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Assam Assembly Passes Land Ceiling Amendment to Grant Land Rights to Tea Garden Workers
Nov 29, 2025The Assam Legislative Assembly on Friday passed the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Bill, 2025, paving the way for land settlement for tea garden workers residing in labour lines across the state. The move is expected to benefit more than 3.33 lakh workers who have lived for generations in labour colonies without legal ownership of the land they occupy.
Under the amendment, “labour lines” have been excluded from the category of purposes ancillary to special cultivation. Until now, workers in these colonies lived on land controlled by tea estates without statutory protection or clear legal title. By removing labour lines from ancillary land use and introducing provisions for preferential settlement, the government aims to secure long-term housing rights for tea garden workers and reduce their vulnerability to displacement.
The Bill empowers the government to acquire land in labour lines through procedures to be prescribed later. Once acquired, all rights, titles, interests and encumbrances on such land will vest with the state government, enabling the formal transfer of land rights to eligible workers.
According to data shared by district authorities, Assam has 825 tea estates, and the total area under labour colonies amounts to approximately 2,18,553 bighas.
The legislation, however, excludes the Joloha tea garden workers, who belong to the Muslim community, from eligibility under the new land settlement provision.
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