Wed Nov 06 16:28:47 UTC 2024: ## Tamil Nadu Govt. to Provide Housing, Loans to Manjolai Tea Estate Workers

**Chennai, November 6, 2024:** The Tamil Nadu government has announced a comprehensive package of assistance for workers facing job losses at the Manjolai tea estate in Tirunelveli district. The government will provide 309 free tenements, loans for business ventures, and other support to help the workers transition into new livelihoods.

The announcement came during a hearing at the Madras High Court on Wednesday where the government clarified its position on the future of the tea estates. The Advocate-General, P.S. Raman, stated that the government would convert the estates into natural forests. He also emphasized that the responsibility of providing a severance package to the workers would primarily lie with the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited (BBTCL), the leaseholder of the estates.

However, the government has stepped in to provide further assistance, offering 150 tenements at Reddiarpatti near Tirunelveli city and 240 tenements at Manimuthar in Ambasamudram taluk. These tenements, worth ₹14 lakh each, will be provided free of cost, with the government waiving the usual allottee share of ₹3 lakh.

The government will also offer loans to the workers. Scheduled Castes workers will receive loans under the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme, while non-Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe workers will be eligible for loans under the New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme. Both schemes offer substantial subsidies and interest subventions.

Aavin, the state-run dairy cooperative, has also agreed to provide loans to the workers for establishing dairy farms.

The government, however, has clarified that the tea plantation workers who migrated to Manjolai from other places will not be considered traditional forest dwellers and therefore ineligible for benefits under the Forest Rights Act.

The announcement comes after BBTCL decided to wind up its operations at Manjolai this year due to multiple disputes with the state following the declaration of the estates as reserve forests. The company claims to have paid a handsome compensation to the workers, but some workers allege coercion in the voluntary retirement process.

The court has granted time until November 11 for submission of written arguments from all parties involved in the case.

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