On November 20, 2025, Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), publicly addressed the pressing issues faced by tea garden workers in North Bengal. Speaking on the implementation of labour laws, Mr. Majumdar accused the West Bengal state government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of deliberately obstructing the enforcement of four central Labour Codes. According to him, if these labour codes were implemented in the region, the daily wages of tea garden workers would see a significant increase, thereby improving their living standards.
Mr. Majumdar highlighted the deeply concerning socio-economic conditions prevailing in tea garden areas. He pointed out that approximately 42 tea gardens lack educational facilities, leaving many children without access to schools. Moreover, nearly 17% of houses in these regions remain unelectrified, while about 19.3% of homes exist in extremely poor conditions. Healthcare infrastructure was also criticized, with only 60% of tea gardens having any healthcare facilities available to workers and their families. He further revealed that the State Labour Department has requested doctors to be deployed in tea garden areas to address the inadequate medical support.
Despite these challenges, the West Bengal government, according to Majumdar, has insisted that tea garden owners allocate 30% of their land for alternative uses such as tourism development. This directive, he claimed, is at odds with the demands of local communities, including the Rajbanshis, Gorkhas, and Adivasis, who have been seeking permanent land deeds. These communities aim to secure official land ownership to avail benefits under government housing schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, but their requests have reportedly been denied.
However, these claims by the BJP minister were met with criticism from labour law experts who challenged the assertion that the new labour codes would benefit tea garden workers. Advocate Purbayan Chakraborty, a labour law specialist from the Calcutta High Court, argued that the new labour codes would not lead to wage increases for tea plantation workers. He explained that workers in this sector are already protected under the existing Minimum Wages Act, but the state government has failed to notify or update minimum wages consistently. This failure, he said, remains unchanged even under the new labour codes, which do not address this statutory obligation.
Mr. Chakraborty also warned that the new labour codes have diluted many existing labour protections, particularly those previously guaranteed under the Plantations Labour Act. These protections, which once offered some safeguards for tea plantation workers, have been significantly weakened. He emphasized that the claim that the implementation of the labour codes would improve the living conditions of plantation workers in North Bengal is misleading and does not align with the legal realities on the ground. The tea industry in West Bengal comprises around 276 large tea gardens and about 5,000 smaller ones, employing lakhs of workers, making it a critical sector for labour rights discussions.
Beyond labour concerns, Mr. Majumdar also touched upon political issues in the Darjeeling hills. He acknowledged long-standing demands from the Gorkha community that seek a permanent political solution to their grievances. To address this, the Union Government has reportedly initiated tripartite discussions involving the central government, the state government, and representatives of the Gorkha community. Nevertheless, Mr. Majumdar criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly resisting these efforts and instead diverting funds to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which he accused of fostering corruption rather than resolving problems.
Another grievance voiced by the Union Minister relates to the handling of disaster relief funds. Despite the Central Government allocating funds for flood victims in the Darjeeling district, the West Bengal state government has been accused of delaying their release. Victims have submitted the necessary documents to the District Magistrate of Darjeeling, but the promised assistance remains pending, exacerbating the hardships faced by those affected by recent floods.
This exchange between the Union Minister and state authorities underscores the ongoing tensions between the BJP-led central government and the Mamata Banerjee-led state government in West Bengal. The tea garden workers’ welfare and the political aspirations of communities in Darjeeling have become focal points in this complex interplay of governance, highlighting issues of labour rights, socio-economic development, and regional political autonomy.
In summary, the situation in North Bengal’s tea gardens presents a multifaceted challenge. On the one