CHANGING LAND UTILISATION PATTERNS IN TEA PLANTATION SECTOR IN WEST BENGAL: Some policy imperatives

Abstract

Land has been a deeply contested issue in all tea growing states in India, especially in the context of the leasing processes, conflicts over revenue lands, land rights of the landless people, expansion of the small grower sectors and the recent permission granted by various state governments for converting parts of plantation land into non-plantation purposes. The present study, based on secondary data from official sources, systematic review of literature, and qualitative insights gathered through personal interviews points out that the change in land utilisation within the tea plantation sector has been made possible with state facilitation and legislative amendment. This also has its roots in the history of evolution and development of plantation sector in the pre and post-colonial India. An astounding shift in the area under tea cultivation from 2004 to 2008 was noted with an annual average growth of 7.76 per cent in the small holder sector and a decline by – 2.01 percent in the traditional estate sector. However, questions around land remain central to both the estate and small holder sector, whereby the absence of title deeds of land for instance among the small growers, affected accessibility to various governmental subsidies and the issues of entitlements and right to shelter for the tea estate workers. The paper also notes a decline in the land-man ratio that could be linked to the shrinkage in cultivable area and therefore a reduction in days of employment available for the workforce along with an increase in casualisation and family labour. It is suggested that legislative amendments such as those permitting other economic activity or through aspects such as tea tourism, and eco-tourism must ensure securing employment and residence rights to the tea workers community. Stakeholders must initiate discussions towards evolving pragmatic policy formulations for addressing issues of such conversions, its socioeconomic viabilities, impact on employment and livelihood to avert disengagement of labour.