GUWAHATI, May 15 ? The fate of over 16,000 employees of the Assam Tea Corporation (ATC) hangs in balance as it has incurred huge losses. The situation of the corporation has reached such a magnitude that the authorities are yet to clear the salaries of the employees for the last several months. The ATC was set up with 14 tea gardens scattered over six districts ? Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Karimganj, with an eye on boosting the tea sector and providing employment to the youths of the State. But now, most of the gardens of the ATC are in dire straits due to political interference and lack of initiative of the successive governments.
According to official sources, apart from some gardens of Nagaon and Karimganj districts, the gardens of other four districts have been running at huge losses and last year it touched a total of Rs 23 crore. What is more alarming is that production of made tea of the corporation has started falling rapidly posing a threat to the employees. During 2000-01, the ATC had produced 57 lakh kg of made tea, but the production went down to 48 lakh kg in 2001-02. On the other hand, production of tea particularly in upper Assam gardens is also declining gradually. Statistics reveal that the upper Assam gardens are producing 800 kg per hectare whereas the production in Nagaon and Karimganj districts stands at 1400 kg per hectare. In view of poor production of upper Assam gardens, the ATC has suffered a setback.
Worried over the prevailing situation and vehement protest from various circles, the State Government had constituted a committee headed by the Chief Secretary for disinvestment or leasing out the corporation for the sake of its employees. The committee, later invited some private companies including Assam Company Limited, George Williamson, Pery Agro Industries Limited and Barooah and Associates to finalise a deal, but, they had to back out due to prevailing uncertainty in the corporation. After the failure, the Chief Minister recently sent a letter to the ATC asking it to lease out the gardens within 10 days. Though the corporation has accelerated the process immediately after the Chief Minister?s instruction, it is not feasible to revive the corporation as it has a liability of Rs 100 crore.
?Before finalising the process, the State Government should clarify its stand on the present liability of the corporation,? said a senior officer of a leading company. The officer who did not wish to be named told this correspondent that the present liability would lead to a serious problem in the near future and hence the State Government should come forward with a clear-cut policy. Meanwhile, several political parties and organisations have criticised the State Government for its failure in disbursing the salaries of the employees. National Congress Party (NCP) leader, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan said that the labourers of upper Assam gardens are facing starvation as the corporation has not been able to provide weekly ration to them. The leader who made an extensive tour to the gardens during last week, revealed that the situation at the upper Assam gardens is tense, but the State Government has turned a deaf ear.
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has also blamed the present Government and demanded provision of ration and wages to the labourers. The Asom Jatiyatabadi Juba-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and Purbanchaliya Loka Parishad (PLP) have appealed to the State Government to take remedial steps. Even as politicians and land grabbers are joining hands to clear Guwahati city of its green cover, the State Forest Department is having an extremely challenging task at its hands to protect over 27,508 hectares of reserve forest areas in and around the State?s capital city. Given the violent resistance put up by land grabbers at Batahkhuli area under Khanapara Reserve Forest when a team of Forest Department officials and Forest Protection Force staff went out on an eviction drive yesterday, the State Forest Department is in a soup while trying to comply with Government of India directive to clear Guwahati city of all encroachers.
Sources in the Forest Department informed that the Central Forest Department of Government of India had issued a strict directive to the Civil and Forest authorities of Assam in pursuance of a Supreme Court directive to evict all the encroachers from forest land in and around Guwahati city. Notwithstanding the resistance from encroachers backed by politicians and other anti-socials, the State Forest Department is bund by the Government of India directive to evict encroachers from forest land in the State. Sources in the Forest Department informed that as per the provisions of the State Forest Manual, a Divisional Forest Officer does not require permission from any political government or civil authority to carry out eviction drive inside a reserve forest area.
Mentionably of the total 23,424 lakh reserve forest area in the State, 2,764 lakh hectares are under encroachment, as per the official figures available. Sources informed that out of the total ten reserve forest areas in and around Guwahati city, concentration of encroachers is comparatively more in Khanapara, Fatasil and Hengrabari reserve forest areas. According to official records, the Khanapara Reserve Forest (RF) area covers 996.11 hectares, Jalukbari RF covers 97.70 hectares, Fatasil RF covers 60.44 hectares, Hengrabari RF covers 628 hectares, Amchang RF covers 5318 hectares, Gotanagar RF covers 170 hectares, Sarania Hill RF 7.99 hectares, South Kalapahar RF covers 70 hectares, South Amchang RF covers 1550 hectares and Garbhanga RF covers over 18,000 hectares of land.
Forest Department sources claim that in the latest eviction drive about 200 hectare of land under Garbhanga reserve forest area was cleared of encroachers. However, yesterday?s violent incident in Batahkhuli under Khanapara Reserve Forest served a blow to the eviction drive. All the top forest officials of Kamrup East Division and Western Assam Division today held a closed-door meeting with the civil officials of the State including the Chief Secretary in view of the yesterday?s incidents.
Meanwhile, two forest officials Mrinal Baruah and Akshay Borgohain who were critically injured after they had been assaulted by a mob of encroachers at Batahkhuli, are getting first aid in two city nursing homes. Sources informed that although the Forest Department has been carrying out eviction drive in the reserve forest areas in and around the city, it was for the first time that it faced such violent resistance from encroachers. Sources informed that the eviction drive carried out by Forest Department would be able to restore the forest cover permanently only when politicians and unscrupulous elements in State Revenue Department stop encouraging eviction in the lure of either a vote bank or the lucre.