‘Bring plantation sector under administrative control of Industries Department’

The Planters’ Association of Tamil Nadu (PAT) on Saturday, October 10, 2026, appealed to the State Government to bring plantation sector under the administrative control of Department of Industries and Commerce as in Kerala, and a few other States.

Plantation industry in Tamil Nadu is in a quandary, having to handle a number of departments, PAT Chairman, Vinodhan Kandiah, pointed out.

While the Central Government’s control over the plantation industry in terms of trade and commerce is fairly well-defined, the bulk of the Governmental regulations on the industry pertains to various departments of the State Government like, Labour, Forest, Revenue, PWD, Taxes, and Electricity. But, the question as to which department exercises administrative control over the plantation industry has remained an unresolved mystery for more than six decades, resulting in a severe lack of co-ordination on the multifarious and interconnected issues of the industry, he said.