There is no proposal to shift the Tea Board headquarters from West Bengal to Assam, Rita A Teaotia, Union Commerce Secretary, said here today.
Various reports have suggested that the Centre was mooting a change in headquarters for the tea industry regulator.
“There is no such plan at this point of time. There is no proposal,” she said in response to a specific question on the sidelines of a CII event organised in the city.
However, she did point out that plans were afoot to redefine the role of the Tea Board Chairman and the Deputy Chairman. The move is aimed at vesting the deputy-chairman with the executive powers of the Board; while the Chairman has a non-executive role.
“It might lead to re-constitution of the rules,” she said. However, the Commerce Secretary did add that the Ministry was “actively scouting” for a full-time Chairman.
The Tea Board does not have a permanent Chairman for almost three years now.
“We are actively scouting for a suitable person as full-time Chairman of the Tea Board,” she said.