Raju Bista, the BJP MP of Darjeeling, sent a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, requesting her to take the initiative so that 14 tea estates of Darjeeling hills are handed over to the Tea Board of India.

Among these 14 tea estates, four tea gardens — Peshok, Dooteria, Kalej Valley and Panighata —are closed for years now. The other 10 tea gardens are run by the Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates Private Limited (DOTEPL). Over the past couple of months, workers of these 10 gardens have not received their wages owing to financial constraints on the part of the management.

“I have requested the chief minister to take note of the dismal situation of Darjeeling tea industry and take necessary steps so that the closed and sick gardens are handed over to the tea board. This step can help the central government help workers and shore up the tea industry,” said Bista.

Under the provisions of the Tea Act, 1953, the central government has the authority to take over any tea estate by invoking provisions under sections 16D and 16E.

In Darjeeling hills, altogether there are 77 tea estates which produce the famed Darjeeling tea and fetch excellent prices from international and domestic markets.

However, during the past couple of years, financial crisis has been reported from a number of tea estates.

In his letter, the Darjeeling MP has also said that if such a situation persists in the hills or the issue is left unaddressed, it can snowball into a socio-economic problem for tea workers and the industry.

A few days back, Anit Thapa, the chief executive of the GTA and president of Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, expressed fear that dues withheld from workers of 10 gardens of the DOTEPL can lead to law-and-order problems in hills.

Bista, who has also sent a letter to Piyush Goyal, the Union commerce minister, and sought his intervention, was also critical of the Bengal government. “Around 10,000 workers of these gardens are facing economic hardships. But so far, the state government here has not taken any major step to stand in their support,” he said.

Trinamul leaders accused the BJP MP of playing politics. The state is giving financial aid and free ration to workers of closed tea gardens, they said. Alok Chakraborty, a senior trade union leader and chairman of Darjeeling (plains) district Trinamul committee, alleged that the Narendra Modi government had come up with elaborate promises for the tea belt of Bengal but did nothing.

“Earlier, they promised to take over the tea gardens which were abandoned by the Duncans group. But eventually, the state government found new companies that took over these gardens. Some other closed tea gardens reopened because of the state’s intervention. The MP has realised that the Centre has not done anything for the tea population and is now trying to play politics,” said Chakraborty.