Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended the 10th triennial state conference of Sadou Asom Khudra Chah Khetiyok Santha (small tea growers union) at Golaghat as the chief guest and urged the small tea growers of the state to put in concerted effort to produce quality tea and keep Assam tea’s glory intact at the world stage.
Saying that youth must be involved in agriculture and organic farming, the chief minister stated that Assam tea is renowned world over for its rich flavour and aroma and all stakeholders must work hard to keep its quality intact and must not let it deteriorate.
“We must sustain reputation and quality of Assam tea by undertaking best practices and nearly 1.30 lakh small tea growers in the state must stay united under a common platform to achieve success at the world stage,” he added.
He said that the government has decided to give land pattas to the small tea growers because the sons of the soil must have the ownership over their lands and this sense of ownership would result in improved result in cultivation.
‘Sabka sath sabka vikash’ is the guiding mantra of the government and no section of people would be left behind as the state is embarking on this journey of inclusive growth, he added.
Allowance of Rs 1000 per month to divyangs in the state, senior citizen pensions all eligible beneficiaries irrespective of BPL or APL status, increase in salary of village heads and anganwadi workers, help to 1,26,000 SHGs under Kanaklata scheme, smart phones to line sardars were some of the key initiatives of the state government, he said.
“In the aftermath of demonetisation, 8 lakh people from tea community came forward to open bank accounts and set an example in adopting formal banking system in such large numbers. State government is giving 2500 Rs to each bank account of tea community members and another 2500 would also be deposited. The tea community has highlighted Assam’s name at the world stage by producing high quality tea since so many years and we must thank them for their contribution to the state’s economy” he said.
Saying that Advantage Assam: Global Investors’ Summit was successful in highlighting Assam’s potential as a global investment destination and pitching Assam as the gateway to SE Asia, Sonowal stated that youth must be attracted towards agriculture and they must be encouraged to take up agriculture with modern technology. He also urged the Small Tea Growers’ Association to not limit themselves only to making demands to the government and they must strive hard to fulfill their responsibility in developing the state’s economy.
