Dolu tea estate, Assam : Land acquisition in tea garden at the cost of livelihood and survival of workers.

 - Bidisha Barman

    The wee hours of 12th May, 2022 witnessed heavy police deployment along with officials from Airport Authority of India ( AAI), Cachar district administration and hundreds of JCBs at the Dolu Tea Estate of Cachar, Assam to demarcate land for a proposed Greenfield Airport. Meanwhile amidst heavy downpour thousands of workers with their families reached the spot to prevent this activity. Women workers and children were on their knees pleading with the security forces to move away but despite massive protests the JCBs continued their operation and started  excavating and uprooting tea bushes the same day.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced in January this year that a new airport will be built in Cachar and thereby a part of land of the Dolu Tea Estate will be used for this purpose. Later it was decided by the administration and AAI that 2500 bigha of  tea garden land will be acquired for the airport and the  government has estimated to pay a sum of ₹50 crore for the project. The management and owner of the garden had readily agreed to give away the land but workers of the Mainagarh and Lalbagh division of Dolu Estate vehemently opposed the decision.

 It has been months since the workers under several Worker Unions have been protesting against the proposed land acquisition for the Greenfield Airport. The administration, airport authority and a few unions had several meetings and on 7th March, 2022 a memorandum of understanding was signed between Dolu Tea Company Ltd and three Unions, Barak Cha Shramik Union, Akhil Bharatiya Chai Mazdoor sangh and Barak Valley Chah Mazdoor Sangh.

However a few other worker Unions and majority of  workers of the estate were unhappy with the clauses in the MoU which included payment of pending PF, gratuity and wages by the company with the amount received for the land but there is no clear mention of compensation or rehabilitation of those workers who will lose jobs because of the land transfer. Workers say the MoU doesn't take into account the major concerns regarding life and livelihood raised by most workers of the estate.

 Thereafter on huge demand from workers a public hearing was held and more than 2000 workers signed a memorandum against the land transfer and made their stand clear that they do not agree to the clauses in the MoU. But instead of making note of the demands and pleas made in the public hearing and in several protests held outside the Silchar DC office, the  with a firm grip decided to go ahead with the proposed Airport project. Payment of PF, gratuity or wage cannot be part of a land acquisition compensation. The company is anyway obliged to pay that because it is the the right of every worker to get paid  all their dues and rights from the pockets of the owners of these tea gardens.

 

The airport authorities and district administration arrived twice at the Dolu garden to demarcate the land with hundreds of security forces armed with riot gears but meeting with heavy protests by workers they had to retract. Workers had raised their voice in unison that only after killing them, the tea plants could be destroyed. It needs to be mentioned that around 30 lakh tea bushes are expected to be extracted to clear the land for the airport.

A few days before the excavation and eviction started, several rounds of flag march were held in front of the Mainagarh and Lalbagh divisions of the estate which had agitated the workers and a face off was seen between the workers and security personnel. Workers believed it was done by the Government under the iron fist control of corporate capital to show their  might and power.

It was in the evening of 11th May that Section 144 was imposed in the area around the tea estate. As soon as the news spread, locals anticipating that their fear would come true reached the Lalbagh division.

Hundreds of JCBs were deployed for the deforesting action and there was heavy presence of armed personnel. Workers cried, begged, pleaded that their concerns be addressed and process of uprooting the tea plants should stop but they were forcefully removed from the area and the operation was carried out even though local tea labourers have been vociferously protesting against these moves fearing job losses.

Workers cannot be treated like objects to be moving from one place to another at will of company owners. They deserve all dignity and right to decide for their livelihood and future. EIA has been a sham, as the public hearing document has been very conveniently discarded.

The administration has stuck to their statement that the acquisition process is being carried on as decided in the Memorandum of understanding.

This instance can be considered as another of capital's rapid move of accumulation and appropriation  at the cost of lives of the working class, marginalised communities and ecology to profit a few corporations and  capitalist owners. The process of eviction and land grab has seen to be intensified specially in resource rich regions and areas where huge amount of land can be easily available with help of the Government and local administration. Across the country the attack on adivasis, tribal communities and indigenous people have been carried out very conveniently by the Indian State to benefit a few profit making companies and lives of the marginalised have been pushed to the brims.  With no implementation of minimum wage and ownership of the homes and lands upon which these workers have been living upon since centuries, these tea gardens,it’s  bushes and most importantly it’s workers are easy preys of this discriminatory and class based exploitation under the whims of capitalism.

The attack on life and livelihood in Dolu Tea Estate has been made by coopting a few Unions and organisations, completely ignoring voice of those who will be impacted and none of the concerns of the workers have been heard or addressed.

Such acquisitions happen in the name of development and easy accessability but we ask, development of whom and at the cost of what!!