Guwahati: The Supreme Court has directed the Assam government to address the prolonged dues owed to workers of the financially struggling Assam Tea Corporation Ltd. (ATCL).
The state is required to pay ₹70 crore in two equal installments of ₹35 crore each, following a proposal accepted by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.
The court set a timeline for the payments, mandating the first installment be cleared by June 30, 2024, and the second by June 30, 2026.
It emphasized that the disbursed funds must be distributed among ATCL workers on a pro-rata basis by the competent authorities.
The bench also stated that the state government’s liability would only be determined after the ₹70 crore payment is completed.
This decision follows the Assam government’s December 2022 submission, proposing the two-tranche payment plan, and seeking additional time to file an affidavit.
During the hearing, the court requested the ATCL chairman to provide an inventory of the corporation’s movable and immovable assets.
This step follows the state’s assertion that it lacked the financial capacity to inject further funds into the loss-making enterprise, which operates 14 tea estates.
Ravi Kota, then Chief Secretary of Assam, informed the court that the state had made efforts to rescue ATCL but concluded that further investment was unfeasible.
The state cabinet had determined that additional financial aid to the corporation would not be prudent.
In light of the circumstances, the bench suggested the possibility of selling the 14 tea gardens to settle the dues owed to employees, including provident fund contributions.
The court’s intervention stems from a long-standing contempt petition filed in 2012 by the International Union of Food and Agriculture Workers.
The petition arose after non-compliance with a 2010 Supreme Court order to pay the workers’ dues and pensionary benefits.
In 2020, a committee appointed by the court estimated total dues at ₹414.73 crore, with an additional ₹230 crore owed towards provident funds.
Subsequently, on February 7, 2023, the Supreme Court directed the payment of ₹650 crore to 28,556 workers across 25 tea gardens in Assam, including the 15 estates under ATCL’s management and several private gardens.
This latest directive marks a significant step toward resolving the prolonged financial distress faced by ATCL workers, offering a timeline for the disbursement of pending dues.