Bengal ministerial group to address tea garden's problems

The West Bengal government has set up a group of ministers to look into the problems of the tea gardens and is also focusing on the development of tribal workers, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Wednesday.

"We have formed a group of ministers to look into the problems of the tea gardens," Banerjee said after an administrative meeting at Lalkuthi in this northern Bengal town.

The chief minister said her government is also looking into inclusion of the tribal people and is in the process of setting up Tribal Bhawans (centres) across the state.

"As many as 1,32,000 people from the tea estates are getting pension from the Tribal Development Department and Tribal bhawans are underway in Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Midnapore West, Bankura, Purulia, Balurghat and Rajarhat in Kolkata," she said, noting tribal development is a continuous process and more work needs to be done.

Further, a separate development board for the Bhutia community in the hills of Darjeeling will be formed and Rs.5 crore will be given for the board, she announced.

"Initially I had formed development boards for the Lepcha, Sherpa and Tamang communities, now I have formed a development board for the Bhutia community as well," she said.