GUWAHATI: The Tea Board of India, in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22, has extended Rs 9.19 crore as financial assistance to the stakeholders of the tea industry, including the organised sector, small tea growers and wards of tea garden workers in the northeast to help partially ease the distress faced by the industry arising out of the pandemic.
The board, in a statement, said during the financial year 2020-21, it had extended Rs 60.92 crore as financial assistance under the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme in the region.
"The Board has been implementing the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme with the overall objective of enhancing productivity and quality through replantation, irrigation, encouraging collectivization amongst small tea growers into self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, farmer producer companies and enable them to move up the value chain, value addition, incentive for production of orthodox tea, exports through ICD Amingaon, tea promotion, research, regulatory activities, welfare measures for workers that are supplementary to the provisions of the Plantation Labour Act, 1951. The scheme is implemented in all the tea-growing regions of the country, including the NER," the statement said. It added that financial assistance is also extended under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Area Sub Plan for beneficiaries belonging to SC and ST communities. The assistance is credited to the bank account of the beneficiary through direct benefit transfer by electronic mode.