West Bengal Allocates ₹313 Crore for Tea Garden Workers Under Central Scheme After Years of Delay

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on July 5, 2026 announced an allocation of ₹313.30 crore for tea gardens in north Bengal under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana’ (PMCSPY). The scheme, fully funded by the central government, aims to improve education, healthcare, and infrastructure for tea garden workers and their families.

Of the total allocation, ₹177 crore will be used to boost educational infrastructure and quality interventions for tea workers' families. ₹72 crore will be invested to upgrade health facilities and ensure robust medical services in tea garden areas. Additionally, ₹63 crore will be allocated for building 321 resting sheds—88 in the hills and 233 in the plains. The North Bengal Development Department will execute the plan in coordination with the Health Department, Paschim Banga Samagra Siksha Mission, and district administrations.

The PMCSPY was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2021-22, with a corpus of ₹1,000 crore for better schools, healthcare, and housing for tea garden workers in Assam and West Bengal. Speaking in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026, Sitharaman stated that Assam had implemented the scheme and received ₹293 crore, benefiting over seven lakh workers from 800 tea gardens across 18 districts. She added that West Bengal did not implement the scheme, denying benefits to more than 3.79 lakh tea garden workers.

During the previous Trinamool Congress government, several centrally sponsored schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, PM Kisan, and PM Awaas Yojana, were either withheld or not implemented. In the case of PMCSPY, the scheme was not rolled out because the State Level Committee (SLC), a prerequisite for implementation, had not been formed. Tea Board officials confirmed that the scheme is fully funded by the Centre, and the state's role was limited to implementation.

West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, while presenting the state budget on June 22, 2026, announced the implementation of PMCSPY in collaboration with the central government. He also proposed the establishment of a Tea Workers Development Board to oversee welfare measures.

However, the Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS), a tea workers' union, criticized the allocation. In a press statement, the union noted that the scheme also addresses social security, healthcare, housing, education, nutrition, and livelihood diversification. It argued that the ₹314 crore allocation for 3.5 lakh workers amounts to just ₹9,000 per head, which it called insufficient.

West Bengal's tea gardens, concentrated in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar districts, face multiple challenges. About 20 to 25 gardens are closed, and there have been reports of malnutrition-related deaths in recent years. More than 3.5 lakh workers depend on the approximately 250 major tea gardens in the region. The new allocation aims to address long-standing issues in education and healthcare infrastructure.