Guwahati: Tea tourism in Assam is all set to get a major facelift with the state government providing Rs 50 crore in the 2022-23 budget.

"Assam is home to one of the oldest and best tea gardens in the world. Some of these tea gardens are located in picturesque surroundings with the potential to become great tourist destinations. However, accessibility and lack of lodging facilities around the tea garden come in the way and normal tourists are not able to enjoy the bounty of nature surrounding these tea gardens" Assam finance Minster Ajanta Neog said in the budget which was announced yesterday.

Since the discovery of tea in 1823, tea gardens have become an integral part of Assam’s landscape.

Each of these thousands of lush green tea gardens in Assam is a treasure house of the exotic beauty of nature with colourful people and their enchanting songs and dances, sprawling bungalows, and residential facilities. Many of these tea gardens have polo fields and golf courses. There are a few airstrips and helipads maintained by the tea garden management.

There have been individual initiatives to develop tea tourism earlier, but this is for the first time that the state government had shown keen interest in tea tourism.

The finance minister said the government has proposed to provide capital infrastructure support for building guest houses/tourist facility inside the tea garden upto Rs 2 crore each to 50 selected tea gardens during 2022 -23 to promote tea tourism. The tea gardens will also be permitted to undertake non-tea cultivation activities such as agro-forestry, solar power projects, etc which will also add to their income.

 " This is a very positive and a proactive step. The state govt has given the right thrust and now it is upto us to make it happen. We are pleased to inform you that Durrung tea estate in Sonitpur district has already submitted is Expression of Interest along with the detailed project report to the Chairman and MD of Assam Tourism Development Corporation respectively on March 14" Mrityunjay Jalan MD of Durrung tea estate said. Durrung tea estate belongs to Jalan Industries of Dibrugarh.

The Indian Tea Association, said the decision to extend infrastructural assistance of Rs 2 crores per garden to 50 tea gardens in 2022-23 for building guest houses/tourist facilities in tea gardens will provide the much-required boost to Tea

Tourism and will help in augmenting income for the tea gardens.

"Other Budget announcements such as promoting non-tea commercial activities like agro forestry, solar power projects and taking over of primary schools, etc. are all laudable steps for the long term sustainability of the Assam Tea Sector," the association said.

 The industry expresses its deep gratitude to the Government of Assam for favourably considering its submission and extending the exemption on payment of Cess on Green Leaf for a further period of three years with effect from 1st January 2022. "The industry is going through a period of acute financial stress and the exemption granted on Green Leaf Cess will provide the necessary relief" it said.