Small Assam tea growers move HC against cess

GUWAHATI: Miffed over the Assam government���s decision to impose a cess of 20 paisa per kg of green tea leaves, the small growers��� body has moved Guwahati High Court against the decision. The state government in the budget 2008-09 proposed to levy a cess of 20 paise per kg of green leaf.

However, the decision to impose the cess took effect from February 2009. The organisation of small tea growers, All Assam Small Tea Growers��� Association (AASTGA) has made several representations to Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on this issue.

AASTGA general secretary Karuna Mahanta told ET: ���We have worked out that the imposition of cess will cost Rs 400 per bigha annually. This will affect the growers. Besides we are also paying around Rs 222 per bigha as land revenue annually.���

He added: ���We will be forced to launch a stir against the government if their demands go unaddressed. Small tea growers produce around 29% of the total tea production in the State and 14% of the total tea production of the country. Assam produces 480-490 million kg of tea, which is 51% of the all-India production.���

Mr Mahanta added that around 65,000 small tea growers are involved currently in tea production in the state. ���For not having the land patta, (land possession certificate) most of us are being deprived of loans from the banks. We have held series of discussions with the government but we are yet to get possession certificate. We could not avail the benefit of several schemes of Tea Board in absence of possession certificate,��� he said.