Supreme Court instructed the Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL) on Thursday, November 14 to provide a comprehensive list of all its assets by December 7, as part of an ongoing case concerning unpaid wages for tea garden workers
The Court’s directive came after it was made clear that the Assam state government, which created ATCL, is no longer in a financial position to assist the corporation. The state’s Chief Secretary, Ravi Kota, revealed that the total dues owed to workers currently amount to approximately ₹ 70 crore, with the state unable to provide further support due to severe financial constraints.
The dispute dates back to 2006, when the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers filed a petition demanding the payment of overdue wages and benefits for workers in Assam’s tea gardens. Despite the Supreme Court issuing an order in 2010 to disburse the dues, the payments remained incomplete, resulting in the present contempt petition filed in 2012. In 2020, a committee headed by retired Justice AM Sapre was appointed to calculate the total dues, revealing that ₹ 414.73 crore were owed to workers, with an additional ₹ 230.69 crore owed to the Provident Fund Department.
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