The Assam tea firms have requested the state government to convene a meeting on the financial and legal aspects of the adoption of the new Assam Fixation of Ceiling of Land Holdings Act, 2025, that will allow workers to get land rights to construct homes within the tea gardens. Though the owners of the estates were happy with the government initiative, they underlined that dialogue was necessary to discuss the possible challenges and legal issues related to providing land ownership to the labourers, as indicated by the industry sources.
The plantation owners explained that they do not object to offering land to labour on the estate colonies, however the process of implementing that needs to be done with care to prevent undesirable challenges. The government is supposed to deliberate on the concerns raised by the tea companies to ensure that the new law is well enforced. That is all we ask, said one of the seniors of the planters.
The Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), a formidable umbrella organisation that speaks on behalf of several organisations of tea producers, has officially addressed the Assam government, specifying the complications of providing permanent land rights to workers in the estate land. Sandeep Singhania, the president of the Tea Association of India and a member of CCPA also proposed government-tea company discussions to overcome the practical and legal issues that arose through the new law.
The amended Land Ceiling Act, which passed the Assam state assembly in November 2025, seeks to give the workers in the tea gardens the ownership of hatches in the labour colonies to use as places to stay. Assam, which has 825 tea estates, has about 2,18,553 bighas of land under labour colonies and is likely to benefit more than 14 lakh people once the law is completely put into effect.
The owners of tea estates emphasised the fact that even though they endorse the move by the government to enable workers to have land rights, appropriate structures should be put in place to facilitate a smooth transition.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News