Political parties, trade unions and tea garden workers have flagged concerns over violation of the tea tourism policy by the management looking to set up tea resorts in north Bengal gardens.
While some resorts have come up, sources said 19 proposals worth Rs 1,410 crore have been placed before the state government for approval under tea tourism and allied business proposals, 2019. The industry estimates the projects would create 4,571 jobs.
“Tea garden workers are not being recruited in such projects if we are to go by trends in existing resorts. This is a serious violation...,” said Ajoy Edwards, the Hamro Party chief.
One of the policy’s provisions states: “Employment from new projects must be generated in a manner that 80 per cent of local people get opportunity.... Preference shall be given to wards of workers of the tea garden.”
Recently, workers of a Kurseong garden refused to uproot tea bushes as asked by the management, suspecting a resort would come up, said Suraj Subba, head of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, affiliated to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
“The policy says new projects can't come up by uprooting tea bushes, and only on vacant garden land,” said Edwards.
The garden's lessee did not reply to messages from this newspaper.