Guwahati: Two historic Assam tea estates, Chinamara and Bholaguri, are slated to vanish as the Assam government has decided to allot their land for a new satellite township and a university.

This move marks a significant blow to the state’s tea industry and its heritage, signaling a potential end for the 53-year-old Assam Tea Corporation (ATC), an institution that has been a cornerstone of the state.

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Controversial Leadership and Disinvestment

The fate of the tea estates is unfolding amidst controversy surrounding the ATC’s leadership. Rakesh Agarwal, the managing director, remains in his position despite his alleged lack of enterprise management experience in the tea industry.

Under his tenure, the ATC has already leased ten of its tea plantations to private entities, with five more—including Chinamara and Bholaguri—now facing a similar future. The government’s decision to repurpose the land of these two estates has shocked many, as they hold immense historical value.

The Chinamara Tea Estate in Jorhat is a memorial to Maniram Dewan, a pioneer of Assam’s tea industry, while the Bholaguri Tea Estate at Gohpur in the Bishwanath district commemorates Jyotiprasad Agarwala, a celebrated cultural icon of Assam. Jyotiprasad Agarwala shot Assam’s first Assamese feature film, Joymoti, in 1935 at the Bholaguri Tea Estate.

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The Bholaguri tea estate factory was converted into a film studio by Jyotiprasad Agarwala to shoot Joymoti. Image credit: Mauli Senapati

A Broken Promise and a Bleak Future

Previously, the government had excluded these two heritage plantations from a list of twelve to be leased, proposing to instead develop them into heritage sites. However, a recent cabinet decision now allows for 10% of plantation land to be used for other purposes, paving the way for the demise of these two historic tea estates.

Sources reveal that the Chinamara plantation will be transformed into a satellite township and a tourist spot. Simultaneously, the Bholaguri garden will be used for the proposed Kankalata University. Sources said these plans have been confirmed, and both plantations have already been taken over by the state government.

The current state of the ATC is precarious, as it sold its own building years ago and now operates from a rented space. The corporation’s dwindling assets include three other plantations: one in Cachar (Langai), one in Nagaon (Amlakhi), and one in Mariani (Chaikata). The government plans to lease these as well, despite a previous failed attempt to lease the Amlakhi plantation, which was returned to the ATC by private owners who couldn’t manage it.

Politicization of the ATC Board

Further compounding the crisis is the recent appointment of the ATC’s Board of Directors. In a surprising move, the government appointed five BJP workers from the tea community—Jitu Kishan, Meena Chahu, Rabi Bala, Parbati Kurmi, and Siddharth Rajkhowa—to the board. Critics argue that these individuals have no prior knowledge of plantation management, a departure from the previous practice of appointing senior government officials from the Industries, Finance, and Labor Welfare departments.

This shift in leadership, coupled with the government’s aggressive leasing policy and lack of plans for the rehabilitation of workers, has created a sense of panic among employees. The current situation suggests the government has little interest in reviving the ATC, instead opting to dismantle its assets and hand them over to private or state-led development projects.