6 hrs ago
Assistance Forms Reach Workers at Three Closed Tea Estates
Three tea gardens in Alipurduar are closed, leaving many workers without regular work.
The state labour department has started giving workers forms to apply for financial help.
The program is called FAWLOI.
Eligible workers are supposed to receive ₹1,500 each month.
About 4,400 workers may receive this support.
Their forms will be checked by a state committee.
Citu says workers should also receive money for the months they already missed.
The BJP says the government began the process within four months of taking office.
The state labour department began distributing FAWLOI application forms on Wednesday at three closed Alipurduar tea estates.
Bundapani has been closed since March 2025, while Kalchini and Raimatang shut on December 24, 2025.
About 4,400 workers are expected to receive the monthly assistance of ₹1,500.
Applications will be sent to a state-level screening committee before funds are sanctioned.
Citu welcomed the move but demanded payments from each garden’s closure date, while the BJP defended the government’s timing.
- Who
- Workers at the Bundapani, Kalchini and Raimatang tea estates; the state labour department; Citu; and BJP MP Manoj Tigga.
- What
- The labour department began distributing forms for the Financial Assistance to Workers of Locked Out Industries scheme.
- Where
- Three closed tea estates in Alipurduar district: Bundapani, Kalchini and Raimatang.
- When
- The distribution began Wednesday, after the chief minister visited the district on Tuesday.
- Why
- To allow workers at the closed estates to apply for monthly FAWLOI assistance of ₹1,500.
Worker advocates
Government supporters
When payments should begin
Worker advocates
Citu welcomed the application process but demanded that assistance be paid retrospectively from the dates the tea gardens closed.
Government supporters
The government has begun the application and screening process; BJP MP Manoj Tigga highlighted that it started within four months of the government taking office.
Responsibility for the delay
Worker advocates
Citu focused on the fact that workers had gone months without receiving the ₹1,500 monthly assistance.
Government supporters
Manoj Tigga said critics should ask why the previous Trinamool government did not pay FAWLOI to these workers.
Key facts
- Scheme
- Financial Assistance to Workers of Locked Out Industries (FAWLOI)
- Monthly benefit
- ₹1,500 per worker
- Estimated beneficiaries
- Around 4,400 workers
- Bundapani closure
- Closed since March 2025; around 1,140 workers
- Kalchini closure
- Closed since December 24, 2025; around 2,003 workers
- Raimatang closure
- Closed since December 24, 2025; around 1,257 workers
- Approval process
- Completed forms will be sent to a state-level screening committee
Quotes
Bikash Mahali
Citu district secretary in Alipurduar.
“Our government is only four months old, and within this short period, our government has started the process of assisting. Opposition leaders should ask why the previous Trinamool government did not pay FAWLOI to these workers.”
telegraphindia.com
“Workers will receive FAWLOI assistance after a long period of closure. We demand that the benefit be paid from the date of closure of the gardens.”
telegraphindia.com
An unnamed source
A source discussing the delayed FAWLOI assistance and distribution of application forms.
“However, even though months have passed, workers of these gardens were not getting the monthly assistance of ₹1,500 under FAWLOI. From today (Wednesday), the labour department has started distributing application forms of the scheme among workers in these three closed gardens.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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