The Bengal government will give swifter financial aid to workers of closed tea gardens.

Sources said the state government has decided to distribute the monthly Rs 1,500 aid to each such worker under the FAWLOI (Financial Assistance to the Workers of Locked-out Industries) scheme within a month of a garden’s closure, effective from January.

Earlier, workers had to wait for three months for this crucial benefit.

According to sources in the state labour department, at least 15 tea gardens are now closed in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.

“We are grateful to the chief minister, as she has kept her word to tea workers for the early distribution of the monthly financial assistance through the FAWLOI scheme to the workers of closed gardens,” said Nakul Sonar, the chairman of Trinamul Cha Shramik Union.

The criteria revision announcement has come just months before the Lok Sabha polls. In 2019, the BJP had won all the three Lok Sabha seats in these districts.

However, since 2019, the Trinamul-led state government has put a lot of emphasis on tea gardens.

“We are confident that there will be a reversal in the poll results this time around,” said a Trinamul leader of the region, adding that the “sincere efforts” of Bengal’s ruling party would not go unnoticed by the tea population.

He pointed out that when Trinamul came into power in 2011, the daily wage of a tea garden worker in Bengal was only Rs 67.

“We have consistently increased the wages of the tea workers. The daily wage for a tea worker is now Rs 250,” the Trinamul leader pointed out.

The Trinamul source also pointed out that the state government’s decision to grant land rights to the tea garden workers could help Trinamul electorally.

“The tea garden workers had no land rights in the areas where they lived for generations. Our government’s decision to grant land rights had fulfilled one of the major demands of the workers,” the leader pointed out.

Over 15 lakh people reside in the tea belt of north Bengal.

The state government has consistently focused on the tea population, said the Trinamul leader.

“The state government has opened 42-sub-health centres and 71 creches in tea gardens. These apart, 11,000 houses have been built under the Cha Sundari scheme in the tea belt,” he added.

“During the four-day visit of chief minister Mamata Banerjee (scheduled from Sunday), more land rights documents will be distributed,” said a source.

The state government also announced plans to distribute Rs 1.2 lakh to each worker to construct his or her home on the distributed land.

Leaf plucking dates

Plucking of tea leaves in tea estates and small tea plantations in the Dooars and the Terai will start on February 12, the Tea Board of India said. In Darjeeling and Sikkim, it will start on March 1.