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| Tea gardens breathe easy after Rajkhowa surrender |
| Supratim Dey & Ishita Ayan Dutt / Guwahati/Kolkata Dec 06, 2009, 00:19 IST |
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With the insurgency led by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) headed for a political solution after the “surrender” of its chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Assam’s large tea industry is hoping for better days ahead.
The industry, which contributes 55 per cent to the country’s tea production of 960 million kg, has been shelling out a significant amount for security of its gardens. Money for the Assam Tea Plantations Security Force, set up in the early 1990s by the government, is provided by the industry at the rate of Rs 1.25 per kg of tea produced. This works out to an annual bill of around Rs 70 crore. At an average cost of production of Rs 80 per kg, this shaves over 1.5 per cent off the gardens’ bottom-line.
Moreover, this drain on resources is on the rise because the salary of the security personnel is linked to the government pay scale which has been escalating. “We have shrunk the force in our gardens but the outgo has gone up. We are requesting the central and state governments to bear this cost,” said a producer. Still, the producers said that recent developments are a positive step. “Over the last 10 or 15 years, the situation in Assam has improved. There have been no major demands from ULFA or threats of extortion. If at all, it’s more a matter of local appeasement,” said an industry representative.
“Recent developments are a good signal for the industrial development of the state and the region. We have lost many decades due to insurgency. We have to catch up with the rest of the country,” said RS Joshi, the president of Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region. “Any political solution to the insurgency problem of Assam and the North-East will surely attract the private sector, besides helping the local industry to do business in a free environment.”
However, there is scepticism in come quarters. Bidyananda Barkakoty, the chairman of North-East Tea Association, said: “Paresh Baruah, the commander-in-chief of ULFA, who is believed to be hiding somewhere in the Myanmar-China border, too should be involved by the government to make the peace process a durable one. Past experiences had shown that any peace initiative without Baruah has proved futile.”
Interestingly, the Kamrup Chamber of Commerce, one of the oldest trade bodies of the region, said that ULFA should bargain for an economic package for the state. Mahavir Jain, the president of the association, said: “Sectors like agriculture and allied activities, irrigation, tourism, river transport have always been the victim of neglect in the state. ULFA should settle for separate packages for development in all these sectors. If it fails to bargain a good economic deal for Assam, I would say it has missed a great opportunity to take Assam back to its golden days.”
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