The Hindu Business Line : Small growers seek early disbursal of tea subsidy

THE tea small growers in the Nilgiris have appealed to the Union Government to arrange for the disbursal of the subsidy promised before the elections.

``The Government had promised to give us a subsidy of Rs 8 a kg for the made tea. This should work out to Rs 2 a kg for the green leaf we supplied to the factories. As it is four months since the subsidy was announced, we have appealed to Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of Sate for Commerce, to hasten the disbursal of the subsidy,'' Mr M. Bhojarajan, President of the Nilgiris Small Tea Growers' Association, told Business Line.

The Nilgiris Congress MP, Mr R. Prabhu, had also promised to take steps for the small growers to get a minimum price of Rs 10 for the green leaf. Presently, the growers get Rs 6 and above.

``The recent rains have pushed up the production in the Nilgiris. In fact, the unusual rains in May have led to a situation of excess crop arrivals at the factories.

``So, the growers are facing a difficulty in getting payment on time. This justifies the immediate release of the subsidy,'' he said.

The former Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, had announced the subsidy for four months since February.

But, with the election code coming into play, the actual disbursal was deferred.

``The Tea Board has updated the data relating to the profile of the small growers. So, some initial work has already been done. It is now only a question of the disbursal,'' said Mr Bhojarajan, who is also a member of the Tea Board.