Large-scale pilferage of green leaves has hit hard small growers producing tea along the 35-km- long India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.
The stolen leaves are being smuggled out to meet the demand of tea processing factories located across the border in Rangpur district of Bangladesh, complained a spokesman for Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers Association. The matter has been taken up with the district administration, he said.
There are about 1,000 tea estates spread over 8,000 acres along the border and the total production of green leaves will come to about 50 million kg annually. At an average price of Rs 13 per kg, the market value of the produce is about Rs 65 crore.
The pilferage has been going on for the past several months and the items being targeted are not only green leaves but also pumpsets and other farming implements.
The crux of the problem lies in the location of the tea estates in areas earmarked as zero point. Many years ago when the Government had granted permission to produce tea in these areas, the border was not clearly demarcated, nor was there any fencing.
Once the fences were put up along the border, these tea estates fell at the zero point outside the fencing and therefore, outside the operational jurisdiction of the contingents of the Border Security Force posted along the border. The ownership of land of many of these estates too are not clearly defined, it is learnt.
An estimated 4,000 people directly employed by the small growers in tea estates along the border are a worried lot these days as their employers threaten to suspend production if the present problem persists. santanu.sanyal@thehindu.co.in