Assam Begins Process to Grant Land Rights to Tea Garden Workers

The Assam government has started the process of granting land ownership rights to tea garden workers, calling it a historic move to end decades of land insecurity. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the distribution of settlement application forms at Dinjoy Tea Estate in Dibrugarh under the amended land ceiling law.

The process includes surveys of around 800 tea estates and aims to provide land pattas to nearly five lakh tea worker families. Sarma said workers will no longer need tea garden owners’ permission to build houses under PMAY and announced housing, repair assistance and welfare benefits. The move, long demanded by tea workers, is currently facing legal challenge from tea planters in the Gauhati High Court.