Thiruvananthapuram:
Tata Tea has rejected charges that Kanan Devan Hills
Plantations Company Pvt Ltd, in which Tata Tea holds an
18 per cent stake, has encroached on Government land in
Munnar in Kerala.
Percy
Siganporia, managing director Tata Tea, told the press
that there was no truth in the allegations that Tata Tea
and KDHP had encroached on government land in Munnar.
He
emphasised that the 58,741.82 acres that KDHP holds in
the Kanan Devan Hills village were awarded to Tata Tea
by the Land Board as per the provisions of the Kanan Devan
Hills (Resumption of Lands) Act 1971.
Under
the Act, 71,051.22 acres were vested in the Government
of Kerala and KDHP has not done anything detrimental to
this land, which was handed over to the government, he
added.
In
2005, Tata Tea transferred management control of 17 tea
estates in Munnar to KDHP in which employees hold a 69
per cent stake.
However,
Tata Tea continues to support welfare activities in Munnar
such as a high school, a hospital and a complex for differently-abled
people.
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