Alipurduar, Feb. 1 -- Despite North Bengal being represented by four BJP MPs, the Union Budget 2026 has failed to offer any relief to the region's tea industry-the backbone of its economy. The budget, presented by Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, made no provision for a special package, subsidy, tax relief, or financial incentive for the struggling sector.

North Bengal's tea belt spans the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur. The region has around 334 tea gardens, employs nearly 4.5 lakh workers, and produces close to 300 million kilograms of tea annually.

Industry stakeholders had hoped for measures such as a minimum floor price, tax waivers, export incentives, subsidies, and steps to curb illegal tea imports from Nepal. However, none of these demands found mention in the budget. Small tea growers reacted sharply to the omission. Bijoy Gopal Chakroborty, president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association, said nearly 50,000 small growers in North Bengal had been ignored. "The tea industry has been incurring huge losses for the past two years. Without government intervention, the crisis cannot be overcome. We expected some relief this year, but the budget offers no direct support to small tea growers, who contribute nearly 55 per cent of India's total tea production," he said.

Tea workers' unions echoed similar concerns. Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union (TCBSU) chairman Nakul Sonar alleged that several earlier assurances remained unfulfilled. "In 2021, Rs.1,000 crore was announced for North Indian tea, but the funds never reached the gardens. Student stipends have stopped, and four centrally acquired tea gardens in Jalpaiguri have not paid wages or provident fund dues for a long time," he said, questioning the silence of BJP MPs elected with tea garden support.

Rajya Sabha Trinamool Congress MP Prakash Chikbaraik said tea workers would respond politically. "I am the son of a tea worker. Policies framed in Delhi are endangering Bengal's tea industry. Over four lakh workers will judge this budget, and we will take this message to the people," he said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.