Budget 2021 impact: Tea workers' lives to improve with FM's Rs 1,000 crore special package

KOLKATA: The lives of 12 lakh tea workers in tea estates of Assam and West Bengal is set to improve with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing Rs 1,000 crore special package for them.

It is expected that tea estate population would be provided a more comprehensive coverage on welfare schemes related to housing, education, sanitation, medical facilities, said Indian Tea Association.

The announcements for additional funding for social and physical infrastructure in terms of new Atma Nirbhar health scheme as well as roads will have a positive impact on the productivity and health of the tea workers.


Most tea gardens in Assam and West Bengal are located in remote far flung places and suffer from several transportation bottlenecks. The allocation of Rs 3,400 crore for road infrastructure development in Assam and Rs 25,000 crore in West Bengal is expected to speed up development of roads and infrastructure thereby facilitating faster communication from tea gardens to destination points.

The Pradhan Mantri Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana, which will operate in addition to the existing National Health Mission with an allocation of Rs 64,180 crore is expected to be used to develop capacities of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare systems as well as existing national institutions. This will go a long way towards the improvement of the health infrastructure in the country over the next few years.