At a time when the condition of tea industry in Assam started improving after going through a slump for years, wrong policies of the Government may seriously affect the industry during the peak plucking season. Tea Industry sources told The Assam Tribune that the prices of tea in the Guwahati Auction Centre (GTAC) increased since last year and the production has also improved considerably this year, but the industry is facing severe shortage of work force as the concerned authorities started providing job cards under the National Rural Employment Grantee Act even to the permanent labourers of the tea gardens in some parts of the state. According to records available, the average price of CTC in the GTAC last year was Rs 71.90 per kilogram, which increased to Rs 89.66 this year. Similarly, the average price of orthodox tea was Rs 73.24 last year, which increased to Rs 90.09 this year, while, the price of dust increased from Rs 73.87 to Rs 91.73 per kilogram. The production has also increased as the total production up to the end of April was five million kilograms more than last year. However, in total violation of the rules of the National Rural Guarantee Act, the State Government started providing job cards to permanent and casual labourers of the tea gardens, which seriously affected the functioning of the tea gardens. As per law, job cards can be provided only to the people living below the poverty line who have no sources of income and the tea garden employees are not eligible to get the benefits of the scheme. But in violation of the rules, the Government provided job cards to the labourers of some gardens in the districts of Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat etc. The situation is worse in the Barak valley, as a result of which the gardens started facing severe shortage of work force. The Barak valley of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations has already submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioners of all the three Barak valley districts in this regard and said that the labour-oriented industry suffered badly as the government started giving job cards to the labourers. Tea industry sources pointed out that even the casual labourers of the tea gardens cannot be termed as unemployed persons as they get work in the gardens for more than nine months a year and they are entitled to other benefits like ration at subsidised rate, medical facilities etc and whenever any vacancy arises, they get the first preference.