Show cause notice issued to 30 factories by Tea board

Tea Board has issued show cause notices to as many as 30 tea factories in The Nilgiris for different deviations from legal requirements.

The Executive Director of the Tea Board, M Balaji, said that the Board of Directors had carried out inspections at 43 factories during the past two months. Show cause notices have since been given for different deviations to 30 of these factories, he added. 

These variations included lack of quality leaf procurement, low standards of hygiene, failure to keep statutory records, keeping tea waste above the permissible amount, procurement of leaf obtained beyond the permissible limit, purchasing of tea from other factories, and non-compliance with the Price Sharing System, he said. 

In compliance with the provisions laid down in the Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003 and Tea Waste (Control) Order, 1959, he said, these factories have been given legislative time and appropriate action will be taken after receipt of their reply. 

Balaji said that in order to monitor compliance with the quality and hygiene requirements developed by the Board, the Tea Board performs periodic inspections at tea factories.