Only 17K of 1.2L tea workers in Jalpaiguri registered on Centre’s e-Shram portal

Jalpaiguri: Despite over 1.2 lakh permanent and temporary tea garden workers in Jalpaiguri district, only 17,337 have been registered on the Central government’s e-Shram portal. The figure, revealed by Union Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje in response to a query by Jalpaiguri MP Jayanta Ray in the Lok Sabha on July 28, has sparked fresh concerns over the Centre’s outreach among unorganised sector workers.

The e-Shram portal was launched to create a national database of informal workers and connect them to various social security schemes. However, the data paints a grim picture of implementation on the ground. Of the 17,337 registered workers in Jalpaiguri, only a fraction have received benefits: 13,695 hold ration cards, 4,896 have availed work under MGNREGA and 5,373 are enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. Alarmingly, just three workers have received support under the National Family Benefit Scheme, seven under the rural Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and only 39 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The numbers are particularly disheartening given the presence of 90 large tea estates in the district. Critics have blamed systemic flaws and poor execution. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have accused the Centre of neglecting tea garden workers. “The state government has launched the Karmosathi portal to ensure social security for tea and migrant workers and registrations are being done directly in the gardens,” said district TMC president Mahua Gope. “The Centre only makes announcements but fails to implement them.”

Echoing this, Nakul Sonar, chairman of the Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union, said: “These workers don’t even know how to withdraw money from ATMs. How are they expected to know about CSCs or link their Aadhaar for registration? The Labour Ministry’s efforts are grossly inadequate.”

The Centre, however, maintains that adequate mechanisms exist. Samar Bijay Das, an official at the Siliguri regional office of the Labour Enforcement Directorate, noted that awareness drives had been conducted, adding: “Tea workers must visit Common Service Centres (CSCs) with their Aadhaar and bank details to register. Only then can they access Central schemes.” Even within the BJP, questions are being raised. MP Jayanta Ray, who raised the issue in Parliament, admitted: “The Ministry must send officers to tea gardens to hold registration camps and conduct awareness drives. Without that, we cannot expect workers to benefit from these schemes.”