The Hindu Business Line : Tea Board plans pilot project to cut planters' social costs

IN an effort to reduce the social cost of plantation companies, the Tea Board has planned a pilot project, which would be implemented in some of the tea gardens in North Bengal.

For this project, the Tea Board has decided to utilise several welfare schemes of the Union Government. Individual schemes would be selected and then these would be used for developmental activities.

According to Mr Basudeb Banerjee, Chairman of the Tea Board, these would be in areas such as roads, rural housing, drinking water projects and other infrastructure development activities.

"We have already identified some of the tea gardens in North Bengal where we would implement these projects. Talks have been held with the owners of these tea gardens and local bodies too," Mr Banerjee told Business Line in a recent interview.

However, these projects would not be clubbed into one single garden. If the Tea Board succeeds in implementing this pilot project, then it would be replicated in other tea growing regions.

Domestic tea plantation companies sufferfrom high production cost compared to their counterparts located in other parts of the globe. According to them, a major factor is the high social cost.

For the last few years, the Union Commerce Ministry had been mooting this idea of helping plantation companies avail themselves of the Union Government's welfare schemes. This would partially reduce the social burden of the planters.

However, the implementing agencies of most of these schemes are either the State Government or local elected bodies such as the panchayats or municipal corporations. The proposed pilot project, however, will be implemented directly by the Tea Board.

In another development, the Tea Board has decided to entrust IIM Calcutta with the job of mapping the domestic tea consumption pattern. It is learnt that the premium B-school has already submitted a project proposal in this regard.

IIM Calcutta is likely to be assisted by the National Sample Survey Organisation in the job. It might be noted that in 2001, IIM Calcutta carried out an identical survey. This time, however, it is expected to be conducted over a wider region and in more detail.

The Indian tea sector is desperately trying to find the total domestic tea consumption figure. Till now, there is no accurate mechanism of finding it out. The statistics that are currently available are mostly estimates.

According to Mr Banerjee, apart from finding out the total consumption figure, there is an even bigger need to discern the preferences of domestic tea drinkers. "This is the most popular drink after water," he said. Though the Tea Board will mandate IIM Calcutta to do this survey once more, it is likely that the exercise will become an annual affair ultimately.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page