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If “most small tea growers in Assam, Bengal don't have proper land titles” ( Business Line , May 2), it is fair that the principle of “land to the tiller” is adopted in their case, too. What is surprising is that in Assam only about 14.35 per cent of tea growers, and in West Bengal 19.87 per cent, have valid documents. As owners they would be eligible for the Tea Board's registration and for various incentives. They will be eligible for bank facilities as well.To cite an example, in Karnataka in the 1950s and 1960s, the land to the tiller legislation had enabled all those farmers who were cultivating land to be declared as owners; this enabled them to improve the land and their lot.
If the cultivable lands owned by private individuals and families in Karnataka could be transferred to the “tillers”, it would be all the more appropriate to transfer the “government fallow lands” to tillers who have made productive use of them. An estimated 26-27 per cent of the country's total tea production is contributed by small tea growers.
K U Mada
Mumbai
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