(a) whether the Government are aware that the labourers working in the Putudung, Bha Takbhar and Peshonk tea gardens in the Darjeeling district are functioning under the Tea Trading Corporation of India have been deprived of their wages, ration and other facilities; and
(b) if so, whether the Government propose to take urgent necessary action in this regard so as to provide them wages and other admissible facilities by the earliest?
MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI MURASOLI MARAN)
(a)&(b) Tea Trading Corporation of India Ltd. (TTCI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of STC, which manages the administration of five tea gardens in the States of West Bengal and Assam including Potong, Vah Tukvar and Pashok. The Company is facing an acute financial crunch being a loss making company and has been unable to discharge its obligations. The total liability of the Company is estimated around Rs.36 crores as on 31.1.1997.
TTCI management filed a petition in Calcutta High Court for liquidation of the Company. The case is pending in the Court. TTCI is unable to generate funds for the revival of its gardens.