenous Muslim communities in Assam

India TV News  

The Assam government on Tuesday announced to conduct a socio-economic survey of the five indigenous Muslim communities of the state aiming to take measures for their upliftment. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with officials at the state secretariat in connection with the matter and directed them to carry out the assessment, Chief Minister’s Office said. "In a …

Cash Remains King in Assam's Tea Gardens as Workers' Weekly Salary Preference Stalls Digital Payment Efforts
1 year, 10 months ago

Cash Remains King in Assam's Tea Gardens as Workers' Weekly Salary Preference Stalls Digital Payment Efforts

News 18  

Today is Friday, the day for weekly payment in most of the tea gardens in Assam. Eventually, people had to fall back to the more convenient mode of receiving salaries in cash.” During Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to the state in February 2020, she rapped State Bank of India for the bank’s failure to operationalise bank accounts of …

Assam CM distributes ₹12.96 crore compensation to Doloo tea garden workers
2 years, 1 month ago

Assam CM distributes ₹12.96 crore compensation to Doloo tea garden workers

Hindustan Times  

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday distributed ₹100,000 each to 1,296 families living in the Doloo tea garden in Cachar district as gratitude for supporting the government in acquiring land for a proposed Greenfield airport. Assam CM distributes ₹ 12.96 crore compensation to Doloo tea garden workers The state government acquired over 325 hectares of land from the …

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma distributes cheques of ₹1 lakh each among Cachar tea estate families
2 years, 1 month ago

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma distributes cheques of ₹1 lakh each among Cachar tea estate families

The Hindu  

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has handed over cheques of ₹1 lakh each to 1,296 families residing at Cachar district's Doloo Tea Estate, which got mired in controversies earlier in the year over land acquisition for a greenfield airport. According to a statement from the Chief Minister's office, the cheques were distributed at a function in Silchar on Tuesday …

Assam Cabinet decides to increase medical seats for six communities demanding ST status
2 years, 3 months ago

Assam Cabinet decides to increase medical seats for six communities demanding ST status

Firstpost  

The meeting, chaired by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, also decided to increase the upper age limit at entry level posts in medical colleges for general, OBC, MOBC, and SC/ST category applicants Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet has decided to increase the number of reserved seats by two each for the six communities demanding Scheduled Tribe status in medical education from the …

Assam small tea growers resent hike in workers’ wages
2 years, 4 months ago

Assam small tea growers resent hike in workers’ wages

The Hindu  

Small tea growers in Assam have resented the State government’s “unilateral” decision to increase the daily wage of plantation workers across gardens big and small to ₹232. The All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association said equating them with large gardens was an injustice on the part of the government. Government not extending subsidies: team growers’ body Assam has about 1.22 …

Independence Day Gift to Tea Workers, Assam Govt Hikes Daily Wages by Rs 27
2 years, 5 months ago

Independence Day Gift to Tea Workers, Assam Govt Hikes Daily Wages by Rs 27

News 18  

In a good news for around 10 lakhs tea garden workers of Assam ahead of the Independence Day, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government on Wednesday decided to increase their daily wages by Rs 27. In a meeting with tea garden managements and workers’ union, it was decided to increase their daily wage by ₹27 over and above ration and …

Assam hikes daily wages of tea garden workers by ₹27
2 years, 5 months ago

Assam hikes daily wages of tea garden workers by ₹27

The Hindu  

The daily wages of tea garden workers in Assam were hiked by ₹27, the second increase in such payments since the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government came to power in the State in May last year, an official said on August 9. Mr. Sarma said welfare of tea garden workers has always been his government's top priority. He said the cash …

Assam cleared tea estate for ‘imaginary’ airport
2 years, 7 months ago

Assam cleared tea estate for ‘imaginary’ airport

The Hindu  

The Assam government had used a fleet of bulldozers and excavators to clear swathes of a tea estate for an “imaginary” airport, information provided by the Civil Aviation Ministry has revealed. In a May 31 reply to an application under the Right to Information Act, the Ministry said it had not received any proposal for the construction of a greenfield …

Bar CM from campaigning in Assam bypolls: Congress
3 years, 2 months ago

Bar CM from campaigning in Assam bypolls: Congress

The Hindu  

The Assam unit of Congress has asked the State’s chief electoral officer to bar Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from campaigning in the byelections for violating the model code of conduct. In a memorandum submitted to the Election Commission on Saturday, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah said promises from the Chief Minister have been flying thick and …

Assam govt will enhance social security network of tea garden population, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
3 years, 6 months ago

Assam govt will enhance social security network of tea garden population, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

India Today  

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the state government is gearing up to enhance social security network of tea garden population and plans are afoot to gradually take over the existing health and educational institutions of the tea estates to ensure holistic development of the tea garden population. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that …

Tea Workers Remain Loyal to BJP, Minorities to Congr-AIUDF in Assam Polls
3 years, 8 months ago

Tea Workers Remain Loyal to BJP, Minorities to Congr-AIUDF in Assam Polls

News 18  

Tea garden workers and minorities, the two dominant vote banks in Assam have remained loyal to the BJP-led alliance and Congress-AIUDF respectively in the 2021 assembly polls. A snubbed Congress had made all-out effort to regain its lost ground this time with its election campaign focusing on increasing the daily wages of tea garden workers to Rs 365 from the …

This election season, there’s a storm brewing in Assam’s tea gardens
3 years, 9 months ago

This election season, there’s a storm brewing in Assam’s tea gardens

Live Mint  

Six years ago, when Thomas Kerketta visited Garih Jharia Maria, his ancestral village in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, everyone treated him as an outsider. At his campaign rally in Dhekiajuli in the first week of February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of his government’s goodwill measures for tea-garden workers, even cautioning them against an “international conspiracy” to malign the Indian tea …

Assam Election: First Phase of Polling Could Decide Final Result
3 years, 9 months ago

Assam Election: First Phase of Polling Could Decide Final Result

The Quint  

Upper and North Assam has a comparatively lower population of Bengali-speaking voters and a higher concentration of ethnic Assamese voters, tea tribes and plain tribes like Misings and Sonowal Cacharis. But the BJP government's failure to fulfill its promise of providing Rs 351 per day wage to tea garden workers has left many dissatisfied. Three of the Congress' most prominent …

Spotlight on Assam's tea garden districts as first phase of campaigning ends; Opposition bets on CAA, BJP offers NRC correction
3 years, 9 months ago

Spotlight on Assam's tea garden districts as first phase of campaigning ends; Opposition bets on CAA, BJP offers NRC correction

Firstpost  

A total of 47 seats will go to polls on 27 March, which will decide the fate of 264 candidates, including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Congress’ Debabrata Saikia and Ripun Bora, jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi The high-pitched campaign for the first phase of the Assam election ended on Thursday with polling set …

Assam Assembly Elections 2021 | Political parties in Assam go all out to woo tea garden workers
3 years, 9 months ago

Assam Assembly Elections 2021 | Political parties in Assam go all out to woo tea garden workers

The Hindu  

Assam's tea garden workers are being wooed by political parties of all shades with promises of sops galore, as they comprise a hefty share of the State's electorate. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made particular efforts to woo the community with both visiting tea gardens and enjoying a cups of tea and lunch with tea garden worke₹The …

It is BJP’s failures vs Congress’ guarantees in Assam
3 years, 9 months ago

It is BJP’s failures vs Congress’ guarantees in Assam

The Hindu  

THE issues of raised by the Congress-led eight-party alliance of opposition parties—such as such as unemployment and price rise—have become the talking points in Assam, heightening the level of discomfort for the Bharatiya Janata Party -led ruling alliance ahead of the three-phase Assembly election beginning March 27. The Congress has accused the BJP of going back on its electoral promises …

Assam Assembly election: Congress-AIUDF Mahajoth is 'mahajooth', says Narendra Modi
3 years, 9 months ago

Assam Assembly election: Congress-AIUDF Mahajoth is 'mahajooth', says Narendra Modi

Firstpost  

Bihpuria/Sipajhar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called upon the people of Assam to beware of the Congress-AIUDF ‘Mahajoth’ as it is a ‘Mahajhoot’. “I have come to awaken you to the fact that Congress’s hand is with those forces that are a danger to the state’s identity and culture,” Modi said. “With the people’s increasing trust in the BJP …

Amid parties’ bid to woo tea-tribes, a legal battle
3 years, 9 months ago

Amid parties’ bid to woo tea-tribes, a legal battle

Hindustan Times  

On Tuesday, the Gauhati High Court directed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam not to take coercive action against tea garden owners over non-compliance of a recent governmentorder regarding increase in daily wages of tea-garden workers in the state. The order follows another by the court on March 8 staying a government order issued on February 23 raising daily …

Assam Assembly polls | Pay revised wages to workers, Himanta tells tea companies
3 years, 9 months ago

Assam Assembly polls | Pay revised wages to workers, Himanta tells tea companies

The Hindu  

Assam Finance Minister and BJP’s chief poll strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday warned tea estate owners to pay daily wages to their workers at the revised rate or face the music. We revised it to ₹217 but a few tea garden owners went to the High Court against the revision in connivance with the Congress,” he told a crowd …

Tea Garden Owners Free To Decide If They Want To Implement Govt's Order Increasing Assam Tea Workers' Wage: Gauhati High Court
3 years, 9 months ago

Tea Garden Owners Free To Decide If They Want To Implement Govt's Order Increasing Assam Tea Workers' Wage: Gauhati High Court

Live Law  

The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to the Tea Estate owners in the State of Assam by giving them the 'liberty' to decide if they wish to comply with the State Government's last month Notification directing them to give enhanced wages to tea workers. Earlier, on 08th March, the Court had restrained the State government from taking …

Assam Assembly Elections 2021 | Leaflet seeks answers from BJP in Assam tea gardens
3 years, 9 months ago

Assam Assembly Elections 2021 | Leaflet seeks answers from BJP in Assam tea gardens

The Hindu  

Has the BJP given you Scheduled Tribe status? The only reason that the questions are aimed at the BJP is that the party has been in power for five years along with its associates and the tea workers largely voted for them for the promised ‘parivartan’ and ‘achche din’,” AAASA president Stephen Lakra told The Hindu on Wednesday. “The idea …

Congress announces list of 40 candidates for Assam assembly polls
3 years, 10 months ago

Congress announces list of 40 candidates for Assam assembly polls

India Today  

Congress on Saturday released the first list of the party candidates for 40 assembly constituencies in the first phase of three-phase Assam assembly polls. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora will contest from Gohpur seat while six sitting MLAs of the party have also got party tickets. Former BJP MP Ram Prasad Sarma who joined Congress last year will …

Assam polls 2021: Priyanka Gandhi promises Rs 2,000 'grihini samman' to housewives, 5 lakh jobs
3 years, 10 months ago

Assam polls 2021: Priyanka Gandhi promises Rs 2,000 'grihini samman' to housewives, 5 lakh jobs

India TV News  

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is on a two-day Assam tour, on Tuesday promised that the grand old party will provide Rs 2,000 monthly allowance to housewives in the state if it forms the next government. Addressing a rally in Tezpur, Vadra said that the condition of tea garden workers has remained the same during the last five …

Assam polls 2021: Priyanka Vadra tries hand at plucking tea leaves in Biswanath - Video
3 years, 10 months ago

Assam polls 2021: Priyanka Vadra tries hand at plucking tea leaves in Biswanath - Video

India TV News  

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Assam was seen plucking tea leaves and interacting with tea garden workers in Biswanath. The video shows Priyanka taking instructions from tea garden workers on how to pluck tea leaves. Priyanka's visit to a tea garden assumes significance as the BJP government recently increased the daily …

BJP govt hikes daily wages of tea garden workers in Assam ahead of assembly polls
3 years, 10 months ago

BJP govt hikes daily wages of tea garden workers in Assam ahead of assembly polls

India TV News  

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam, the BJP-led state government on Saturday increased the daily wages of scores of tea garden workers from Rs 167 to Rs 217 per day, officials said. The officials said that the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has decided to increase the daily wages of tea garden workers from Rs 167 …

Assam govt provides financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to over 7 lakh tea garden workers
3 years, 11 months ago

Assam govt provides financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to over 7 lakh tea garden workers

India Today  

Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Assam, the BJP-led state government has provided financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to around 7.47 lakh tea garden workers of the state. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched the 3rd phase of 'Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar Mela' programme in Guwahati, in which she distributed the third tranche of financial assistance to …

Poll pot: on Union Budget 2021
3 years, 11 months ago

Poll pot: on Union Budget 2021

The Hindu  

The largesse to the election-going States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam in the Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday was unmistakable. Ms. Sitharaman announced that national highway works worth ₹19,000 crore are in progress in Assam and projects of more than ₹34,000 crore covering over 1,300 km of national highways will be undertaken in …

Assembly polls in four States find echo in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget
3 years, 11 months ago

Assembly polls in four States find echo in Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget

The Hindu  

From Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoting verses from Rabindranath Tagore and Thiruvalluvar’s works to massive allocation of funds, the influence of the coming polls in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam was obvious on the Budget. Allocations per State The most obvious political aspect of the Budget was, of course, the allocations announced for these States — 1,100 …

Assam Govt Announces Rs 200 Crore Package for Tea Industry
4 years, 3 months ago

Assam Govt Announces Rs 200 Crore Package for Tea Industry

News 18  

The Assam government on Friday announced a Rs 200-crore incentive package for the state's tea industry, including three years exemption of agricultural income tax, to give a boost to the sector. The tea industry in the state is going through a difficult phase for the past few years and the gardens were also closed due to the lockdown, Finance Minister …

Assam Tea Garden Union Plans Sept Protests Including 'Massive Human Chain' for Fulfillment of Demands
4 years, 4 months ago

Assam Tea Garden Union Plans Sept Protests Including 'Massive Human Chain' for Fulfillment of Demands

News 18  

The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha has called for a series of protests for the fulfillment demands including a raise in the daily wages of workers in the state. ACMS General Secretary Rupesh Gowalla said workers of all tea gardens in Assam will sit for a one hour ‘dharna’ in front of garden offices on September 16. “Tea workers from Dholla …

Assam Tea Union Demand 20% Puja Bonus for Workers Ahead of Festival Season, Assembly Polls
4 years, 4 months ago

Assam Tea Union Demand 20% Puja Bonus for Workers Ahead of Festival Season, Assembly Polls

News 18  

The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, the biggest tea garden workers union of the state has demanded the tea industry to pay a maximum of 20 per cent bonus ahead of Durga Puja festival. “We have asked the industry to pay 20 per cent puja bonus and three weeks ahead of the festival. There has to be a middle way,” said …

Indian tea prices jump to new record as floods in Assam, coronavirus outbreak slash output
4 years, 5 months ago

Indian tea prices jump to new record as floods in Assam, coronavirus outbreak slash output

Firstpost  

Production losses have already pushed weekly auction prices to a record of Rs 232.60 per kilogramme, up 57 percent from a year ago, according to the Tea Board Mumbai: Tea prices in the world’s second-biggest producer India have jumped to a record after intense floods and coronavirus movement restrictions trimmed output in the main producing region. The price rise could …

SC Seeks Govt.'s Response On Challenge To Non-Payment Of Wages To Tea Garden Workers During COVID Lockdown
4 years, 8 months ago

SC Seeks Govt.'s Response On Challenge To Non-Payment Of Wages To Tea Garden Workers During COVID Lockdown

Live Law  

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the State Government of Assam to respond to a plea seeking payment of wages and ration supplies to Tea Plantation workers within 10 days.A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justices Indu Malhotra & Hrishikesh Roy observed that even though the bench is not usually inclined to interfere, it would do so in this …

Assam woos MNCs moving out of China
4 years, 8 months ago

Assam woos MNCs moving out of China

Deccan Chronicle  

Guwahati: Multinational companies looking to move out of China should consider Assam, with its abundant natural resources, strategic location and robust industrial infrastructure, as their destination for setting up production facilities in India, state industries minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said on Wednesday. Informing that the state was prepared to facilitate robust industrial infrastructure and reliable connectivity, Mr Patowary told reporters, …

Assam NRC final list: BJP wanted to weaponise citizenship exercise, but is now struggling with a political hot potato
5 years, 4 months ago

Assam NRC final list: BJP wanted to weaponise citizenship exercise, but is now struggling with a political hot potato

Firstpost  

The BJP — which had once championed the NRC — finds itself in such a tricky spot that it is desperate to distance itself from the Supreme Court-monitored exercise. The final and updated National Register of Citizens in Assam was released on Saturday and it has put the BJP — which had once championed the humongous exercise to identify illegal …

Pregnant women are risking their lives to bring people tea
5 years, 11 months ago

Pregnant women are risking their lives to bring people tea

CNN  

CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. The Indian Tea Association, meanwhile, told CNN that "workers are eligible for primary health care as per the Plantation Labour Act," with free medication provided to a worker and their family and maternity care provided to cover anemia treatment, immunization, institutional deliveries and mother and child care …

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