Chapter-I
CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTION
Broadly speaking plantations are considered as large farming units.
"A plantation is an economic unit producing agricultural commoditks
for sale and employing a large number of unskilled labourers whose
activities are closely supervised. Plantations usually employ a year round
labour crew of some size. and they usually specialize in the production of
only one or two marketable products. They differ from other kinds of fanns
the way factors of production, primarily management and labour. are
combined to conduct the production processes~ 1 •
Plantations in most parts of the world by their very characteristics have been
considered as one of the most representative examples of colonial economies and
have thus been considered as 'an instrument of colonization'2. It could perhaps be
justifiably stated that most of the plantations were established to suit the
metropolitan
interests within colonies
in the
tropics.
particularly
in
the
underdeveloped regions. They constituted an important element in the system of
economic linkages between the imperialist countries and their colonies. Thus. by
its very nature. intemally it developed as an autonomous institution and
extemally it continued to depend on the outside world particularly the world
market in fundamental ways. Thus. plantations can be considered as one of the
most representative examples of an 'enclave economy'3 i.e.: When a particular
sector of an economy develops as separate clusters in isolation from the rest of the
region in which it operates, it may be described as an enclave. The existence of the
enclave sector thus, creates a lopsided development in the region and plantations
constitute one such case.
The study of the economy of plantation enclaves thus, enables one to
examine the effects of plantations on the development pattem of the regional
economy.
Since,
these plantations exist in a
larger geographical unit,
a
comparison of the development experience of the plantation system with that of
the rest of the region will help to focus attention on the weak interactions between
the two on the one hand and their enclave character on the other.
1 Jones: 6, cf. Keya Deb, 1979: Tea Plantations in the Brahmaputra Valley ( 1839- 1914): A
case study in a colonial set up, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Centre for the Study of
Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University. p. 2
2
3
Ibid., p. 3
Ibid., p. 3
Plantation economies played a
major role in the financial phase of
capitalism during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century!. After
the World War II. there had been major qualitative changes in the nature of
ownership and production structures of plantations. Till the first half of the last
century European owners had exclusive monopoly over the ownership of the
plantations but today the traditional plantations form only one type among others.
Emergence of Small tea plantationss is the recent trends in this direction. Within a
span of less than 20 years, particularly in the North-Eastem region of India. this
sector has made significant impacts upon the life and economy of the region. In
this research an attempt has been made to make an objective study of the
contributions made by this sector. To begin. attempts have been made in this
Chapter to prove into the following:
1. Changing nature of plantations,
2. Definition of Small tea plantations.
3. Small Tea Plantations in India.
4. Statement of the problem.
5. Introduction of the study area.
6. Oven'iew of the past studies.
7. Objectives of the study,
8. Research questions.
9. Hypothesis.
II. Database and methodology. and
12. Organization of the materials.
1. GENEALOGY OF THE SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS:
Integration of Small Tea Plantations within the folds of estate enclave
economy of the past centuries has been one of the most significant changes in the
history of tea plantation.s These changes can be explained firstly, by the efforts
made by the govemments in the developing countries and secondly the desired
support these govemments received from the employers' associations, which made
it possible to group together small planters into more viable units and also
facilitated them in exporting their crops to the national and intemational markets.
4
R.P. Dutt, 1979: India Today, Manisha, New Delhi. p. 139
The terms 'Small Tea Farms' and 'Small Tea Plantations' are used interchangeably
in this study.
6
The terms 'Smallholder', 'Small Tea Holder', 'Small Grower', 'Small Tea Grower',
'Small Tea Planter', 'Tea Cultivator' etc. are used interchangeably In this study.
5
2
Moreover. it is often noticed that. the governments in these countries too promoted
the formation of associations or co-operatives of small planters with a view to
achieve economies of scale and improving output. In some cases this policy has
been accompanied by the setting up of specialized governmental agencies such as;
the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) and the Rubber Industry
Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) in Malayasia and the Kenya Tea
Development Authority (KTDA) in Kenya, to name only a few
7.
These organizations
intervened more directly as partners in joint public and private companies. in
participation with foreign or local private capital.
In some countries. large private or public plantations have allowed village
plantations or nucleus estates to grow up around them. These plantations are
owned by individual smallholders but they generally benefit from technical
assistance including use of the infrastructures created by the large production
units. In Indonesia, the Nucleus Estate Smallholders Programme led small
planters to be able to gain entry into the palm-oil market and have improved their
position in the tea and natural rubber marketsR. Similarly, in India the idea of
nucleus tea estate was adopted during Eighth Plan (1990-95) of Tea Board 9 . It.
therefore. proposes as follows:
"The small growers will be located in the periphery of the large estates. This
will enable them to have a tie-up arrangement with the large estates for
technical know-how and sale of green leaves. The small grower will be
adopted by the nucleus tea estate and this arrangement will continue for at
least I 0 years~.
It is clear from the above that plantation as a socio-economic activity have
changed its nature and elements over the years. Plantation which was restricted to
certain selected crops mostly grown in the tropical and subtropical regions has
expanded to many other crops and regions. Moreover, these have also changed in
terms of the scale of the economy. Initially the plantations were considered as a
large-scale economic activity but today these are also practiced at a small-scale
with different nature of employment and working conditions. These are not
J.P. SAJHAU, I986: Employment, wages and living conditions in a changing industryPlantations, International Labour Review, Vol. I25 No. I. p. 72
7
K
!l
Ibid., p. 72
S.K. Bhowmik. I991: Small Growers to Prop up Large Plantations. Economic and
Political Weekly, July 27, p. 1790
3
superficial and cosmetic changes. On the contrary. these are deeply rooted in the
anti-colonial economic structures of the post-colonial countries. Though. it is still
premature to outline the complete future route map of the Small Tea Plantations.
particularly in India, yet in this chapter attempts are being made to contextuali7..e
some intemal and extemal dynamics of this important sector.
In general. plantations are defined as follows:
"Any agricultural undertaking regularly employing hired workers which is
situated in the tropical or sub-tropical regions and which is mainly concerned
with the cultivation or production for commercial purposes of coffee. tea.
sugarcane. rubber etc: it does not include family or small-scale holdings
producing for local consumption and not regularly employing hired workers"JO.
Although. plantation is generally referred to as an industry. yet it is not strictly an
industry in the real sense of the term. According to the Rege Committee: 11
~work
in plantations is essentially agricultural. though the plantation system has many
features in common with organized industry". The Plantation Labour Act 1951 of
India defmes Plantationl2 as follows:
-ro any land used or intended to be used for growing tea. coffee. rubber or
cinchona which admeasures 10.117 hectares or more and in which 30 or more
persons are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve
months".
The Intemational Labour Organisationt3 notes that the term plantation Hrst
referred to a group of settlers or the political unit formed by it, under British
colonialism. especially in North America and in the West Indies. However. with the
colonization of African and Asian regions by British and European entrepreneurs.
it acquired a broader connotation and came to denote large-scale enterprises in
agricultural units and the development of certain agricultural resources of tropical
countries in accordance with the methods of westem industry. Hla Myint 14
distinguishes the plantation from peasant agriculture by its large-scale enterprise
10 International Convention for Plantation Labour in 1958. cf. Government of India. 1968:
Report of the Study Group for Plantations (Coffee I Rubber), National Commission on
Labour. New Delhi. p. 5
11 Report on an enquiry into conditions of labour in plantations in India by D.V.Rege in
1946, cf. Ibid., p. 5
12 Section 1 (4) (a). the Plantation Labour Act 1951. Act No. LXIX of 1951. cf. Ibid., p. 5
13 ILO. cf. S.K. Bhowmik. 1980: The Plantation as a Social System. Economic and
Political Weekly, September 6. p. 1524
14 Myint. cf. Ibid., p. 1524
4
which normally requires more labour per unit of land. William 0. Jones1s defines a
plantation as follows:
~An economic unit producing agricultural commodities ... for sale and
employing a relatively large number of unskilled labourers whose activities are
closely supervised ... (it differs) from other kinds of farms in the way in which
the factors of production. primarily management and labour are combined~.
There is a vertical hierarchy in the plantation with skilled supervisors or
managers directing production undertaken by unskilled labourers whose primary
skill is to follow orders. Typically. the plantation is large farm organizations. but it
does not derive its essential character from size alone. Many so-called family farms
are also larger in their size, completely mechanized, and often their scale of
production is also much bigger than many estate farms 16 • Similarly, neither the
plantation organization of agricultural production is a necessary consequence of
large ownership units, nor does it require large land ownership. When e>..'tensive
methods of cultivation are appropriate, the large holding may be farmed as a unit
by highly mechanized methods and with a small labour force. When more labourintensive methods are economical. the landlord may lease out his property to
tenants who take most or all of the management decisions. On the other hand. a
plantation may lease a number of small ownership units to form an economic
unit. or numerous landowners may pool their land to form a cooperative
plantation
Thus. it is extremely difficult to estimate the volume of total employment on
plantations since the defmition of the term plantation given in the Plantations
Convention. 1958 (No. 130)1 7 , has not yet received universal acceptance. The
legislation of a country such as India 18 does contain a definition of plantations and
lays down precise criteria: type of crops, minimum area and minimum number of
workers employed.
15
16
William 0 Jones, cf. Ibid., 1980, p. 1524
William 0. Jones, 1968 : Plantations. International Enclopaedia of Social Sciences,
p. 154
17
J.P. SAJHAU. 1986 : Employment. wages and living conditions in a changing industryPlantations, International Labour Review, Vol. 125 No. 1, P. 73
18
Plantation Labour Act 1951 as amended in 1982, cf. S.K. Bhowmik and V. Xaxa, 1994:
Manual on Rights of Tea Plantation Workers, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. New Delhi, p. 6
5
"A plantation. is a piece of land of five hectares (fifteen acres) or more in size
which is being used for growing tea. coffee. rubber. cinchona or cardamom and
on which fifteen or more pPrsons havl." b!'"en employed for even one single day
during the previous twelve months .. I!J.
But in other countries the concept of a plantation is vague and linked more with
the cultivation of particular crop than with any such formal definition. Another
difficulty arises from the lack of separate statistics in many countries for
plantation workers. Most often these are included under the general heading of
agricultural employment20 • Under such circumstances. it would be difficult to try
to aggregate data covering different realities and then come to a generally accepted
definition. The situation becomes further complicated when one includes the
recent changes that have taken place within the tea plantation economy. This is
particularly related to the emergence of the Small Tea Plantations.
2. DEFINITION OF SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS (STPS):
According to the Tea Board of India a Small Grower is one who holds less
than 25 acres (10.12 hectares) of land under tea cultivation2t. Though. this
definition seems to have wider institutional acceptance yet the Small Tea Growers'
Organizations (STGO) have different opinions and justifications. The North Bengal
Small Tea Planters' Association (part of the STGO), a parent organization covering
small tea growers from all the four districts of North Bengal Region i.e. Darjeeling,
Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Uttar Dinajpur. is of the opinion that. it is not only
the holding size which identifies Small Tea Plantations (STPs). rather it should
have a more comprehensive defmition. According to them. the Small Tea
Plantations should include all the plantations that do not own the processing
factories and which are dependent to sell green tea leaves either to the Bought-
Leaf Factories22 (BLFs). Co-operative Factories23 (CPFs) or Estate Gardens 24 •
Plantation Labour Act. Sec. 1 Cl. 4 (a) and (b). cf. Ibid., p. 7
J.P. SAJHAU. 1986: Employment, wages and living conditions in a changing industryPlantation, International Labour Review, Vol. 125 No. 1, p. 73
21 S.K. Bhowmik, 1997: Participation and Control: Study of a Co-operative Tea Factory in
the Nilgiris, Economic and Political Weekly, September 27. p. A-107
22 Bought-Leaf-Factories (BLFs) are those factories, which do not have the plantation of
their own and depends on the supply of green leaf by the Small Tea Growers for making
made tea and managed by private ownership.
23
Co-operative Factories (CPFs) refers to those factories. which is joint effort hy the Small
Tea Growers in one hand and the state government on the other.
2
" Estate garden refers to traditional tea estates having the factories within their own
premises and also have plantation.
19
20
6
Therefore. they suggested that below
I 00 acres of plantations should be
considered as Small Tea Plantations. This organization has classified tht.' Small
Tea Planters into four categories. viz. Group-A i.e. 51-100 acres. Group-B i.e. 2450 acres. Group-e i.e. 11-23 acres. and Group-O i.e. below 10 acres. In their
opinion. it is the processing technology that divides the two sectors of tea industry
i.e. organised sector and unorganised sector. The small tea-growing sector
(unorganised sector) does not own processing units for the final production but on
the contrary the estate sector (organized sector) does own the factories within their
premises (detail in Third Chapter). The former enters into the market with
intermediary products while later with final products. The main argument behind
this definition is that the price of green leaf is not related to the holding size.
rather it is the quality of leaf that decides the market price. Therefore. all the green
leaf sellers are treated as one category in the market. So. it is unwise to delimit the
STPs with the holding size. Another dimension of looking into the definitional
aspect within the STPs is that. though. the labour market varies according to the
size of the tea farms. but at the production level there is no size variation and all
the green leaf sellers are the victim of the price fluctuations equally. It is
ultimately the market that decides the relative importance of the growers.
whereas. at labour market particularly in relation to the payment of provident
fund. paid holidays. yearly bonus and other measures are defmed by the size of
the Small Tea Plantations.
According to Land Reforms Department. Govemmenl of West Bengal. a
Small Tea Garden. is defmed by a land holding up to 24.20 acres (up to 7 hectares)
of tea plantation. and a land holding above 24.20 acres (above 7 hectares) of tea
plantation. is considered as Big Tea Garden. The definition of Land reforms
department is related to land ceiling of an individual family. The Govemment of
West Bengal issued an order on 2Is• August 1998 (related to introduction of Noobjection Certificate. detail discussion in Third Chapter). it elaborated the
guidelines for the development of new tea gardens in West Bengal 25 • It states as
follows:
25 Govt. of West Bengal, No. 2052 (8) I l
Augustl998.
7
(3) - L. Ref., dated, Calcutta, the 21 51
~rara-7.
After taking the aforesaid actions by drawing up appropriate'
proceedings in all cases the area of validity purchased land held by a teagarden has to be determined. If the tea-garden holds more than 7 hectares
(24.20 acres) of land. it should be asked to apply to the State Government
through the District Land & Land Reforms Officer concerned under Section 14Y
of the Act for permission to hold land in excess of the ceiling limit. The State
Government shall grant permission imposing terms and conditions similar to
those in Form 1 under Schedule F of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Rules.
1954 with such modifications as may be necessary.
Para-9. After determination of the quantum of land as in Para 7 above if it is
found that a tea-garden owner holds land within the ceiling i.e. within 24.20
acres. if the owner is a company, or within the ceiling as applicable to an
individual according to the size of his family if such owner is not a company.
the question of application under Section 14Y does not arise. Hence. the terms
and conditions that shall be imposed on big tea-gardens cannot be imposed on
the small ones owning and holding land within ceiling. In order to enable the
small tea-garden owners to get recognition as cultivators of tea and for
facilitating the district authorities to keep full account of the tea gardens within
the district. certification is necessary. The small tea-garden owners may apply
to the District Land & Land Reforms Officer concerned for certification. On
receipt of such applications the D.L. & L.R.O. shall caust" an enquiry as to the
correctness of the land statement and determine rent as provided in Para 8
above and issue a certificate in the form appended".
As compared to this, the defmition of small tea holdings is given in the
Report of the Presidential Commission on the Tea Industry and Trade ( 1995.) in
Sri Lanka. It varies from the definition given in the recent Tea Land Survey. which
was conducted by the Tea Commissioner of Sri Lanka in 1994-95. The frrst
definition states that owners of land between 4.1 hectares and 20.2 hectares are
considered as a small tea holder in Sri Lanka2G. The second definition in fact
repeats the Tea Control Act No. 51 of 1957. It is a little comprehensive and small
tea holdings are defmed as follows:
~A Tea Smallholding constitutes a part of tea land, one or more adjoining tea
lands, managed as one operational unit owned by one or more persons which is
not less than 20 perches (a perch is 272.25 square feet, 160 perches is
equivalent to one acre and 395.2 perches is equivalent to one hectare) in extent
and with more than a density of 2400 tea bushes per hcctare"2 7 •
It should be mentioned here that in Sri Lanka the Land Reforms Act of 1972
limited the area of land which could be owned by one person up to 20 hectares or
Report of the Presidential Commission on the Tea Industry and Trade (1995). p. 69 cf.
A.S.Chandrabose. 2004: Labour in the Tea Industry: A comparative Regional Analysis of
India and Sri Lanka, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Centre for the Study of Rq~ional
Development. Jawaharlal Nehn1 University. p. 52
27 Tea Commissions Division (1996). Tea Land Survey of Tea Small Holdings and Stat!"
owned Estate in Sri Lanka 194-95. Sri Lanka Tea Board. Sri Lanka. p. 6 cf. Ibid., p. 48
26
8
50 acres - by convention, all land remaining under individual ownership were
identified as Small Holdings 28 •
3. SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN INDIA:
As mentioned earlier. plantations were the product of colonialism. Their
produce was mainly for export. In some cases such as rubber and cinchona. were
established to provide raw material for industries in the mother countries. In
others. such as tea. coffee and sugar, their markets lay in the developed colonizing
countries. The growth of tea plantations in India was a result of a rise in
popularity of Indian tea in Britain. The aromatic quality of Indian tea scored over
Chinese tea. which was popular in the early nineteenth century. because of its
thicker brew. Hence. plantations in the colonies were fundamentally international
in character. India is considered as one of the native homes of the tea plant. The
indigenous tea plant growing in a wild condition in Assam was first discovered
about 182029 • It is also said that the Major Bruce was the first person who
actually discovered the tea plant in India in 1823. As early as in 1834. a
committee was appointed by Lord William Bentick. the Governor General of India
to study a plan for the accomplishment of the introduction of tea cultivation in
India and for the superintendence of its execution3o. The expert committee in their
report found some areas overwhelmingly suitable for tea growing which included
the lower hills and valleys of the Himalayas including Mussorie and Dehradun. the
East Frontier provinces (Arunachal Pradesh). the Nilgiris and the mountains of
Central India. After that the Tea Committee of Lord William Bentick decided to
encourage planned cultivation of tea in India. In the process the East India
Company
at
Lakhimpur (Assam)
started
the
first
tea
plantation on
an
experimental basis in 1835. After working it for five years the East India Company
handed it over to the Assam Company- the first Indian Tea Company.
Commercial cultivation of tea began in Assam in the late 1830s after the
supply of tea from China became somewhat uncertain. Tea was the first major
plantation industry to be developed in India under the ownership. management
211
I.D.Singh. 2001: Small Holders' Contributions in Sri Lankan Tea. The Assam Review
and Tea News, Vol. 90 No. 2, p. 15
:w Gadgil, n.d. cf. M.R. Chaudhuri. 1978: The Tea Industry in India, Indian Economic
Geographic Studies. Calcutta, p. 9
:m R.C. Awasthi. 1975: Economics of Tea Industry in India, United Publisht>rs,
Guwahati. p. 34
9
and control of British private investors. In the early stages of its growth. the tea
industry was severely affected by a shortage of local labour in Assam; earlier
experimental tea cultivation in the govemment nurseries the 1830s had depended
to some extent upon imported Chinese labour3J. Local wage-labour was almost
non-existent during the beginning of tea cultivation in Assam. As a largest
organized sector, tea is one of the oldest industries in India and holds a
considerable potential for the economic development of the country. Today. tea is
the most important industry in India stretching over more than four lakh hectares
of land. The states of Assam and West Bengal produce an overwhelmingly large
quantity of the tea in the North India, whereas in South India Tamil Nadu and
Kerala contribute approximately 25 percent of the total production of the country.
Small areas of tea are also found in Punjab, Uttaranchal. Bihar. Tripura.
Anmachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in the north and Karnataka in the
south. Today West Bengal is second only to Assam in terms of tea production in
India. It is worth mentioning here that the highly flavoured Himalayan tea grows
only in West Bengal. Its traditional tea cultivated areas are spread over the two
districts of Jalpaiguri and Drujeeling.
The emergence of Small Tea Plantations is very recent. This is because
whatever suitable land was available for tea cultivation was already occupied by
the Large Tea Plantations (LTPs) in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
These can be called the traditional areas of tea cultivation whereas Small Tea
Plantations have emerged beyond the traditional tracts of tea cultivation. Though,
the Small Tea Plantations emerged in early 1960s in India, their concentration was
mainly found in South Indian states of Tamil Nadu. Kerala and Kamata.ka. It is
only in late 1980s or early 1990s their spread confined in the two leading teaproducing states of Northem India of Assam and West Bengal. Today, as per the
Tea Board (2005) sources, there are 126,256 Small Tea Growers with a collective
holding of 106,748 hectares and the production of 180 million kg against the total
production of 857 million kg tea in India, which is around twenty-two per cent of
the total production of all India production. There are 514 BLFs and 24 CPFs in
India located in different small holding tea growing areas in the country. The
:tt Mann. 1918 cf. M.A.B. Siddique, 1995: The Labour Market and tlw Growth of the Tea
Industry 1840-1900, South Asia, Vol. XVIll No. 1. p. 83
10
average fann size in Small Tea Plantations is about 1.83 acre in India. The highest
numbers of Small Tea Plantations are found in the state Tamil Nadu with 61985
followed by Assam and West Bengal with 42492 and 8398 respectively.
It is worth mentioning here that the data do not represent the ground
situation since most of the Small Tea Plantations are not registered with the Tea
Board. The number of such plantations is increasing day by day in all the regions
across the country. Today, there are about 800 Small Tea Plantations occupying
an area of 6600 hectares producing near about 90000 tonnes of green leaf every
year32. According
t~
some other sources. there are about 600 Small Tea
Plantations in North Bengal and a potential of 24000 hectares of land is under
small-scale tea plantation in the state33. These Small Tea Plantations are mainly
located in three localities of North Bengal initially. i.e. lslampur subdivision. 34
District Uttar Dinajpur, Khoribari-Phansidewa blocks of district Dmjeeling and
Rqjganj. Jalpaigwi Sadar, Mainaguri and Dhupguri blocks, district Jalpaiguri. The
Mekhliganj block of district Cooch Behar is an added flavour of Small Tea
Plantations today. The Small Tea Plantations started developing in North Bengal in
the year 1988-9935. In the lslampur sub division. district Uttar Dinajpur alone
there are three hundred and nine Small Tea Plantations. as per the Land Reforms
Department of West Bengal, 2001. The average farm size in Small Tea Plantations
is 11 acres in lslampur subdivision3H.
It is a well established fact that the contribution of Small Tea Plantations
are not negligible in Indian tea industry and if one is to take the present trends as
an indication of a foreseeable future then it can be safely stated that this industry
will be known by its small tea-growing sector in the years to come.
4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
During late 1980s farmers resorted to tea cultivation in their fields due to
paucity of available market for pineapple. Since, pineapple is a perishable product;
32 Uttarbanga Sambad, dated 22"'1 February 2000: Chhoto Cha Bagan Niye Ashabadi
Tripurar Mantry (in Bengali), p. 4
33 Anonymous, 1999: Banks to Assist West Bengal Small Tea Growt'rs. The Assam Review
and Tea News, Vol. 88 No. 9, p. 39
34 In Islampur subdivision, Chopra block is considered as the birthplace of pineapple and
Small Tea Plantations.
35
K. Sham1a. 1999: Tea Industry in India - An Introduction, N.L. PublishPrs.
Dlbrugarh. p. 16
36
In Jslampur Subdivision very less number of Small Tea GrowPrs arP incorporated with
any organisation.
II
it is difficult to keep a ripe crop standing in the field for a long time and transport
it over a long distance. Since. there was no readily available local market for this
particular crop it was difficult to sustain it purely at the level of household
consumption.
Moreover.
in the absence of proper market and processing
technology the pineapple growers had to face a lot of difficulties for selling their
products to far off places like Delhi. Kanpur. Agra. Nagpur. and Kolkata etc.
Consequently. it was inadvertently involving an army of middlemen each taking a
share of the produce. Apart from this. the presence of middlemen also placed
unnecessary burden on the producers. which, in tum brought in its own share of
uncertainties in the cultivation of pineapple. Consequently. the vast tracts
pineapple growing area had to submerge and give way to a new and commercially
viable crop like tea. Thus. the resultant outcome was the emergence and spread of
Small Tea Plantations in the last two decades of the twentieth century.
The beginning of Small Tea Plantations started a new era of development in
the pockets of rural North Bengal. These emerged in the late 1980s and early
1990s of the last century in this region. The origin or the Small Tea Plantations in
the region was motivated primarily for two reasons. The first and foremost
important reason was the crises of traditional pineapple cultivation for want of
proper market and processing facilities. Secondly. the demonstrative effects of the
tea as an altemative cash crop in the proximity of the traditional tea growing areas
of Drujeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. But. unlike the traditional tea plantations.
the
Small Tea
Plantations have
come
up without
any proper planning.
Consequently. their unplanned development has created manifold problems such
as. initially. these Small Tea Plantations were considered as illegal plantations by
the govemment37 (detail discussion in the Third Chapter). This illegal tag played a
major hindrance in the growth of these plantations run by the pineapple growers
of yesteryears in the region. In the absence of a formal recognition these
plantations were denied access to institutional credits and direct interaction to the
market. The Tea Board of India or other financial organizations like Rural Banks.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Commercial Banks. Land
Development Banks etc. too were not interested in investing in this small sector
Land Reforms Department vide no. 3879 (4) -T.G., dated 16'h June 1994, cf. No.
2052 (8)- L. Ref., Para 1 & 2.
37
12
due to the legalisation process during its initiation. Even though. today. these
plantations are being legalized. their overall growth has been paralysed because of
the above-mentioned institutional factors. It is interesting to note that in South
India
the Tea
Board
of India.
National
Bank for Agriculture and
Rural
Development. etc. are financing small tea growers since their inception:IH. In this
way the role of the state govemment too is questionable as far as development and
upliftment of this rural sector is concemed.
Similarly. because of their small size and production. the small growers are
always at the receiving ends of the market relations.
particularly in the
determination of wages and price of the green leaves. Both these markets are
either dominated by the big estate gardens or by the middlemen. Moreover. these
Small Tea Plantations depend up on the factories owned by the big farms for
processing of the green leafs hence. they often receive raw deal in the hands of the
monopoly of the big estate owners. In reality. the small tea growers have become
the victims of processing units particularly in the absence state control over the
price nxation.
For the Small Tea Growers in North Bengal. it is a history repeating itself.
They are once again affront with same kind of market insecurity. which they
experienced with the pineapple cultivation. In the financial. labour and commodity
market they are once again at the receiving end. Institutional credit is not
available to them and consequently, they look for credit from informal sources at
an exorbitant rate. It has led to a situation where they are always under debt.
There is wide gap between the institutional incentive and available financial
support received by the growers in this small sector. At the labour market too the
term market are against their interests because, they are treated at par with the
large estate gardens.
The small growers also face difficulties in the management of the
plantations. Since there was no concept of Small Tea Plantations in the historical
past so,
the
present system of technology, modes of cultivation,
labour
recruitment, processing, marketing, land policy etc. too are also size and scale
biased against these farms. But, at the same time, the Small Tea Plantations have
38
Anonymous, 1999: Banks to Assist West Bengal Small Tea Growers. The Assam Review
and Tea News, Vol. 88 No. 9. p. 38
13
some significant advantages over other plantations. which could be utili;,r...ed for
improving both the quality as well as the quantity of the products.
Some of these are:
First of all. most of Small Tea Plantations are owned by the local people who
were fanners or pineapple growers till 1980s. These farmers are aware of the micro
ecological and other environmental conditions of the area. which can be useful in
canying out new experiments like Small Tea Plantations in the region. Moreover.
they also provide employment opportunities to the unskilled manual workers
throughout the year. Villages become self-sufficient. as owners of small land
holdings too are able to raise tea plants on their fields. There is an existence of
mixed farming in the region as the small growers also practice paddy cultivation in
low-lying areas. Female work force in the Small Tea Plantations is an added
advantage to the family income of workers.
Secondly. the Small Tea Plantations encourage the emergence of BLFs in
the region. These BLFs are supplied green leafs by the small growers. The
processing. packaging. and management in these BLFs also generate huge amount
of employment. With these BLFs. the ancillary activities like sale. purchase and
use of fertilizer. pesticides. essential day-to-day needs. transportation facilities.
services at Hats (rural market centers) etc. are also developed in the rural areas.
which provide employment to a sizeable number of workers in the region. These
multiplier effects in the region have immense impact on the Household Economy
in the study area and peoples participation at the grass-root level.
Today. Small Tea Plantations can be considered. as non-enclave economy.
as ownership pattern. production structures, labour employment, and above all
social relations as these exist there in villages is certainly different than traditional
estate gardens. The land owning class and labourers engaged in Small Tea
Plantation participate common social gathering and festivals in the villages and
share distresses of market fluctuations. The cultural landscape too is entirely
different than what it used to be in the traditional tea estate villages. The social
milieu as it exists in the small tea plantation villages can be better termed as
Pluralistic Culture (discussed in Third Chapter) not only by its economy but also in
terms of its social attributes.
14
Considering the overall scenario of the these plantations and its influence
on Household Economy. the present research proposal has been formulated to
highlight the relevant some general issues and Employment Conditions in the
Small Tea Plantations in particular relevant to the study area. In this background.
an attempt has been made here to study the
M
Employment Conditions in the Small
Tea Plantations (STPs) and their impact on the Household Economy: A case study of
Islampur subdivision of North Bengal".
5. STUDY AREA:
As shown over the map (Figure-1.1) the Islampur subdivision of Uttar
Dinajpur district. West Bengal spreads between 250 40' Nand 260 35' N latitudes
and 87o 45' E and 880 32' E longitudes. It has a great strategic significance for the
economic as well as polity of the India. It is part of the Maltananda conidor1 <J. To
its west lies Nepal. Bangladesh in the East and Tibet and Bhutan in its north too
are in close proximity to the region. Its geographic location particularly in the
neighbourhood backward countries like Nepal. Bangladesh and Bhutan plays an
important role in the resource utilization and economic development of the area.
This region continues to receive large influx of illegal immigrants both from these
backward neighbours. which in tum puts enough pressure on the local resources
and stress on the existing social and physical infrastructure. These are some
important problems as far as this region is concerned. but they become less
pressing in the context of the state of West Bengal. Therefore. it is an imperative to
address these issues at the local level.
This name has been given to the narrow strip of land. which connects the northern
portions of West Bengal with the Maida pouch. The main stream of the Mahananda nows
through It only at its northern and southern ends. But its tributaries now through it.
Nagar. a small tributary of Mahananda rises in the plains and nows along the eastern edge
of the corridor.
39
15
Location Map of the Study Area
Islam pur
Subdivision
Source: S .C . Bose (1968)
Figure 1.1
The Jslampur subdivision comprises five community development blocks
namely: Chopra. lslampur. Goalpolchar-1. Goalpolchar-ll and Karwtdiglti with a total
area of 1737.82 sq. km (discussed in detail in Second Chapter). Islampur town is
also the headquarters of the sub-division. under the district Uttar Dinajpur. West
Bengal. The general appearance of the landscape is flat sloping towards south as
can be inferred from the trend of the rivers. Old alluvial soils as well as new
alluvial soils are predominant in the region. On the basis of micro-physical
variations the study area can be divided into two sub units namely: the DWlgis4°
(high lands) are covered by old alluvium and the NichWlparQS41 (low lands) by new
alluvium. Geomorphologists prefer to call this region MahWlWlda Corridor due to
the presence of river Mahananda and Teesta. These are the two main streams that
have deposited alluvium over centuries and formed the alluvial deposits. The old
alluvial deposits are mostly found on the slightly raised banks of the numerous
streams that originate in the Drujeeling and Bhutan Himalayas. Most of these are
fast flowing streams and notorious for frequently changing their courses. Since.
this region falls with in the sub-humid tropical zone. it is characterized by
moderate to heavy rainfall with high level of humidity for most of the time in a
year. These environmental conditions have contributed in accentuation the
processes of degradation. erosion and deposition in most parts of the region. The
old alluvial deposits have higher incidences of leaching. soil erosion and gully
formation through which numerous small streams flow before they join the bigger
river systems in the plains forming intricate meanders. Apart from these there are
scrub. jungles. grasses and a few big trees that constitute the natural vegetation
in the region.42
These were perhaps some of the most important reasons related to the local
environment that the British colonizers preferred to develop Tea plantations in the
region. Moreover. nearness to the Calcutta port and ideal climate of the
neighbouring Drujeeling hill too were most attractive to the Europeans. Thus. this
The Dangis comprises of the fields that are used for pineapple cultivation and presently
popularly used for tea cultivation where plots are carrying a little sandy soils and altitude
is a little higher than the Nichanparas.
41 The Nichanparas comprises of the fields that are used for wet-riee c-ultivation and the
fundaml:'ntal characteristic is that soil is clayey with high water retaining capac-ity and is
used for jute and rice.
42 S.C. Bose. 1968: Geography ofWest Bengal, National Book Tmst. New Delhi. p. 12
40
17
region remained an area of intense activities during the colonial periods. Health
resorts.
educational centres.
cantonment
towns.
adventure sports centres.
plantation and missionary activities became some of the well-known hallmarks of
the colonial activities in the region.
Therefore. this regiou has always remained important to the colonial
enterprises
in
India.
Consequently.
scholars.
travelers.
missionaries
and
administrators developed keen interest in the geography. history. culture and
economy of the region.
Some of their observations are still
relevant in
understanding the social and environment aspects of the region. The researchef43
too found some of these studies relevant in understanding contemporary
problems.
6. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE:
From the very inception of tea gardens in India it has been attracting
attention form scholars from all over the world as it provided them with wide range
of interesting field studies. However. in its initial phase most of the works were
related to science and technological aspects of tea gardens. Though. these
scientific and technological studies were relevant yet most of these were wTitten by
the European authors hence they were deficient in providing local insight and
co1loquial wisdom. These gave only piece meal treatment to the economy and
culture of the region particularly to the tea cultivation. Thus. an objective and
analytical research work on tea cultivation could become possible only after
independence.
The Economics of Tea Industry in India4 4 is a major in-depth study of a
whole gamut of problems in the tea industry. It is a fine account of the vicissitudes
that have gone through in matters relating labour. finance, supplies, transport,
marketing etc. The Tea Industry in India4 5 provides a systematic representation of
the tea industry. In this book particularly the geo-physical factors like relief,
climate, soil, drainage etc. affecting the development of tea plantations have been
43
The tenns 'Author', 'Investigator', 'Researcher' are used interl'hangcably in this
study.
44
R.C. Awasthi. 1975 : Economics of Tea Industry in India, United Publish£'rs,
Guwahati.
45
M.R. Chaudhuri, 1978: The Tea Industry in India, Indian Economic' Geographic
Studies. Calcutta.
18
described in an organized manner. It also deals with tht" origin of tea plant.
evolution of tea industry. and marketing and management aspects.
The book, Problems ofTea Industry in North-East India. by North-East India
Council for Social Sciences Research, Shillong: consists of twelve seminar papers
held at Guwahati on 22-23 November 1975. It discusses various aspects of tea
plantation industry such as production. marketing. management, labour relations.
socio-cultural life of the tea garden labourers etc. The Plantation Labours of NorthEast Indi.Q46 edited by R.K. Bhadra and Mita Bhadra contains twenty research
papers on socio-economic aspects of tea plantations. This edited book is an
outcome of collection of essays from different scholars of diverse disciplines
presented in the seminar entitled Sociological Perspectives of Plantation Labourers
in North-East India organized by the department of Sociology and Social
Anthropology. university of North Bengal in March 1984.
A short history of tea industry and trade unions have been dealt with in a
synthesized book entitled Tea Plantation Workers in the Eastern Himalaya.s4 7 edited
by R.L. Sarkar and Mahendra P. Lama in the year 1986. It also explains aspects
like pattems of employment, methods of wage determination. ownership pattems
and management in the tea plantation. Matters related to workers education for
the development of socio-economic conditions of plantations workers in NorthEast India have been dealt in the book Socio-Economic Development of Plantation
Workers in North-East IndiQ'I 8 by R.N. Chakravorty.
An unpublished Ph.D. thesis submitted by Ninnalendu Bhattacharya on
The Study of the Tea Industry in North Bengal (West Bengal: India} : its geographical
perspective-19 gives a detailed account of origin, development and geographical
distribution of tea plantations in North Bengal. From this study the existence of
old tea plantations in North Bengal can be understood in a better way.
46
R.K. Bhadra and M. Bhadra (ed.), 1997: Plantation Labours in North-East India.. N.L.
Publishers, Dibrugarh.
47
R.L. Sarkar and M.P. Lama, 1986: Tea Plantation Workers in the Eastern
Himalayas, Atma Ram and Sons, Delhi.
48
R.N.Chakravorty. 1997 : Socio-Economic Development of Plantation Workers in
North-East India, N.L. Publishers, Guwahati.
49
N. Bhattacharya, 1977: Study of Tea Industry in North Bengal (West Bengal: India) and
its geographic perspective, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (Arts), North Bengal University.
19
G. D. Banerjee 50 in his paper deals with the marketing system of tea. modes
of disposal. seven marketing nodes, primary marketing, development of auction
centers. tea auction facilities, tea auction systems. advantage of auction sale.
Tandon Committee of tea marketing. ex-garden sales, mini-auction. auction for
blended and packet teas etc. Besides, this efforts have also been made to devote a
critical analysis on new auction rules - Ahuja Committee 1981, marketing of
Indian Tea- domestic v/s exports, unrestricted import of tea to allow or not. etc.
in this book.
Labour market and the growth of tea industry are well defined by M.A.B.
Siddiques•. It mentioned that the tea industry was severely affected by a shortage
of local labour in Assam in the early stages of its growth. The earlier experimental
tea cultivation in the government nurseries in the 1830s had depended to some
extent upon imported Chinese labour. This paper also deals with labour
immigration in the Assam tea plantations in the year 1899 from different parts of
India. The highest percentage of immigration came from Chotonagpur and Santhal
Parganas accounting 44.38 per cent of the total labour force. According to the
author there were at least two considerations that led the planters to decide to
import labourers from other parts of India. These include high wages for local
labour and seasonality of local labour. With the rapid extension of land grants for
tea cultivation. more and more planters were competing for the limited number of
local labourers that led to an increase of wages.
On the basis of the literature swveyed so far it is evident that very few
serious efforts have been made by various scholars to study the development of
the small growers in India. However, from various official reports and studies
conducted by different committees appointed by the government from time to time
some information on small growers is available. On the basis of which a brief
review of such literature has been made in the following lines.
50
G.D.Banerjee, 2001 :Tea Marketing is no more A Fashionable Slogan in India. Indian
Association of Social Science Institutions. Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 32-62.
51
M.A.B. Siddhique, 1995: The Labour Market and the Growth of the Tea Industry 18401900. South Asia. Vol. XVIII No. 1, pp. 83-1 13.
20
Financial Management of the Small Tea Growers in Assam!i:z. an M.Phil.
Dissertation submitted by Sarmah in North-Eastem Hill University is a significant
contribution in this respect. It deals with the economic problems faced by the
small growers and the management of the STPs. The Techno-economic Survey of
Small Tea Growers in Assam53 published by the Tea Board gives an empirical
picture of the STPs in Assam, their problems and prospects. Khemraj Sharma
gives an account of STPs, their origin, distribution and the problems in the region
of North Bengal in his book entitled Tea Industry in India -An Introduction54 . A
research article published in Assam Review and Tea News by Jha and Sinha under
the title of Prospects and Potentialities of Tea Plantation in Kishanganj district of
Biha.r6 5 identifies the constraints of growth and development of Small Tea
Plantations in the district. This paper is useful since the K.ishanganj district is
~adjacent
"~"
~yer
to the present study area and resembles in many of geo-physical
W parameters with it.
\'1\.
The need for establishing CPFs was first stressed by the Plantation
v\.
I·.:)Y:0~
f.-'.2L
Enqui~~..~
\•....:
Ji
-J
\.\ Commission in 195656. The Commission suggested that CPFs could increase the \,~""& ___ _.. ,.
-'~\.
"\ viability of small growers and would free them from the dependence on middlemen
' and privately owned factories. These factories are known as BLFs because they
~exist mainly through the purchase of green tea leaves produced by small growers.
unlike tea factories of the Large Tea Plantations which process tea leaves grown in
their own plantations. The Commission felt that CPFs could assure growers of fair
prices while promoting scientific methods to tea cultivation among them. The P.C.
Barooah Committee (1968) during its study on tea industry was of the opinion
that small growers had not efficiently cultivated their lands and the yield obtained
was only a quarter of the average yield of a big garden in Sibsagar district of
Assam. The Committee found that the BLFs were mostly ill equipped with old
P.C. Sarmah, 1990 : Financial Management of the Small Tea Growers in Assam,
Unpublished M.Phil. Dissertation, Department of Economics, North-Eastern Hill
University.
53 Tea Board. 1997:
Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Growers in Assam, Tea
Board of India. Kolkata.
54
K. Sharma. 1999: Tea Industry in India - An Introduction, N.L. Publishers.
Dibrugarh, Assam.
5 5 U.M. Jha and R.K. Sinha. 2000: Prospects and Potentialities of Tea Plantation in
Kishanganj district of Bihar. The Assam Review and Tea News, Vol. 89 No. 3. pp. 17-26.
56 S.K. Bhowmik, 1997: Participation and Control: Study of a Co-operative Tea Factory in
the Nilgiris. Economic and Political Weekly, September 27. p. A-107
52
TH
21
331 .125372095414
H1957
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IIIII II II IIIII III 11111111111111
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4£! tl'
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machinery and workout thus these have inadequate facilities for manufacturing
good quality tea.
Monoharan!>7 observed that the yield of the small proprietor unit is small
because of their limited resources. As the cultivation technique and bush
management of these gardens are poor, so the price or profit obtained therefore is
also not satisfactory. However, regarding welfare obligations to the workers. they
are treated at par with large and prosperous tea estates. This inflicts hardship on
this segment of the industry. Since these gardens are burdened with multitude of
obligations their profitability is greatly reduced.
Sarkar58 stated that the govemments of the tea producing countries may be
prone to protect and encourage the smallholders through fiscal and other
incentives. as has actually been the case in several tea producing countries.
According to him, tea is a crop ideally suited for large-scale production in
plantations. The improved scientific management and the superior input-mix.
which are possible in plantations. are absent in smallholdings. So. the former is
generally assured of higher yield and lower cost per acre. Apart from these. there
are numerous reports and documents published by the state and central
govemment that have also attempted to highlight the issues related to the Small
Tea Plantations.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS AND STUDIES ON SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS
UNPUBLISHED PRIMARY AGREEMENTS
The
unpublished documents
primarily
consist of Memorandums of
Settllement (MoS) between representing Associations/Management and Trade
Unions. These are collected (Specimen Copy can be seen in Appendi.x-1) collected
from the field from the trade union offices. These primary agreements deal with
various issues right from the beginning of Small Tea Plantations in North Bengal.
Some of the important issues that have been focused in these documents pertain
to wage negotiation, yearly bonus settlement depending upon green leaf price,
yearly paid holidays. daily work schedule and thika task (contract work), protective
clothing, food concession etc. Since inception of Small Tea Plantations. the
57
S. Monoharan. 1974: India Tea. A Strategy for Development, S. Chand and Co. (Pvt.)
Ltd .• New Delhi.
5R G.K. Sarkar. 1972: The World Tea Economy, Oxford University Press. Calcutta.
22
workers~!'
started looking for an alternative system for the settlement of their
charter of demands through the process of bipartite settlement. Unlike the
tripartite(i() agreement already existing in the organised Tea Industry. collective
bargaining in the Small Tea Plantations exists through bipartite agreement
between the representing Associations and Management in one hand and Trade
Unions on the other. In the Small Tea Plantation. Government as the third party is
conspicuous by their absence in all kinds of negotiations. This is the fundamental
difference between the two. viz. organised and unorganised Sector of Tea Industry.
From the beginning of the Small Tea Plantations. there are four wage
agreements between Employers Associations and Trade Unions. These are MoS
dated on 08.10.1994 at Terai Club. Bengdubi. MoS dated on 01.11.1998 at
Kolkata. MoS dated on 07.03.2002. and MoS dated on 06.09.2005 at Conference
Hall. MatigarasJ. Wage agreements are generally settled for a period of three years
except the first MoS dated on 08.10.1994 settled for a period of four years. The
bipartite frame in the collective bargaining process of Wage Settlement are
represented by Planters Associations/Management in one hand and Trade Unions
on the other. The representing Associations/Management: are 1) Terai Indian
Planters' Association. 2) Terai Branch Indian Tea Association. and 3) North Bengal
Small Tea Planters' Association; and the representing Unions are 1) West Dinajpur
Cha Bagicha Sramik Union (CITU). and 2) National Union of Plantation Workers
(INTUC).
Similarly. the bonus agreements are also followed under the bipartite frame.
In the Small Tea Plantations in North Bengal the bipartite frame for Bonus
Agreements are represented by the Planter Association/Management by North
Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association and the Trade Unions are represented by 1)
West Dinajpur Cha Bagicha Sramik Union (CITU). and 2) National Union of
Plantation Workers (INTUC) in the study area. The available Memorandums of
Settlement collected during the fieldwork are as follows: MoS dated on 01.10.1996
The term 'Labour' and 'Worker' are used interchangeably in this study.
In tripartite agreement here refers to the parties involved in the agreement i.e. in
organised tea industry wage, bonus. fringe benefits. and other related issues are settled
through the process of collective bargaining represented by trade unions. employers'
organisation. and Ministry of Labour represt"nted by Labour Commissioner. Government of
West Bengal.
59
60
1; 1
Memorandums of Settlement dated on 08.10.1994, 01.11.1998, 07.03.2002, and
06.09.2005.
23
at Domtitory of the lslampur Municipality. lslampur [National Union of Plantation
Workers (INTUC) was absent in this
Agreem~nt).
MoS dated on 26.09.1997 at the
Association Hall. Siliguri. MoS dated on 01.10.2000 at the Association Hall.
Siliguri. and MoS dated on 08.10.2004 at the Association Hall. SiliguriG2. The only
difference between the two is that bonus is settled every year during the months of
September and October and it is paid to the workers before Durga Puja. In all the
agreements the Bonus percentage is negotiated and settled keeping in view of
green leaf price realized during the year.
Besides these. there are four agreements related to Paid Holidays & House
Rent Allowance MoS dated on 20.08.2000, Food Concession MoS dated on
15.0 1. 1998. Protective Clothing and Additional Compensation in Spraying MoS
dated on 17.08.1996, and Work Schedule MoS dated on 28.11.1999 in the Small
Tea Plantations in North Bengal. The bipartite frame for Paid Holidays & House
Rent
Allowance,
and
Work
Schedule
was
led
by
representing
Associations/Management North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association and
Trade Union by West Dinajpur Cha Bagicha Sramik Union (CITU) and National
Union of Plantation Workers (INTUC). But in case of Food Concession. and
Protective Clothing and Additional Compensation in Spraying bipartite settlement
only West Dinajpur Cha Bagicha Sramik Union (CITU) represented the Trade
Union.
All these studies are important in understanding the collective bargaining
position of the workers in the Small Tea Gardens, which in tum is important in
understanding the dynamics of employment and household economy of the
workers.
It is evident from the above discussions that various researchers have
contributed
significantly in
understanding different
aspects
of Small Tea
plantations. However, there is very little existing literature that can be considered
analytical and objective. The present research attempts to undertake an objective
analysis of the dynamics of employment and household economy of the workers in
Small Tea Plantations in Islampur subdivision in North-Bengal with the following
objectives. research questions and hypotheses:
12
;
Memorandums of Settlement dated on 01.10.1996, 26.09.1997, 01.10.2000, and
08.10.2004.
24
7. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
a) To study
the emergence and S!Jatial distribution of the Small Tea
Plantations.
b) To assess the nature and magnitude of labour employment in the Small Tea
Plantations.
c) To examine the quality of employment of workers engaged in the Small Tea
Plantations.
d) To examine the working conditions (both physical and economic) of the
labourers in the Small Tea Plantations.
e) To evaluate the impact of employment and labour conditions on the
household economy.
8. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
a) What is the trend of growth and regional distribution of Small Tea
Plantations in India?
b) Whether working conditions of the labourers vary with farm size or not?
c) What is the relationship between the farm size and labour intensity?
d) What is the impact of employment conditions on the household economy in
the study area?
9. HYPOTHESIS:
a) The working conditions (both Physical and Economic) of the labourers vary
significantly with the size of the farms.
b) There is an inverse relationship between the size of the farms and labour
intensity.
c) The employment and improved labour conditions have positive impact on
the household economy.
10. RATIONALES OF
THE STUDY:
As mentioned before. the main thrust of the present study is to probe into
the employment conditions and their impact on Household Economy in the Small
Tea Plantations in. Islampur subdivision, North Bengal. It is significant because,
the Small Tea Plantations in this region are of recent origin i.e. in the last two
decades of the twentieth century. and there has been no substantive research
work on it. This study gets an enhanced importance because these Small Tea
Plantations have not only survived but also performed extremely well against all
25
kinds of legal. economic anti technical odds against it. They are trying to find a
space in a monopolistic market dominated by the big companies: they are always
at the receiving end of price and wage determination despite producing best
quality tea in the region. Moreover. the step motherly treatment of the state
govemment. particularly in delaying the legal recognition too denied many
opportunities in the past. Consequently they always faced serious financial
constraints because for want of due recognition. no formal financial institution
was willing to ex.'tent loans and other helps to them.
However. it is interesting to notice that these plantations have survived and
added various incentives to the overall development of the rural North Bengal.
Today. there are employment opportunities available in the rural areas. there is
demand for modern infrastructure and above all there is awareness among the
rural folks about the world around them. To make an objective analysis of these
changes taking place in the region is also the prime focus of the study.
Furthermore. the present study is based on huge amount of primary data
and information collected from the field that is reliable in nature. It was seen that
the studies conducted so far did not use the primary data sources and they
remained mostly descriptive. The present study is attempting to take it to the
analytical realms. Lastly, the study highlights some of the important issues related
to regional development in general and growth of Small Tea Plantations in North
Bengal in particular. Therefore. it has immense relevance for the planners as well
as the Small Tea Growers and their workers for their socio-economic upliftment.
It is but natural that an analytical and objective study is possible only
through an objective database and equally sound and appropriate methodology.
Similar attempts have also been made in this research.
26
11. DATA BASE AND METHODOLOGY:
The data for the present study are derived from two important sources:
a. Secondary Sources:
1. Tea Statistics 1999-2000. Tea Board of India: Number of Small Tea Growers
and area under Small Tea Plantations. production. present t"mployment in
tea industry etc.
2. Tea Market Annual Report and Statistics 1999, J. Thomas and Company
Private Limited: Number of Small Tea Growers and area under Tea.
3. Tea Plantation Development Scheme (Tenth Plan). Tea Board of India:
Guidelines for the formation of Self-Help Groups and nt>w policies of Tea
Board towards Small Tea Growers.
4. Manual on Rights of Tea Plantation Workers ( 1994). by S.K. Bhowmik and
V. Xaxa: Definition of 'Plantation', method of minimum wage determination
in plantation. amendment of Plantation Labour Act in 1982 etc.
5. Plantation Workers in West Bengal: Labour Gazette ( 1994). Government of
\Vest Bengal: Number. area and employment in traditional tea estates in
West Bengal.
6. Census of India 1951. 1961. 1991 and 2001: In 1951 West Bengal Map
used as historical evidence for the Transferred Areas from Bihar to West
Bengal. In 1961. number of villages and police station. area and population
are used for showing the transferred areas from Bihar to West Bengal. In
1991 and 2001, literacy, population. speakers of different languages.
composition of workers etc.
7. West Bengal Human Development Report. 2004: Used for rt'ferring at
district level data in West Bengal particularly district Uttar Dinajpur.
8. Statistical Abstract of West Bengal. 2001-2002: Data on irrigation and otht"r
district level infom1ation in West Bengal.
9. District Statistical Handbook. Uttar Dinajpur. 2001: Block level information
on land use. number of villages, population. area, literacy, socio-religious
composition, agriculture and irrigation. livestock and poultry. composition
of main and marginal workers. occupational diversification of main workers
etc.
10. National Human Development Report (2002). Planning Commission:
Consulted for selecting the indicators of living and shelter.
11. National Family Health Survey, India 1998-99. International Institute for
Population Sciences: Consulted for computing Standard of Living Index
(SLI).
12. Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Gardens in Kottayam and ldukki
(1979), Tea Board of India: History of emergence of Small Tea Plantations in
Kerala.
13. Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Gardens in Kangra (1979). Tea Board
. of India: History of emergence of Small Tea Plantations in Himachal
Pradesh.
14. Techno-Economic Survey of Nilgiris Tea Industry ( 1980). Tea Board of India:
History of Emergence of Small Tea Plantations in Nilgiris.
15. Techno-Economic Survey of Small Tea Growers in Assam ( 1997). Tea Board
of India: History of Emergence of Small Tea Plantations in Assam and
North-Eastern region.
1 6. Newspaper Articles.
1 7. Books and Journals.
27
Data collected from the above-mentioned sources contributed
si~nifkantly
in the
study and they have been used extensively in the text. But. as mentioned earlier
very little was available which could be used directly in the present research.
Hence the researcher had to explore his own data relevant to the topic through the
primary survey.
b) Some of the
primary data sources used in the present research are:
i) Unpublished reports and documents:
Study on Primary Marketing of Tea in India (2002). A.F.Ferguson and
Company. Kolkata: Price-Sharing Formula in Kenya and Sri Lanka.
number, area, and production of Smallholders in tea cultivation.
2. 48•" Annual Report 2001-2002. Tea Board of India: State-wise data of
number of Small Tea Growers received financial assistance from the Tea
Board during the Ninth Plan Period (1997-2002).
3. Enumeration of New Tea Gardens of North Bengal. Bihar and Sikkim
(200 1). Department of Tea Management, North Bengal University: Since this
is a first systematic report on Small Tea Growers and ttwir plantations in
North Bengal. therefore most of the qualitative information are consulted for
primary information and fomwlating research problem as well as selecting
the study area.
4. Report of the 4 111 Annual General Meeting. Unitf'd Fon1m of Small Tea
Growers' Associations. North Bengal: Number of Small Tea Growers.
number of BLFs. year-wise production in Small Tea Plantations in respect of
North Bengal.
5. Report of the Committee on the Tea Industry in West Bengal (2004).
Government of West Bengal: Recommendation of Price-Sharing fomlUia and
considering the workers in Small Tea Plantations as agricultural labourers.
number and area of traditional tea estates under Plantation Labour Act in
West Bengal.
6. Draft Profile of Chopra Block (2004). Uttar Dinajpur: General infom1ation
related to the block, number of Gram Panchayats. Jist of sub-villages under
census villages or mouzas etc.
7. Ref. Letter No. 2052 (8) I 1 (3). dated on 21 51 August 1998. Government of
West Bengal: Guidelines for No-objection Certificate. defining Big Tea
Gardens and Small Tea Gardens by the size of land holding etc.
8. Ref. Letter No. 3186 (8) I 1 (3). dated on 23rd July 2001. Government of
West Bengal: Land rent. cut off date for tea cultivation etc.
9. Vide letter no. 12 (23) LC I 2003 I Xll I 331 7 on 19•" January 2004. Tea
Board of India: Guidelines of Implementation of Price-Sharing Formula.
method of price determination of green leaf etc.
10. Memorandum of Settlements (MaS) between trade unions and management:
Various wage agreements. bonus agreements. agreement related to
protective clothing. paid holidays and work schedule etc-.
1.
28
ii) Fann level Schedule:
It covers mostly the questions related to the plantation age. occupation of
owner before tea cultivation, credit sources, production level. green leaf price.
number of workers and
salaried employees.
bonus system.
incidence of
absenteeism and turnover etc.
iii} Worker level Schedule:
It includes different types of workers, commuting distance. wage rate, malefemale wage differences, dynamics of work culture, effective working hours.
seasonal income variation of a worker, occupational health hrur...ards and diseases.
role of trade union etc.
iv} Household level Schedule:
It consists of the relevant questions related to house type. different sources
of drinking water, availability of sanitary toilet. energy for cooking and lighting.
work availability and out migration, household assets. consumption level. food
sufficiency. savings and indebtedness etc.
v} Interviews and Focus Group Discussion:
Personal interview consists of mostly schoolteachers. members of gram
panchayat, tea board officials, trade union leaders, doctors. organizers of self-help
groups and growers associations. One Focus Group Discussion (discussed in
Third Chapter) was conducted with the members of Premchandgach Sabuj Small
Tea Growers Society at Premchandgach. Chopra Uttar Dinajpur district on 24th
December 2005.
Collection of data from different sources particularly primary data is an
arduous task, even though researcher could manage to unfold the existing
realities by frequent visits in the field with lot of efforts and struggles during the
year 2004 and 2005. The grass-root level institutions were identified for the
present study and approached with many commitments and consent given by the
investigator, relevant offices supplied unpublished data. The following institutions
are visited repeatedly and consulted during innumerable number of field visits for
collecting the unpublished primary data related to Small Tea Plantations for
preparing a common data base:
29
1. Land Rcfom1s Department, Government of West Bengal.
2. Directorate of Tea development. Tea Board of India. Kolkata.
3. Tea Board Regional Office, Siliguri.
4. North Bengal Small Tea Planters' Association. Siliguri.
5. United Forum of Small Tea Growers' Associations. Bagdogra. Darjceling.
6. Subdivisional Land & Land Reforms Office, lslampur. Uttar Dinajpur.
7. District Land & Land Reforms Office, kamajora. Uttar Dinajpur.
B. West Dinajpur Cha Bagicha Sramik Union. Chopra. Uttar Dinajpur (CITU).
9. National Union of Plantation Workers. Chopra. uttar Dinajpur (INTUC).
10. Premchandgach Sabuj Small Tea Growers' Society. Chopra. Uttar Dinajpur
(SHG).
11. Siliguri Tea Auction Committee. Mallaguri, Siliguri.
12. Tea Research Association, Terai Branch, Bengdubi. Darjeeling
13. Block Seed Farm. Dalua. Chopra. Uttar Dlnajpur
14. Subdivisional Adoptive Research Farm, lslampur. Uttar Dinajpur.
The present study was conducted during the months of July 2004 and
January. February and March 2005 in Islampur subdivision of Uttar Dinajpur
district. West Bengal State, which was purposely selected as it comes under those
districts of the State where STPs are reported. The study primarily hinges on
fieldwork and field studies. It was planned to take up 5 per cent of total 309
numbers of Small Tea Plantations in the study area. The list of the plantations in
the study area is given in the Appendix-H. The Small Tea Plantations are
categorized into three groups i.e. <5 acres as Family Farms. 5-15 acres as OwnerSupervisory Farms. and 15-25 acres as Staff-Supervisory Farms63. Figure-1.2
clearly presents the work organisation and the specific characteristics in each
category of farms under study. Samples of 15 Small Tea Plantations are selected
randomly with 5 farms from each group (Table-1.1 ). A total of 15 farms situated in
different localities in Islampur Subdivision are investigated (Table-1.2). These 15
farms are selected randomly from all the three blocks and studied at the farmlevel. In all the 15 farms two male workers and two female workers were selected
purposely consisting 60 workers in all at the worker-level.
63
Family Farms are defined as those farms which are managed collectively by all the
family members of the farm and have the presence of family labour as well as hired labour:
Owner-Supervisory Farms are managed by the farm owner individually including
technical advice and work schedule and have the presence of hired labour: Staff.
Supervisory Farms are fully managed by staffs either technical advice or work schedule
or even weekly labour payments and have the presence of hired labour.
30
TABLE-1.1
NUMBER AND AREA OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF FARMS IN ISLAMPUR
SUBDIVISION
(2001(
Farm Size
(In acres)
0/o of
Number
Ofo of
Area
of Farms
Categ()ry
(In acres)
Farms
Area
Family Farm
60
<5
198.71
16.75
I. 71
5-15
Owner-Supervisory Farm
169
1503.18
47.20
12.97
StafT-Suoervisorv Farm
15-25
80
1699.58
22.34
14.66
Large Farm
25 and above
49
8184.93
13.68
70.64
Total
4
358
11586.4
100.0
100.0
(For the present study farms below 25 acres only are taken into constderatlon, t.e. Famtly
Farms. Owner-Supervisory Farms. and Staff-Supervisory Farms are included under study
while Large Farms with 25 acres and above are excluded)
Source: Unpublished data collected from District Land Reforms Office. Raiganj. Uttar
Dinajpur
FIGURE-1.2
SAMPLE DESIGN: A SIMPLIFIED MODEL• SHOWING WORK ORGANISATION IN
SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS
I
J
Small Tea Plantations
~
~
Family Farm
(< 5 acres)
Owner-Supervisory
Farm
(5- 15 acres)
Staff-Supervisory
Farm
(15-25 acres)
Family and
Hired Labour
Owner
Owner
Munsi
Hired Labour
I Manager
I Supervisor
Munsi
l
• Author's explWlaLion based on field survey
31
Hired Labour
Schedules are prepared for the farm-owners and workers separately where
the owners (Small Growers) of the Small Tea Plantations and their workers
themselves are respondents to produce clarity of Small Tea Plantations of the
present study. For analytical purposes, the workers are divided into migrant and
local workers as Small Tea Plantations consist of both types of workers. The
interview schedule consists of close-ended and open-ended questions relating to
socio-economic conditions, reasons for migration, period of employment, nature of
employment, wages, working hours, working and living conditions. occupational
health problems etc. This is done with the objective of highlighting areas of
concern and to identify possible policy implications for the betterment of the
workers engaged in the Small Tea Plantations.
TABLE-1.2
SURVEYED SMALL TEA PLANTATIONS IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
lOuring July 2004 and January 20051
Area
(Acres) Mouza with location code
Name of the Farm
Name of the
Block
Staff-Supervisory Farms
23.49
Mohua (36)
Hamedi Tea Estate
GoaJpokhar-1
19.79
Andharugach (94)
Mamata Tea Plant
Chopra
18.76
Dangradangri 15)
Bidvanath Tea Garden
Chopra
23.74
Baradangapara 13)
Santosh Tea Estate
Chopra
24.78
BhaR:alpur Khas I 7)
Janaki Tea Estate
Chopra
Owner-Supervisory Farms
18.94
Purba Makrandpur (38)
Pradip Tea Garden
Chopra
5.50
Phulhara (2)
Oil Mohd. Tea Garden
Islam pur
9.20
Masid Khas (21)
Sahanaz Tea Estate
Islam pur
12.99
AriR:aon (42)
Chopra
Mel!hna Tea Estate
7.54
Arigaon (42)
Oraon Tea Plantation
Chopra
Family Farms
p•. Andharijhari (65)
3.44
Rahima Tea Garden
Chopra
3.37
Bhagalpur Khas ( 17)
Manmohini Tea Garden
Chopra
4.99
Borobilla (9)
Chopra
Raju Tea Estate
3.49
P. Andharijhari(65)
Chopra
Singh Tea Plant
3.97
P. Andharijhari (65)
Chopra
Nigamananda Tea G.
t•P means Purba, In English East!
Source: District Land Refonns Office, Karnajora, Uttar Dinajpur
At the second step, six villages are studied for household-level survey in
Islampur subdivision in Uttar Oinajpur district. This particular subdivision is a
typical region representing Plantation Villages and Non-Plantation Villages. The
subdivision has five community development blocks. It consists of Chopra,
Islampur. Goalpokhar-1. Goalpokhar-11 and Karandighi. The field study was
32
restricted to only Chopra, lslampur and Goalpok.har-1 block as Small Tea
Plantations are found in these three blocks only. In each block two villages were
selected for the household survey that consists of one plantation village and the
other is non-plantation village purposively considering spatial aspects. The two
villages from each block are selected from the same Gram Panchayat of the block
(Table-1.3). Primary data have been collected from labour households who are
residents of three plantation villages of BorobiUa. Phulhara and Mohua and three
non-plantation villages of Chitolghata. Manikpur and Barbila in Chopra. lslampur
and Goalpokhar-I blocks respectively in Islampur subdivision (Figure-1.3). The
Goalpok.har-11 and Karandighi are not chosen for study. as Small Tea Plantations
do not
-~xist
these blocks. Plantation villages are selected as most of the rural
~s
labour 1\huseholds in these villages engaged as wage earners in tea plantations
while non-plantation villages the labour households are involved in other
agricultural works. In the present research household has taken as a unit of
empirical investigation.
TABL~l.3
BLOCK WISE DISTRIBUTION OF SAMPLE VILLAGES IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
(During January-March. 2005)
Non-Plantation
Plantation
Gram Panchayats
Villages with
Block I Subdivision
Vlllages with
location code
location code
Borobilla (9)
Chitolghata ( 1)
Chopra
Haptiagach
Phulhara (2)
lslam_Q_ur
Raml.!anj-)
Manikpur (1)
Goalpokhar-1
Mohua (36)
Barbila (37)
Mohua
Goalpokhar-11•
Karandi,ghi*
3
Islampur
3
3
t• No Small Tea Plantations eXIst m these blocks, hence no vtllages are selected for study m
the said blocks)
33
Distribution of Surveyed Villages
in Islampur Subdivision
Druj«Hn!'_,( , - -
+
N
"'~.,/,~'"CHOPRA
BLO~
BOROBIL~K
.
0
0
•
CHITOLGHATA
CHOPRA
IW
/'-.,~
-<- '<-'<-
~PUR
~
. "-.. . .
~OALPOKH';:;;;..vj
ISLAMPUR BLOCK
0 PHULHARA
0 MANIKPUR
<Q
r~
B A N G LAD E S H
.~
r
1 r
~IGHIBW:~
~ ,f• ~~<;,KHUA
1
/
,/
~ '0
)
BARBILA
~GOALPOKHAR
CHAKULIA.
GOALPOKHAR- 11
BLOCK~
e
KARANDIGHj'
)
~~~1sion
0
SURVEYED VILLAGE
I
\
0
Source: District Census Handbook,
1991 , West Dinajpur
10
20
Figure 1.3
}
\
30 Kms .
The spatial aspects are given prime importance while classifying Household
Economy. It is worth mentioning here that there are two types of topographic
feature in the study area. i.e. the Dangis and the Nichwtparas. The Dangis are
related to plantation villages while The Nichanparas are associated with nonplantation villages. The Labour Household Economy is defined by taking 120
labour households altogether distributed over six villages ffable-1.4). The labour
households are defmed as those who derive the major share of their incomes in
the form agricultural wages. i.e. from work on lands belonging to others. This
particular landless agricultural labourers constitutes the bulk of the rural
proletariat and they neither own land nor hold any as tenants. It is further
stratified into two categories. i.e. Plantation Labour Household Economy. and NonPlwttation Labour Household
Economy (Figure-1.4). The labour households
associated with the Small Tea Plantations and the non-associated labour
households (engaged other agricultural work) are equal in number for the
household survey to assess the impact of employment conditions in the Small Tea
Plantations on the household economy in the study area. 60 labour households of
20 each distributed in Borobilla. Phulhara. Mohua village corresponding to the
Dwtgi Micro-Region are considered as 'Plantation Labour Household Economy·.
and other 60 labour households of 20 each distributed in Chitolghata. Manikpur.
and Barbila village corresponding to the Nichanpara Micro-Region are considered
to define as 'Non-Plantation Labour Household economy·. The labour households
were identified with the help of Gram Panchayat members and Pradhan of the
respective Gram Panchayat. A schedule is framed for household survey consisting
socio-economic characteristics of the household. And fmally with the help of
prepared schedules Plantation Labour Households in the plantation villages and
Non-Plantation Labour Households in the non-plantation villages are studied to
understand the condition of house. work availability and livelihood strategies in
the
locality.
household
assets.
consumption
vulnerability.
35
expenditure.
and
household
TABLE-1.4
LABOUR HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
Na111e of
Village
Micro Region
Selected
Number of
Households
20
20
20
20
20
20
Selection Criteria of Labour
Households
Dangis*
Borobilla
Plantation Labour Houst>holds
and Non-Plantation Labour
!High Lands)
Phulahara
Households are identified with
Mohua
the help of local Gram
Nichanparas••
Chitol.e;hata
Panchayat Members and Otht>r
!Low-lying Lands) Manikpur
key informants e.g. school
Barbila
Teachers, village Old man etc.
120
Total
durin,!!; Jan-Feb 2005
I* Dangt regiOn represents the Plantation Labour Household Economy and•• Nichanpara
region represent Non-Plantation Labour Household Economy)
Note: Author's Explanation
FIGURE-1.4
A MODEL SHOWING• THE SPATIAL DIMENSION OF LABOUR HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY
IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
Isla.mpur Subdivision
Dang is
Non-Plantation Labour
Household Economy
Plantation Labour
Household Economy
• Author's explanation based on field survey
Households are surveyed in villages consisting sub-villages. These are listed
in Table-S. BorobUla, Paltan. Puratu.gach. Churaman, Chachpara, Dhura, Adalgach,
Verosthan, Mannabasti. and Natu.atol are studied for Plantation Labour Household
economy and
Kqjigach,
Sripokhar.
Goabari.,
Binnabari.,
Madaripur,
Tarigach,
Manikpur, Uttar Barbila. Paschim Barbila. and Dakshin Barbila are studied for
Non-Plantation Labour Household Economy.
36
TABL&-1.5
LIST OF SUB-VILLAGES COVERED UNDER STUDY
Micro Region
NaDle of
Name of Sub-villages covered
Villa~e
Dang is
!High Lands!
Nichanparas
!Low-lying Lands!
Borobilla
Phulahara
Mohua
Chitol$!hata
Manikpur
Barbila
Borobilla. Paltan. Puratu$!ach. & churaman
Chach_Q_ara. Dhura. & Adal$!ach
Verosthan. Mannabasti. & Natuatol
Kaii$!ach. Sripokhar. Goabari. & Binnabari
Madaripur. Tari$!ach. & Manikpur
Uttar. Paschim. & Dakshin Barbila
The sources of data were. on the one hand. the reports of the selected
institutions, and other hand, a number of personal interviews carried out with
representative member of these institutions. First, investigator had access to
intemal reports and publications and, more particularly. reports conceming
annual activities from all the institutions. Although the quality of the information
received varied significantly from one institution to another. researcher was able to
create a common data base which provided detailed information about a number
of characteristic features such as the creation of the institution. its organization,
activities. ex1:emal contacts. and its relationship with different localities in the
North Bengal. In addition, open-ended interviews were conducted with key
members of local institutions (Table-1.6). Each interview lasted approximately two
hours and was recorded in the field diary and later transcribed for analysis. The
aim of this empirical study is not to find a precise or quantitative impact of the
existence of the local institutions on performance. The objective is to provide a
better understanding of the mechanisms through which local institutions provide
knowledge resources that are relevant to the innovation process of farms and how
they can help farms to overcome certain
to exploring activities.
37
limitatio~s.
in particular those referring
TABLE-1.6
INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED OF KEY INFORMANTS IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION
!Durin~ January-March 20051
S.L.
No.
1.
Name of the Person
S.K. Pal
Designation
Development Officer, Tea Board Regional Office.
Sili~uri.
2.
Netai Majumdar
Secretary,
Association.
3.
Bijoy G.Chakraborty
4.
Safirul Haque
5.
Ashok Roy
6.
Hasibur Rahaman
7.
Haridas Bhowmik
8.
Mahatab Alam
9.
Dil Mohammad
10.
Tohidur Rahaman
11.
Digen Singha
North
Bengal
Small
Tea
Planters·
Sili~uri.
Joint Convener, United Forum of Small Tea
Growers' Associations, Ba~do~ra.
Assistant Secretary, West Dinajpur Cha Bagieha
Sramik Union, Uttar Dinajpur.
Secretary, National Union of Plantation Workers,
Uttar Dinajpur.
Pradhan, Haptiagach Gram panchayats-1. Chopra
Block. Uttar Dinajpur.
Primary Teacher. village- Mangach, Kalagach,
Chopra Block, Uttar Dinajpur.
Homeopathic Doctor. village- Das para. Chopra
Block, Uttar Dinajpur.
Activist, Small Tea Growers' Associations,
Ram~anj, Uttar Dinajpur.
School,
Teacher-in-Charge,
Manivita
High
Goalpokhar-1 Block. Uttar Dinajpur.
President, Premchandgaeh Sabuj Small Tea
Growers Society, Uttar Dinajpur.
Besides the survey with help of the schedules. interviews of relevant
persons conducted by the investigator during fieldwork helped to verify the
reliability, validity and authenticity of the field data and information. Personal
observation also played an important role in collection of relevant information for
writing the thesis. The author. being the member of a family having Small Tea
Plantation and also being local inhabitant of the region. has also included own
experiences and information in writing the thesis. Though. the field study is a
difficult, arduous and time consuming task, yet, it is essential for collection of
primary data and for personal acquaintance of the investigator with the field
situation and the research problems existing there. It is also fruitful as the scholar
could enrich his knowledge and experience on different practical problems faced
by the small growers and their workers such as role of state govemment. role of
Tea Board, role of trade unions and also role played by the different small tea
growers associations. Another constraint is that the small tea growers generally do
not keep regular accounts. therefore. the investigator had to make constant and
38
frequent visits to the farms and through persistent efforts it was possible to collect
data and relevant information.
Finally, with the help of statistical tools such as percentiles. frequencies.
averages. coefficient of variation, additive index (used in Fifth Chapter). and GIS
maps data have been summarized and a detail analysis was done on the basis of
observation made by the researcher.
12. ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY:
The presentation of the thesis has been arranged in six chapters. The
Chapter-I deals with introduction where statement of the problem. objectives,
research questions, hypothesis, significance of the study, the study area. overview
of literature. methodology and chapter scheme. Socio-Environmental setting of the
study area has been described in Chapter-H. In Chapter-III genealogy of Small Tea
Plantations have been analysed with special reference to North Bengal. In
Chapter-JV employment conditions in the Small Tea Plantations have been
described and analysed. In Chapter-V evaluates the employment conditions and
their impact on the Household Economy of the labour households. The summary
of the main conclusions are given in Chapter-VI.
39