Is this the end of the road for Doon Tea?

If the government has its way, Dehradun's tea estate will give way to high rises for the state's smart city project

Last month, when the colonial-era Doon Tea Company laid off its workers on two tea estates - Harbanswala and Arcadia -, any glimmer of hope that the dying tea gardens will not be subsumed into the ever expanding city was extinguished.

Within a few days after the lay-off, the Uttarakhand government unveiled its grand plans to buy the tea estate from real estate developer Emaar MGF which owns a majority stake in Doon Tea Company, for its smart city project.

The tea estate constitutes much of what is left of Dehradun's green zone. If the state government's plan goes through, the wilderness will be replaced by concrete and high rises, marking an end to not only the city's natural heritage, but also its historical heritage. Apart from a tea plant and coolie lines, the 1,127.48 acres of land owned by the tea estate include fruit orchards and farm land with aromatic grasses that many believe should be preserved.

Naturally, the state government's move has triggered widespread opposition. Scores of environmentalists, social activists and politicians from across parties have come together to save the tea gardens.

The government has said it is looking for a new site for the project, but it has by no means abandoned the original plan. In fact, it is tying up loans with Housing and Urban Development Corporation to go ahead with the first phase of land acquisition.

"Our preliminary estimate suggests the total cost will be around Rs 2,000 crore. But in the first phase, we are buying only 350 acres of the tea estate for which we have applied for a Rs 496-crore loan," says Meenakshi Sundaram, vice-chairman, Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority.

Sundram is holding talks with Atul Khanna, the representative from Doon Tea Company. The smart city project for which the state government has already given its go ahead will be developed in partnership with Tongji University of China.

The workers, meanwhile, have stepped up their protest and are holding demonstrations across Dehradun. Their resentment has been amplified by the management's decision to sack more than 50 of them recently.

They allege the company has been suffering because of the management's lack of interest in the tea business. Doon Tea Company has been making losses for years now and the management does not seem to have a turnaround plan, they say. The management's intentions to use the land for real estate development became apparent a few years ago when they sold a majority stake in the company to Emaar MGF. This marked a major shift in the course of the tea company set up by Britishers in 1863.

Leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Trade Union Congress and Left parties are supportive of the workers' cause. Some ruling Congress MLAs are also opposing the government's move to acquire the tea garden land.

"You have seen what is happening in Delhi as far as pollution is concerned. By destroying the tea gardens, you cannot make Dehradun a better place. We must not remove the green cover left in these tea gardens," says Anil Prakash Joshi, a Dehradun-based environment expert.

One reason for the shoddy state of the tea company is the rampant encroachment of the garden land. The illegal settlers use the land as pasture for their cattle and this is destroying the natural vegetation of the region. In many places, weeds are taking over the tea estate, says experts.

While Doon Tea Company's financials are not known, at the time of its acquisition by Emaar MGF in 2006, the company's annual turnover had fallen to Rs 20-25 lakhs from a few crore rupees before the acquisition. And the situation has gone from bad to worse. "Our losses are continuing," says D K Singh, the company secretary.

The government, however, has its own rationale for taking over the land. "Old Dehradun is feeling the heat from overcrowding. We want to build a new smart city to take the pressure off Dehradun," says Chief Minister Harish Rawat. "The only suitable land available for the smart city is in these tea estates which are almost defunct. If people of Dehradun do not want a smart city, then I will close this chapter."