The Supreme Court of India commended paying an approximate amount of 650 crores INR to 28,556 workers of around 25 tea gardens in Assam. The tea gardens also include those owned by Assam Tea Company Limited (ATCL).
The report was submitted by retired justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, and a bench of justices, MR Shah and CT Ravi Kumait, approved the same. The authorities appointed the bench in January 2020 to accumulate and pay for the dues of the tea garden workers in the state.
According to the reports, the approximate payable amount comes at 414.7 INR dues, and the payable to the Provident Fund department stands at 230.7 crores INR.
Amidst the filing of cases, the Supreme Court ordered that the payments must be cleared in a certain time frame after conducting a proper identification process of the workers. Reportedly, in 2018, the Assam government paid around 99 crores INR under the court’s order.
However, Assam objected to the report, and the payable amount stood according to the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission. Recently, the Supreme Court of India fast-tracked the process and ordered the state to respect the justice committee and pay the said amount as early as possible.
