Darjeeling MP counterattacked on the Chief Minister's promise of lease, said tea workers will get the right of only 5 decimals of land

22nd of Feb, 2023

The WB Govt is once again indulging in fraud and subverting the rights of the Tea garden and Cinchona garden workers from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars to Parja Patta by giving right to only 5-decimal land, instead of giving them Parja Patta to their ancestral lands.

Handing over 5-decimal land to the homeless and landless was initiated by the WB Govt in 2011 itself under the 'Nijo Griha Nijo Bhumi' scheme of the state government. 

Our tea garden workers and cinchona garden workers in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars are not landless or homeless. We have our ancestral land, and we have our homes also. What we don't have is the documents to our land, which the WB Govt is refusing to hand over even 75-years after Independence. We are not seeking anything from the Govt, other than 'Parja Patta' to our existing ancestral lands. We are not seeking "Refugee Patta" which the TMC Govt wants to give, we are seeking documents of our existing ancestral lands. 

Since my election as the Member of Parliament from Darjeeling, I have raised this issue at every forum, and have put pressure on WB Govt by demanding Parja Patta rights in the Parliament, and taking up the issue with the concerned Ministries. Recently the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce, of which I am a part, had made a strong observation against the lack of land rights for the tea garden workers, and had recommended immediate granting of land rights to them in its 171st report.

The Central Government has communicated with the WB Govt on the need for granting land rights to the tea garden and cinchona garden workers already. The Central Ministry of Commerce has already sent two letters to WB Govt for granting land rights to tea garden workers, and similar letters have been sent by the Ministry of Rural Development as well. 

I fear that the TMC Govt is scheming to take away ancestral lands from the people, and planning to declare anything above these 5-decimal, where our people grow vegetables, maize, rear goats, cow and chicken, grow oranges, cardamom and ginger as illegal and steal it away from our people. In all likelihood they are eying these land to build more 5-star hotels in. 

This is very dangerous, we should all become aware of the nefarious agenda of the state government.

We will not allow TMC to steal land back from the tea garden and cinchona garden workers.  We demand full Parja Patta of our ancestral land.

Raju Bista
Member of Parliament, Darjeeling and
National Spokesperson, BJP