by Sudip Sharma Chowdhury 

Guwahati : Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today firmly asserted that people of the State would never allow any vested interest group to tarnish the image of Assam tea. He said that several lakh people associated with the tea sector in Assam and the State government would remain strictly vigilant and leave no stone unturned to foil the conspiracy hatched against Assam tea.

The Chief Minister made this assertion while distributing land pattas to 471 small tea growers of Dibrugarh district and laying the foundation stone for a district science centre in a programme held at Khanikar in Dibrugarh today. Noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the public meeting held at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district on Sunday made a statement that a conspiracy at international level was hatched to malign the image of Assam tea. Chief Minister Sonowal said that by providing land pattas to 471 small tea growers of Dibrugarh district, the government established their rights over the land of an area measuring 2778 bighas. He said that the small tea growers realized the potential of the field very late and took up cultivation of tea approximately after 160 years of discovery of tea in Assam.

He further said that no government earlier internalized the suffering of the small tea growers even though he raised the issue of providing land patta to small tea growers while he was an MLA from Moran LAC. The Chief Minister further assured to positively look into the issues raised by the small tea growers including survey of land of small tea growers, timely supply of fertilizers, promoting use of organic fertilizer, exposure tour for small tea growers etc. Moreover, Chief Minister Sonowal said that the society could be free from superstition only through widespread promotion of scientific knowledge.

He urged the people to realize the power of science and build up scientific temperament to rid the society from the grasp of superstition. Underlining the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for popularizing science and technology in the country, Chief Minister Sonowal said that the benefits of science was permeated to the farmers through soil health card which linked the laboratory with the land. Sonowal further said that direct transfer of benefits (DBT) of government schemes eliminated middlemen culture. He praised the Indian scientists for discovering the Covid vaccine, which he termed was a glaring example of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Minister of Science & Technology Keshav Mahanta in his speech informed that the Assam government undertook an initiative to set up science centre in each district and works for 22 such centres were in advance stages.

Minister of State (i/c) for Revenue & Disaster Management Jogen Mohan while speaking in the programme said that the government provided land patta to small tea growers fixing premium of rupees one thousand per bigha upto 30 bigha land. He also informed that steps were taken to provide land patta upto 75 bigha on appropriate zonal valuation of land. The Minister further informed that in Dibrugarh district, altogether 14,216 local landless families were provided land pattas during the period of the present State government. While DC Dibrugarh Pallav Gopal Jha delivered the welcome address, Secretary of Science & Technology department Hemen Das also spoke on the occasion. MP Pradan Baruah, MLAs Prashanta Phukan, Rituparna Baruah, Teros Gowala, Naren Sonowal and Bimal Bora, CEM of Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council Dipu Ranjan Makrari, chairmen and vice-chairmen of various boards and corporations including Bikul Deka, Punakon Baruah, Subhas Dutta and Hemaprava Borthakur, president of Dibrugarh Zila Parishad Daisy Rani Phukan Shyam, general secretary of All Assam Small Tea Growers Association Karuna Mahanta, small tea grower beneficiaries and students were present in the programme.