NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh will meet Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, his Cabinet colleagues, Members of Parliament from the State and trade union leaders over the next two days in a bid to arrive at a political consensus on reopening nine tea gardens of Kerala on the lines of the Kannan Devan Hill Plantation Company (KDHP).

Another option

Briefing mediapersons here on Tuesday ahead of his two-day tour of Kerala, Mr. Ramesh said another option — the Dugrabari Tea Plantation Company in Tripura example — would also be offered to the stakeholders. In this case, the closed tea gardens had been taken over by a workers' cooperative.

"The Left Government and trade unions may have objections to the KDHP as the Tatas have 26 per cent stake in the company." As far as the Ministry is concerned, the KDHP is the preferred model because it is a "professionally managed worker-owned company". Though both models have proved to be successful, the KDHP model would work well for Kerala as the tea gardens of the State are larger than the ones in Tripura.

Mr. Ramesh said he had recently written to the Chief Minister suggesting that 5 per cent of the area in tea gardens be used for floriculture, cultivation of medicinal plans and other agriculture crops besides tourism. This would improve the profitability and sustainability of the tea industry in the State.

Reminding Mr. Achuthanandan that the Kerala Assembly had amended the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, in 2004 to allow this, he said Presidential assent for this amendment would require a fresh communication from the Left Democratic Front Government in view of the change of guard in the State.

Besides reopening the tea gardens, Mr. Ramesh will also discuss a proposal to replant 70,000 hectares of pepper over five years, primarily in Idukki and Wayanad districts.

A collaborative effort of the State Government and Spices Board, budgetary allocation for this scheme has been provided under the National Horticulture Mission.

Though coconut and cashew do not fall under the purview of his Ministry, he will also hold discussions on improving the productivity of these two crops during the visit beginning Wednesday.

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