edited by: Oindrila Mukherjee
Last Update: February 02, 2023, 00:26 IST
Tea pundits and the industry were initially wary of the allocation made to small tea growers. (Representational Image: Reuters/File)
The Tea Association of India said the Centre’s intent is towards effective reforms in ‘Ease of Doing Business’, in which 39,000 compliances have been reduced and 3,400 legal provisions have been diluted.
Unlike North India, the harvesting dates for tea gardens in Assam are yet to be announced. Activity will start in Dooars, Terai and Bihar from 18 February, in Darjeeling and Sikkim from 27 February and in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from 6 March.
Tea pundits and the industry were initially wary of the allocation made to small tea growers. but t association of India Wednesday later expressed a “material” view.
“The Finance Minister projected budget proposals for FY 2023-24 which are strong on capital expenditure. It has given a boost to certain areas like promotion of tourism on mission mode, adoption of a new policy towards clean energy and upgradation of digital infrastructure in various sectors like agriculture etc. While there is no specific tea-centric proposal in the budget, it is seen that support has been further consolidated for social infrastructural projects – allocations under PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, said Prabir Bhattacharjee, general secretary of the Tea Association of India. The emphasis is on growth.
Bhattacharjee said that the state governments have insisted that these projects should be implemented in tea gardens. “The overarching intent of the Central Government, therefore, is for effective improvement in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ (EODB) and this is visible as 39,000 comply, while 3,400 fall short of legal provisions,” a press release said. Read the release. Tea Body.
The tea association official further said that the tea industry was grappling with a fair share of compliance of statutory provisions and obligations and hence, it was seen as a welcome initiative.
The allocation for the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme has been increased by almost 100 per cent from Rs 1,233 crore to Rs 2,491 crore.
The Assam government in its budget for the financial year 2022-23 had proposed to continue the tax exemption on green tea leaves for three years and give incentives for orthodox production for another year. It also proposed infrastructure development for tea tourism, besides measures to improve educational and other facilities for tea tribe workers and their families. The budget also proposes to continue the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Scheme (ATSIS) till 2023.
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