Bengal govt to move judicial panel over tea-garden land ‘scam’
Times of India | 19 August 2026
Kolkata: The Bengal govt will lodge a formal complaint before a judicial inquiry commission headed by former High Court judge Justice Biswajit Basu over alleged large-scale irregularities in the conversion and sale of tea-garden land, tourism minister Shankar Ghosh said on Tuesday.
The allegations concern the previous govt’s decision to allow up to 30% of leased tea-garden land to be converted into freehold land for sale and alternative use.
Ghosh alleged “large-scale corruption” in the transactions and claimed, “Part of the money was spent by the erstwhile ruling Trinamool in the 2026 assembly election.”
The govt has decided to reduce the permissible conversion limit to 15%, primarily for tourism projects, including tea tourism in north Bengal.