West Bengal orders 21 closed tea gardens to reopen in 10 days

Kolkata: West Bengal Transport and Labour Department Arjun Singh visited North Bengal on Friday gave a stern message to reopen 21 closed tea gardens as the State Government ordered reopening within 10 days and directed tea garden owners, directing them to pay 20% of bonus to the workers' by October 5.

Singh held a series of meetings at Shramik Bhawan in Siliguri in order to review key Labour and Transport-related issues.

The state Minister visited Kamala Tea Garden and held a meeting on the issues of closed tea gardens and welfare of tea workers. The meeting was attended by the Darjeeling Mp, and MLAs of North Bengal. The senior officials of the Labour Department and representatives of tea garden management were also present.


The minister stressed in the meeting that 20% bonus must be disbursed to the tea workers by 5 October 2026. The minister directed the tea garden owners to take steps to reopen 21 closed tea gardens within 10 days.

The State Minister stated that the Bengal Government would extend all possible assistance to tea garden managements who are ready to resume operations, while necessary action would be considered in cases where gardens continue to remain closed.

The Minister also held a review meeting with senior officials and field-level officers of the Northern Zone of the Transport Department. The meeting was attended by MoS- Transport & Finance Department, Anandamoy Barman, along with ADM (MV), Darjeeling, Joint Director of Transport (Northern Zone), and RTOs, ARTOs and MVIs from eight districts.

Singh emphasised the need for revenue collection with effective enforcement, strict vehicle fitness checks including school buses, promotion of e-autos, immediate use of body cameras by field officers among others.