Tea Board has directed 15 bought leaf factories in Gudalur tea belt of the Nilgiris district to pay the pending dues to small growers on or before March 24.
Tea Board Executive Director M Balaji said these factories had defaulted on paying the minimum price (monthly average price) fixed by the Board. He named the following factories: Carolyn, Attikunna, Rousdon, Mullai (unit 1 and 2), Rosemount, Kallingara, Periashola, Golden Hill, Golden Dew, Elavamkudi, Evergreen, Amko, Woodbridge, TC Tea Enterprises and Chembala Tea Factory.
Balaji said that since December 2015, some factories in Gudalur had defaulted on payment to the small growers. As of November 2019, an amount of ₹3,91,20,687 is due to be paid to the growers as differential rate, he said.
Balaji said that based on the order of Madras High Court, 50 per cent of the defaulted amount, that is around ₹1.95 crore has to be paid via direct beneficiary transfer (DBT) to the growers’ bank accounts within 12 weeks. This will benefit some 2,500 small growers in the region, he noted.
The District Green Leaf Price Monitoring Committee is monitoring the payment of the minimum price for the green leaf to the small growers by the bought leaf factories.
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