Centre committed to revive sick tea gardens: labour minister

New Delhi: The Centre is committed to revive sick tea gardens in the country and a joint effort will be made by it along with state governments, Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Lok Sabha today.

“We will do all possible to solve the problems of tea garden labourers in consultation with state governments. We will jointly formulate a strategy to revive sick tea gardens in the country,” he said during Question Hour.

Tomar said Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit West Bengal soon to discuss with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on how to revive the sick tea estates in the state.

The minister said tea plantation workers constitute a major portion of the plantation workforce in the country.

“The tea industry provides direct employment to approximately 11.22 lakh workers. In addition, about 12.25 lakh workers are engaged in coffee, rubber and cardamom plantations,” he said.

Tomar said the Plantations Labour Act 1951 was amended in 2010 to make it comprehensive for welfare of plantation labourers.

“The implementation of the Act, however, vests with the respective state governments. At present, no suggestion to amend the Act has been received from any state government,” he said.

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