Siliguri, May 5-6, 2007

It was a trip exploratory in many senses. If it revealed more of tell tale story of closed tea gardens in the Dooars region of West Bengal spread across three districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar, it revealed much of a complicated situation with intricacies writ large with strange and suspicious relationships thriving between and among District Administrations, Tea Garden workers, Trade union leaders, and civil society bodies.

On 5th-6th May, 2007, Dr. Amita Singh, Chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Law & Governance (CSLG), Jawaharlal Nehru University, JNU, New Delhi and Syed S. Kazi, an M Phil researcher at CSLG were invited by the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) to visit Siliguri in West Bengal to participate in a public hearing of displaced plantation workers of the tea gardens in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling. The district magistrates of the three districts were made to present a status report of governmental efforts to prevent closure of tea gardens and safety nets to workers who were mostly women and children. The core issues were displacement of workers and their livelihood situations. The Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice M.K. Sharma, Kolkata High Court Justice Indrani Banerjee and Head of Institute of Gender Justice and Chairperson NALSA Ms. Shreerupa Mitra Chaudhary were present to address the jurisdictional and institutional issues.

Some of the initial findings that emerged in the course of hearing are being shared here:

On the basis of reports from DM Jalpiguri 14/153 tea gardens were closed down since 2002 when the first two gardens were locked in Kathanguri and Ramjhora. An acute unemployment crisis has since then has led to shortage of ration, drinking water, medical facilities. There has been no repair of dwelling units since then and whatever followed affected 3549 households out of 19109 households. But the DM could not reply to what form of employment is coming to 15560 households which in the official estimates are falling as worker households.

Many schemes such as SGRY, Land to self help groups, Annapoorna, Antoyodaya, NREGA have all remained unimplemented. In Jalpaiguri an average day’s employment provided is 28 to 30 days only and in other North Bengal districts it is still lower. There have been no implementations of minimum wages in tea gardens. Some cooperatives of tea in Darjeeling are working quite well but their experience or indigenous solutions are not implemented in Jalpaiguri, siliguri and cooch Behar.

 

Labour Union leader from Jalpaiguri who is a head of 17 main labour unions of Jalpaiguri and Darjelling along with Mr. Chitta Dey presented a data that 14/20 major tea gardens have been closed. Access to justice is almost absent as narrated by the labour teams since even the lock outs have not been declared illegal despite the 1953 Industrial Dispute Redressal Act and application of its  Art. 16. They also presented before the group a record of Rs. 53 Cr. of provident fund which has not been paid to workers nor has many other provisions such as Bank Account seizures, Industrial Security Act, Labour Act, Bonus Act, and Maternity Benefits Acts which are constitutional provisions for providing safety nets to workers but have been silently ignored.

Judges in the Labour Tribunals are never available as they have to handle these cases only as subsidiary to their full days court work. Thus they are generally absent or non-interested. Judges also expressed their juridical problems since they cannot cancel the lease and owners re-enter the courts whenever it is done. The failure of labour departments has impacted upon workers starvation deaths. However, courts have implemented Sec.17 B of Industrial workers act fixing the last drawn wages to become the wages for payment to workers during the time tea gardens remain closed. Yet again it is not implemented.

Ms. Gangotri Dutta, advocate in Siliguri who battles for the good life of workers suggests that an immediate relief and safety package for workers be brought up till the closure of tea gardens is revoked. An NGO called Matri Sangha Jana Kalyan Ashram has opened a Hospice and a 24 hours care system for workers till issues are sorted out on rehabilitating them.

NALSA has been spearheading the movement for protection and proper rehabilitation of the displaced tea garden workers and re-opening of closed tea gardens under its ‘Save the Garden, Save Workers Campaign against Hunger’. The core objectives of the Campaign is food security, protection of fundamental rights, and rescue and rehabilitation of sick and ailing workers, their families and children.

CSLG expresses its concern on lack of research to transform lives of these starving tea garden workers in a remote corner of advancing India!