Guwahati, Feb 10 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the state has launched one of the most comprehensive land reform initiatives in contemporary India by granting land ownership rights to over 3.5 lakh tea garden worker families, marking a historic step towards social justice for the tea tribes community.
In a post on X, Sarma said the reform, implemented through the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 2025, addresses a long-standing injustice faced by tea garden workers who, despite generations of contribution to Assam’s iconic tea industry, never owned the land on which they lived.
“For nearly 200 years, tea garden workers grew Assam’s famous tea but had no land in their own name. They lived in labour lines inside tea estates, always under the risk of eviction if a garden closed or employment ended,” Sarma said.
Under the earlier land laws, tea estates were largely excluded from land reform measures, leaving workers outside the ambit of ownership rights.
As a result, the land beneath their homes legally belonged to tea companies, not the workers themselves.
The Chief Minister said the amended Act has fundamentally changed this reality. Under the new framework, the state government acquires labour line land from tea estates and grants land titles, or pattas, to eligible worker families.
“This transforms workers from mere occupants into rightful owners,” Sarma said.
The reform covers more than 825 tea gardens across the state and benefits over 3.5 lakh tea garden families, making it one of the largest land redistribution initiatives undertaken in recent times.
Officials said the move will ensure that workers cannot be evicted from their homes and will also make them eligible for housing benefits under schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The initiative is expected to lead to long-term socio-economic upliftment of the tea tribes community by providing housing security and access to welfare schemes.
Sarma said the initiative reflects the state’s commitment to inclusive development, even as the opposition, according to him, remains focused on “spreading cacophony.”
He asserted that Assam has chosen the path of structural reform and empowerment over rhetoric.
The Chief Minister added that the land reform is a landmark step in recognising the dignity, rights and contribution of the tea tribes community, which forms a vital pillar of Assam’s economy and cultural identity.
–IANS
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