Use of information technology is helping the Tea Board to make all its operations transparent and fool proof.

It is now helping the board to get all data and statistics at a click of a button.

“Use of IT has made this possible,” says R Ambalavanan, Executive Director of Tea Board (Coonoor).

“Tea production statistics in a particular unit could not be accurately ascertained. The units did not always share tea production and sale details. So we developed an eReturns portal and made it mandatory for every factory to furnish the details every month.”

Cross-checking data

“The Tea Marketing Order mandates every manufacturing unit to furnish production and sales data. To ensure compliance, the Board-recruited Factory Advisory Officers to cross-check data provided by the factories. These officers have been given a GPS handheld device each for measuring the land area. They just have to walk around the field and note the size of the holding,” Ambalavanan told Business Line. The Board introduced the system in South India from 2012.

“Till now, we have identified 1,421 tea gardens across the country. Of this, 249 are located in the South - 140 in Tamil Nadu. The area under tea cultivation is 4,06,654.78 hectares (all India),” he said.

Small growers

Apart from identifying tea factories, the Board is also in the process of identifying small growers. The Board plans to issue smart cards to all small tea growers, he said.

“On enumeration of small growers, our aim is to rectify the problems ailing the tea sector. For instance, when growers approach the Tea Board for subsidy, it takes a while to process the application and ensure that the subsidy reaches the beneficiary."

To hasten the process, we mooted the eGovernance portal. The small grower will have to fill in the details and submit the application. They will be able to track it online to know the status.

The implementation of the processes has taken off in the South, he said.

comment COMMENT NOW