PM distributes land deeds to Assam’s tea workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (March 13, 2026) said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ended years of deprivation that Assam’s tea plantation workers faced under Congress rule by facilitating their land rights.

He ceremonially distributed land deeds to about 28,000 tea garden workers residing in the labour lines of major tea estates across poll-bound Assam. This is the first such initiative in the almost 200-year history of Assam tea.

The Prime Minister also released the 22^nd instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, transferring over ₹18,640 crore to more than 9.32 crore farmers across the country. About 19 lakh of these farmers are in Assam.

Addressing a gathering in Guwahati, Mr. Modi said that granting land rights was the BJP’s way of honouring a hardworking community.

“The hard work of tea garden workers earned Assam a place on the global stage. The aroma of the tea they grow has become India’s identity around the world. Today, the BJP and the NDA are giving them the respect and support they deserve,” he said.

He said the tea garden workers did not get land rights during the Congress rule because the party never cared for them. “The Assam government is ending this historical injustice by giving them land rights. It is clearing the road for them to get pucca houses,” he said, exhorting their children to study well and march forward in life.

The Prime Minister insisted that he was repaying a debt by honouring the tea plantation workers. “I have come this far by selling the tea you grow. Could this have been possible without your blessings?” he said.

Once believed to be a major “vote bank” of Congress, the tea plantation workers began gravitating to the BJP more than a decade ago. Their votes are crucial in eastern Assam, where Congress and its allies are expected to put up a strong fight.

In February, the State government amended the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holding Act to grant legal land rights to 3.5 lakh families of plantation workers in the labour lines of the over 800 tea estates.

According to the plan, eligible plantation workers can apply for legal ownership of land as well as homes they and their families have lived in for generations.

In another gesture, the government issued a gazette notification on March 9, increasing the minimum daily wage of tea plantation workers by ₹30. With effect from April 1, their daily wage will increase to ₹280 in the Brahmaputra Valley and ₹258 in the Barak Valley.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over ₹4,570 crore at Kokrajhar in the Bodoland Territorial Region, including a railway maintenance workshop. He performed the formality from Guwahati, as rain and cloudy conditions prevented him from flying to Kokrajhar.

Addressing the gathering in Kokrajhar virtually, he said the Centre was systematically fulfilling all commitments made under the 2020 Bodo peace accord. He said that the “landmark” agreement united all major organisations on a single platform.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated an elevated port corridor in Guwahati and launched multiple waterway projects elsewhere in Assam with a total investment of ₹526 crore. He flagged off three new train services aimed at improving connectivity for the Northeast, too.