By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 17 Dec: Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat chaired a meeting of the Tea Development Board at his official residence, here, today. On the occasion, he directed that the Headquarter of the Board be established in Gairsain, the Summer Capital. The DM, Chamoli, was asked to find land for this purpose.
The decision was taken to establish four new factories to provide a market for farmers’ products. A committee will be formed to determine the Minimum Sale Price for tea leaves, which would be done annually and be applicable at the farm gate.
The CM was of the opinion that tea-gardens be developed and then handed over to the farmers, with technical expertise made available when required. A working model is to be prepared in this regard in the next month. He said that attempts ought to be made to reopen private tea factories that are closed for some reason.
It was also decided that the Tea Development Board would meet four times a year. The tea gardens could also become tourist attractions. It was reported that the Board had developed 1387 hectares of tea plantations, thus far, in the nine hill districts by taking land on lease from 3882 farmers. As many as 4000 workers, seventy percent of them women were involved. The tea was being marketed under the Uttarakhand Tea brand. The products included organic, inorganic, orthodox black and green tea, and were being marketed in various ways.
Present on the occasion were Horticulture Minister Subodh Uniyal, Vice Chairman, Tea Board, Govind Singh Pilkhwal, Additional Chief Secretary Manisha Panwar, Principal Secretary Anand Vardhan, and Secretary Harbans Singh Chugh, along with senior officials.
