Assam Will Grant Land Titles to 3.5 Lakh Tea Garden Families, and Build Them Houses
Minister Atul Bora told the Assembly's budget session on July 14 that the land patta drive now targets 3.5 lakh tea garden families, with government-funded houses added on top.
Follows up on The Families Who Pick Assam Tea Are Getting Title to Their Homes 2026-03-15
Assam will grant land titles to 3.5 lakh tea garden families and build them government-funded houses, minister Atul Bora told the Assembly's budget session July 14.
The commitment scales up a rollout this certifying office has tracked since March, when the first phase handed pattas, legal title to the housing-line plots, to 28,241 families in Sonitpur, Golaghat, and Karbi Anglong districts.
Bora, the state's Panchayat and Rural Development minister, said the pattas will now go to 3.5 lakh workers, and that eligible families will also get houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the federal rural-housing scheme, according to India Today NE and Northeast Now. Neither outlet reported a completion date for the expanded drive.
The underlying law, the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holding (Amendment) Act, 2025, passed the Assembly on Nov. 28, 2025, the Assam Tribune reported. The government put the count at roughly 3.33 lakh worker families, Social News XYZ reported. Workers receive title on payment of Rs 500 (about $6) per bigha, India Today NE reported from a Feb. 4 Gauhati High Court hearing.
The Indian Tea Association challenged the law in the Gauhati High Court, arguing it would change the structure of tea estates and could hamper production, India Today NE reported. The court declined to grant an interim stay at that Feb. 4 hearing, and the government proceeded with the March rollout while the challenge remains pending.
A garden worker who gains title cannot be evicted from the plot and, this office notes, can now put that title toward a PMAY-funded house instead of a bare deed. What a full 3.5 lakh families and their gardens make of it is a certificate this office intends to keep checking.
Sources: India Today NE, "Assam government to grant land pattas to 3.5 lakh tea garden workers, build houses for tea community"; Northeast Now, "Assam: Government to grant land pattas to 3.5 lakh tea garden workers and build houses"; Assam Tribune, "Assam Assembly passes tea garden land patta bill amid sloganeering and sharp debate"; Social News XYZ, "Assam Assembly clears amendment bill to grant land pattas to tea garden workers"; India Today NE, "Gauhati High Court clears Assam's move to grant land rights to tea workers".