AAP opposes leasing of 12 ATCL tea gardens to private parties

Dibrugarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state unit has opposed the government’s decision to lease out 12 tea gardens of the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL) to private parties for a period of 30 years.
Terming the move short-sighted and unwise, AAP said the decision was against the interest of the 15,000 workers and staff of the ATCL-owned tea gardens. The party urged the government to take urgent measures for the revival of the tea gardens through course correction measures instead of leasing them out.
“Twelve ATCL gardens are going to be leased out and privatised. The government has already floated the lease tender of the tea gardens. It seems to be hell bent upon leasing all its assets. Earlier, it was oil fields and airports and now the tea gardens. This decision will push the future of thousands of tea garden workers to uncertainty. We strongly oppose the leasing out of the ATCL gardens,” the joint coordinator of AAP Assam state unit, Manoj Dhanowar, on Thursday said.
Faced with mounting losses over the years, the state government had earlier decided to lease out 12 of the 15 loss-making tea gardens of the ATCL, which is a state-owned PSU set up in 1972. Before floating the tender, the government had hired the services of Deloitte Consulting India Private Limited to prepare the valuation proposal for the tea gardens. The 12 tea gardens to be leased out are Amluckie, Loongssong, Deejuvalley, Sycotta, Naginijan, Rungamatty, Messamara, Negheriting, Deeplin, Rajabarie, Longai and Ishabheel.
The ATCL gardens have been incurring heavy losses amounting to several crores of rupees every year.