Tea board to alter SPTF guidelines

With a view to provide more funds to tea gardens in Tripura under the special purpose tea fund (SPTF), Tea Board has decided to allow rejuvenation of tea plantations on hillocks below the height of 2,500 feet in the state.

Under the present guidelines, only tea gardens above 2,500 feet could avail grants under STPF, but given the fact that more than 50 per cent of area under tea plantation in Tripura was being cultivated below the optimal level, the move would encourage tea growers to raise production, informed Basudeb Banerjee, chairman of the board, after having a day-long discussion with tea growers from Tripira, in Kolkata on Friday.

This fiscal, the board has received  15 applications, covering 220 acres,  from Tripura for availing funds under SPTF. 

Jitendra Chaudhury, minister of commerce and industry, Tripura, said, while the state government  would help develop necessary social infrastructure for tea garden workers, the growers should focus on increasing productivity, to tap the potential of the industry in fostering the economic welfare of the state.

The Tea Board has also decided to set up a soil testing laboratory in Tripura.

In Tripura, out of the total about 18,000 hectare under tea plantation, the actual cultivation is just about 6,500 hectare, with the total produce of about 7.7 million kilogram per annum. Also, the per hectare tea productivity in the state is close to 1,100 kilogram per hectare, against the national average of 1,900 kilogram per hectare.
In total, there are about 58 tea estates in the state, but most of the estates are less than 100 hectares in area. More than 12,000 permanent workers are involved in tea plantation in the state.