The Joint Action Committee (the Terai, Dooars and Hills), a common platform of some trade unions and social organisations in the region, has written to chief secretary B.P. Gopalika asking for tea workers' land rights and financial aid for them to build their houses.

On January 17, the committee sent the letter, saying that the state has come up with a scheme to provide five decimals (2,178sqft) of land to each tea worker without land or house.

“The state has planned to provide land to tea workers from unused land in tea gardens. This means many workers will be relocated to plots from the place where they have been living for decades now,” said a member of the committee.

He added that a major part of the tea population was involved in agriculture and animal husbandry for extra income. “They rear cattle, pig and poultry, grow fruits, vegetables on land next to their quarters.... Some families make around Rs 10,000 a month through these means. Now if they are asked to shift to new vacant land, they will lose their earnings,” the member added.

That is why the committee with constituents such as the United Forum for Adivasi Rights, the Uttar Bengal Chai Shramik Sangathan, the Paschim Banga Cha Majdoor Samiti, the National Tribal Welfare Society, the Indian Ulgulan Tribal Unity Forum, the Dooars Terai Adivasi Mahila Welfare Society, the Adivasi Gorkha Sanyukt Samiti and the Jalpaiguri Adivasi Welfare Society have demanded in the letter that the state provide rights to the land in the possession of workers.

“The state should withdraw the existing scheme of five decimals. Instead, homestead land, which a tea worker has, should be given to them,” said another representative.

The letter also referred to chief minister Mamata Banerjee's recent announcement that along with the “Cha Sundari” or free housing for tea workers, her government will pay Rs 1.2 lakh to each worker to build a home.

“North Bengal has 3.5 lakh tea workers, which means the state has to spend Rs 4,200 crore on this (home-building scheme). Hence, the state should make the budgetary allocation to give thE fund to tea workers. There should be a clear government notification on it,” a representative said.