Tea estates in a fix over land lease impasse

KOLKATA: Uncertainty is looming over the fate of 30-odd tea gardens in North Bengal where the land lease were not renewed for long. Also, there are gardens where the leases would lapse soon. 
The tauzi department, which is the repository of land records and collects rent from them, would now function under the newly formed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). But garden owners have not received any kind of intimation from the government about which department to approach for lease renewal. Hence, the confusion prevails.  Harka Bahadur Chhetri, one of the members of the five-member administrative body of GTA, said the gardens where land lease are expiring soon should wait till GTA is formed with elected members, which would take at least another six months. 
"We have around three gardens where the land lease renewal is due for the last five years. There are so many other gardens also, which are waiting for lease renewal.  Let the new body come into existence, let us see what happens," Arun N Singh, managing director and chief executive officer, Goodricke Group said. Goodricke has six gardens in Darjeeling and in 2010 the production was 700 tonnes. 
The leases of these gardens are pending as the owners are unwilling to pay a one-time salami (a kind of payment) of Rs 15,000 per hectare, he said. "There are serious issues with salami. This Rs 15,000 per hectare has to be brought down," Singh said. 
Chhetri added that they have still not taken a call on the land lease renewal pending issue. 
"Once the GTA is formed, there will be a board of administration. If the matter is put on table we can sit and discuss. As far as the other gardens are concerned, where land lease will expire soon, they need to hold on till GTA is formed," he said. 
Meanwhile, Darjeeling Tea Association chairman Sanjay Bansal said as the industry players yet to receive any order from the government, they would follow the old procedure of land lease renewal. Earlier land lease renewal happened through district magistrate then to the commissioner in Jalpaiguri and lastly to the land and land reforms department of the state government. "We have not received any official information yet," he added. 
Bansal said lease of another 10-12 tea gardens would expire soon. There are around 80 gardens in the Hills and around 50,000 people are employed in it. 
The total production of Darjeeling tea 7.76 million kgs, Terai was 144 million kgs and Dooars was 76 million kgs in 2010. 
~TOI