Industry Refuses To Buy Tata Tea Links With Ulfa

Reacting to the allegations of the links of Tata Tea Ltd with the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), the tea industry believes that the company has been a victim of circumstances. Reacting strongly to the word nexus, the major tea corporates said that these are suggestions of the media and blown up unnecessarily. There is no question of an alleged nexus between the tea industry and the Ulfa extremists, tea industry officials said.

I believe the Tata executives explanation that the free medical services may have been utilised unknowingly by certain Ulfa extremists, feels the managing director of a tea major speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

The general refrain is that Tata Tea would have taken such a step under compulsion because the tea corporates are the last ones that would want militancy to continue because they are the worst hit by it.

While referring to the interrogation of R K Krishna Kumar, the industry sources said, He is a man of high dignity, and Tata Tea is clear on its conduct. They feel that the garden managers may have made some payments under pressure but the whole allegation is unfortunate.

S K Kidwai, a wholetime director of Tata Tea, said in a press release that in view of the disturbed situation prevailing in Assam, the company had taken a categorical stand to strengthen its multifarious community development activities in the state.

Tea industry officials spoke volumes about Tata Teas contribution in the field of social work not only for their labourers and employees but also for others from the weaker section of the society. Over the last six years, Tata Tea had built the Referral Hospital in upper Assam at a cost of over Rs 7 crore. Several other welfare schemes are being operated by the company from time to time.

Condemning the militancy in Assam, highly placed officials said, The tea industry has definitely suffered on the quality side. The quality of tea and the quality of plantation work have both suffered which will show up in the future years when new areas may not come up to the industrys expectations of productivity.

Most of the tea corporates have got their own contingent of ATPSF (Assam Tea Plantation Security Force). Funded by the tea corporates, ATPSF was formed by Indian Tea Association and the government of Assam for the protection of tea estates of various companies.

However, there are companies that have openly paid up to the militants. For example, about three years back, Goodricke had paid more than Rs 20 lakh as ransom for B K Singh, senior manager of the Orangajuli tea estate. This was mentioned in the companys balance sheet, and the company had asked for income-tax benefits on the ground that the money had been spent for security of life and property.

The tea industrys frustration with Ulfa could well be understood in the words of the president of a tea major when he says, There is no comparison between the GNLF problem in Darjeeling and the Ulfa in Assam. In Darjeeling, they recognised the importance of the tea industry, and left the gardens untouched. Ulfa, on the other hand, considers tea gardens as the safest target. It is now obvious that they dont have the good of Assam or the Assamese people in their minds, he added.

The industry as a whole feels that all they want is easy money by extortion at the point of gun.