MCSKP: Rs 85 crore Special Scheme Announced for Tea Workers

The Tripura state government has announced a special scheme called "Mukhyamantri Chaa Srami Kalyan Prakalpa" in an attempt to assure the social security of nearly 7,000 tea garden workers. 

According to Tripura cabinet spokesman and Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, the scheme provides tea garden employees with lodging, food, and financial assistance, as well as facilities of state and central government entitlements in a clubbed format. 

The scheme would be implemented with a budgetary allocation of Rs 85 crore from the government. 

"The Tripura council of ministers made this decision for the tea garden workers in Tripura as 90 lakh kg of tea at a recent meeting," Sushanta Chowdhury said. 

"75% of the 7,000 tea garden workers are women," he added, adding that this amount of tea is produced across the state by 54 tea estates and 21 tea processing plants. Tea production is mostly centered in the districts of North, Sepahijala, Unakoti, and West Tripura." 

When asked about wages, the minister told, "The government agreed to offer wages of Rs 176 per day to each worker, while it was Rs 105 and is now Rs 130 per person." 

The key components of the scheme are as follows:  

• To provide drinking water, electricity, shelter, education, and healthcare amenities to each family

• To allot land of defunct tea garden on lease basis through Cooperative

• Priority group ration card to be given

• Social pension to all eligible families

• Promote their children to send them in pre-primary to Higher Secondary schools

• To provide supportive appliances for handicapped persons

• To Provide land or home to farmers for constructing a house

• To give Maternal and Child Health Care assistance 

• To ensure health insurance as per their ability

• To monitor and coordinate with the managers for providing an eco-friendly environment.