Assam Assembly Clears Land Pattas for 3 Lakh Tea Garden Workers

The Assam Legislative Assembly on Friday unanimously passed amendments to the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, paving the way for tea garden workers to finally receive land pattas for the plots they have occupied for generations.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the House that around 3 lakh tea garden workers across the state will be granted ownership rights over the land they currently live on inside tea estates. An additional 3.33 lakh workers on 2.18 lakh bighas of garden land will benefit, positively impacting 14.57 lakh family members in total.

Key features of the amended law:
- Pattas will be issued to workers for the land they presently occupy.
- Estate-level committees will be formed to identify eligible workers and demarcate plots.
- For the first 20 years, the allotted land cannot be sold or transferred.
- The land will enjoy protected status similar to Tribal Belts and Blocks.
- After receiving pattas, workers will get government assistance under a special scheme (to be notified shortly) for the construction of proper houses.

Revenue Minister Keshab Mahanta informed the Assembly that the long denial of land rights to tea workers was a “deliberate conspiracy” hatched in 1956 when the original Ceiling Act was framed to favour tea estate owners.

The Chief Minister also announced that construction of houses for workers of Assam Tea Corporation (ATC) gardens will begin soon. He added that land surveys already underway in char (riverine) areas under the BK Sharma Commission will extend similar benefits to indigenous Muslims settled before 1951 through Mission Basundhara once surveys are complete.

The bill received overwhelming support from both the treasury and the opposition benches.

Meanwhile, eviction drives against alleged encroachments are scheduled to continue on Saturday in the Lutumari and Barapani areas of Nagaon district.

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