Palampur, August 8
The tea industry of Kangra valley is passing through serious crisis
these days. Thanks to the apathy of the state government, the area
under tea is decreasing year after year. Tea has been cultivated and
manufactured in the valley since the middle of the 19th century. It
was first introduced between 1830 and 1840 by Nissan Tea Company. The
valley grows hybrid variety of China tea which has the best flavor
and compares favorably with the tea grown in other parts of the
world. The tea garden of Kangra valley is 100 to 130 years old and is
situated at a height of 900 to 1500 metres above sea level.

In a number of villages, people have uprooted tea bushes. Under
provisions of Land Revenue Act, there is a blanket ban on the sale of
tea gardens. However, the state government is liberally granting
permission for sale of tea gardens through the back door. The orders
of the Himachal Pradesh Government in the past five years to grant
permission for sale of over 3000 kanals under tea to different
parties has caused widespread resentment among residents here.

Section 6 and 7-A of the HP State Land Revenue Act prohibit the sale
of tea gardens in the state but till date the government has granted
permission for the sale of tea gardens in dozens of cases. The main
objective of imposing the ban on the sale of tea gardens was that
owners of a number of tea estates had availed the benefits of the HP
Land Ceiling Act 1970, and were allowed to retain excess land as
their tea gardens were kept outside the purview of this Act. It may
be recalled that farmers other than tea growers could only retain 300
kanals and excess land was vested in the government under the HP Land
Ceiling Act 1970.

Therefore, those who had availed the benefits of the HP Land Ceiling
Act and had retained excess land , could not sell their holdings but
it was surprising that they also managed to sell their tea gardens by
tampering with the revenue records in gross violation of law.

Under the provisions of the law, permission could only be granted in
special cases of utmost importance like setting up of defence units,
and other government establishments but in the past five years, the
government has virtually misused these provisions and a number of
persons have managed to secure permission for sale of tea gardens.
Many outsiders particularly from Delhi and adjoining states, and a
number of religious organisations have also succeeded in buying tea
gardens and other landed property in the region. Residents of Kangra
valley are worried over these developments. This step of the
government has also posed a serious threat to the environment as most
of the tea gardens are being replaced by a concrete jungle.

Most of the tea gardens sold in the valley have been converted into
housing colonies. The Palampur Citizens' Council, Palampur Bachao
Samiti and Save Palampur have strongly condemned the largescale sale
of tea gardens through the back door.

Mr Ravinder Thakur, senior BJP leader and local MLA, criticized the
state government for granting permission for the sale of tea gardens.

It may be recalled that lush green tea gardens of Palampur attract
lakhs of tourists every year.

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