The BJP-led Assam government on Saturday said it will hike the minimum daily wage of tea garden workers within 10 days, a move which is set to rob Opposition parties of a key poll plank in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
The announcement was made by Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the third phase of the “Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar Mela” ceremony held here for the direct transfer of Rs 3,000 each to the bank accounts of 746,667 tea garden workers across the state. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal were present at the function.
Sarma said a notification announcing the tea wage hike will be issued soon. “Wait for 10 more days. There is more good news coming... on the minimum wage front whenever the next cabinet meeting is held,” he said without specifying the quantum of hike.
Presently the minimum daily wage of tea workers in Assam is Rs 167 and the BJP had committed to hike it to Rs 351.
Sources said the minimum wage committee set up by the state government met on Saturday evening to discuss issues related to the hike, a development which suggests that Dispur would fast-track the process before the poll dates are announced sometime this month.
The minimum daily wage for tea garden workers is an issue which is being flagged by the Opposition in the run-up to the polls to corner the ruling BJP for its “unfulfilled” promises.
On Friday, PCC chief Ripun Bora had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will address a rally in Assam on Sunday, about “what happened” to the BJP’s “promise” of ensuring a minimum daily wage of Rs 351.33 to a tea garden worker.
The earlier phases of the Dhan Puraskar Mela programme had seen the garden workers get Rs 2,500 each in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscals.
Sarma said the government remains committed to the welfare of the tea community which is an “integral part” of the Assamese society. The community’s hard labour produces tea for which Assam is known over the world, he said.
The direct transfer of Rs 3,000 comes close on the heels of the Rs 1,000 crore announced in the Union budget on February 1 for the welfare of tea community women and children in Assam and Bengal.
“All these steps, including the announcement of wage hike, is sure to boost our poll prospects in the tea belt but will make it difficult for our political rivals to woo the community which has decisively tilted towards the BJP since 2014,” a BJP member said.
The tea community has a decisive say in about 42 of the 126 constituencies in the state.
Sitharaman said Assam is known the world over for its tea and while people start their mornings with a cup of Assam brew, the labourers who grow tea have been neglected for long, making them live a disadvantaged life “where their children have to eat overnight food”.
“Since the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government assumed power in 2014, various measures have been taken for uplift of the tea community,” Sitharaman said.
She credited bank and state government employees for completing the task of opening more than 8 lakh bank accounts in tea garden areas after demonetisation.
Praising Sonowal, she said Rs 1,000 crore was allocated in the Union budget for the empowerment of tea garden women in Assam and Bengal “acting on the plea” of the Assam government and the Centre’s commitment towards the community. “In future also, measures for uplift of the tea community would be taken,” she said.
Thanking Sitharaman for her support to Assam, Sonowal referred to Modi’s motto of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” as the guiding principle for the state government to work for equal development of all sections. He also thanked the Modi government for conferring Padma Shri on artiste Dulal Manki, terming it as a gesture of respect towards the tea community.
None of the BJP leaders spoke about the granting Scheduled Tribe status to six communities of Assam, including the tea community.
