Especially in the regions of Terai and Dooars scattered in the districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, marginal tea planters in the North Bengal plains are facing a crisis.

The crisis facing marginal tea planters is not only due to the usual negative factors like rising production costs. But the main problem is based on the long procedural delays to obtain permission for land use conversion from the State Department of Land and Agrarian Reforms, which allows tea to be planted on agricultural land previously used to grow “food crops.”

According to veteran planters, the problem is typical of West Bengal, where tea plantations are mostly on rented land. This entails the need for double authorization. The first is the regular authorization, then the second, the authorization of the Department of Agrarian Reforms for the conversion of land use.

In reality, marginal farmers are not entitled to the financial benefits enjoyed by farmers producing good crops or fodder crops, such as the Kisan credit card, crop insurance, and the state government's general insurance scheme for farm families, since tea is a commercial crop or an industrial crop without obtaining this land use conversion permit.