Tarun Gogoi asks Centre to withdraw notification on tea

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today asked the Centre to withdraw a notification regarding sale of 70 per cent of tea manufactured by the Bought Leaf Factories (BLFs) through Public Auction system.
In a letter to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, Gogoi said that the notification issued by her ministry is "discriminatory and violative of the right to equality as provided in the Constitution of India as it has been made applicable only to BLFs and not to estate gardens".
The Chief Minister said the State Government is of the firm opinion that the implementation of the notification would cause immense hardship to the BLFs as the sale of their produce through public auction would fetch them lesser price.

Besides, it causes a delay of 5-6 weeks in receipt of the sale proceeds, thus further jeopardising the viability of their business, he added.
"We are of the opinion that the implementation of the notification will be detrimental to the interests of small tea growers and lead to enormous losses," Gogoi said.