Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while ceremonially distributing incentives to 370 tea gardens in the state, said that the tea industry is the backbone of the state’s economy.
Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Scheme
In this regard, the Chief Minister said, ”Under the Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Scheme, we distributed Rs 64 crore among 370 tea gardens today, though the State Budget has earmarked Rs 100 crore for this. We distributed Rs 45 crore under this scheme in 2020–21. The tea industry received a blow during COVID-19. We announced this scheme to bail out the tea industry.”
”We need to do this as the tea industry is the backbone of the state’s economy. This apart, lakhs of people are directly or indirectly dependent on this industry. The ailing economy of the tea gardens will have cascading effects on the welfare and health of the tea workers,” he added.
“Under this, the State Government provided three percent of the total interest in the working capital of the tea gardens. The government will also provide a seven percent subsidy on the production of Orthodox tea and Special tea,” the Chief Minister noted.
