Fri Mar 21 16:46:08 UTC 2025: ## North Bengal Tea Workers Face Wage Delays Amidst Land Allocation Protests

**Kolkata, March 21, 2025** – Workers at four tea estates in North Bengal, administered by the Union government-controlled Andrew Yule & Company Limited, are facing wage delays of five to six weeks, according to a Parliament response. The delay, affecting workers at Banarhat, Karballa, New Dooars, and Choonabhutti Tea Estates, is attributed to a financial crisis within the company’s tea division. This was revealed in response to a question raised by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee. The Ministry of Commerce stated that the company is working to resolve the issue.

The wage delays have reignited long-standing concerns about the financial security and working conditions of tea garden laborers in the region. Trade unions and political leaders have repeatedly called for improvements.

Meanwhile, protests are intensifying over the West Bengal government’s plan to allocate 30% of tea garden land for tourism purposes. On March 20th, several unions, including the United Forum of Adivasi Rights and Joint Action Committee, marched to the state secretariat in North Bengal. They are demanding not only the scrapping of the land allocation but also permanent land rights for tea garden workers. The United Forum has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging the withdrawal of the “Tea Tourism and Allied Business Policy 2025.”

While Chief Minister Banerjee has stated that there will be no compromise regarding tea plantations, she clarified that the land allocated for tourism is only that which is not currently used for tea cultivation. The ongoing protests and wage delays highlight the precarious situation faced by tea workers in North Bengal.

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