Centre to sign phase-I SPTF loan agreement

Kolkata, Jun 17: The Centre will disburse funds worth Rs 37 crore, under the Special Purpose Tea Fund(SPTF), to 58 out of 304 gardens in Bengal, to replant, rejuvenate the ageing tea bushes and increase quality production.

The Centre would sign the second phase of loan agreement in Bengal on June 29 after the first one on June 25 in Asom.

Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh would disburse the fund.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Union Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi would be present on June 29, the day the the first phase of funds would be disbursed in North Bengal.

Leading Tea companies were making beeline for the Rs 4700 crore Special Purpose Tea Fund. Tata Tea, Mcleod Russel India, Warren Tea, Dhunseri Tea, among others, have applied for the fund.

Talking to UNI, Tea Board Chairman Basudeb Banerjee today said that the first tranche of agreement under SPTF would also be signed on June 25 in Guwahati.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Union Minister for development of the NE Mani Shankar Aiyar would be present in Guwahati on that day.

The actual loan disbursement would depend on the appraisals on SBI Capital Markets, he said. The loan requirement for the current year had been estimated at Rs 167.56 crore and subsidy at Rs 89.64 crore.

Asom would get 50 per cent of the total Rs 4700 crore fund, followed by West Bengal at 25 per cent, Kerala and Tamil Nadu at 25 per cent each. The Centre would give 25 per cent of subsidy, garden owners would give 25 per cent while the rest 50 per cent would be soft loan component.

The Union Commerce Ministry aims to bring in 11,000 hectares of land under replantation and another 2,800 hectares under rejuvenation in the current fiscal.

UNI