Chapter-V

CHAPTER-V

LABOUR HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION

Household is the smallest coherent economic unit. It is defined here as a

group of people. each with different abilities and needs. who contribute to a
common economy and share the food and other income from this 1 • In other words
a household consists of a group of persons who commonly live together and take
their meals from a common kitchen unless the exigencies of work prevent any of
them from doing soz. According to historical background. socio-cultural practices
and location etc. the size and nature of households may vary widely. from nuclear
households (a man. a woman and their dependent children). to joint. extended.
communion of a hundred or more people. Household economy stands for the sum
of the ways in which the household gets its income. its savings. assets. holdings.
and its consumption of food and non-food items.
Household as a social and economic unit involves the following significant
aspects in order to perform as a viable unit:
• Degree of physical comfort the first and foremost aspect of a household is to
provide physical comfort to the individuals. Shelter. which does not provide
adequate protection i.e. poorly lighted or ventilated. overcrowded or filthy;
hunger; unpleasant environment reflects badly on the household itself.
• State of physical and mental health: high probability of short life span;
frequent and chronic illness: permanent or mental disability etc. reflects
poorly on the household itself.
• Safety and security: unsafe housing; unsafe working environment: unsafe
air or water: lack of protection against income decline etc.
• Magnitude of social capital and welfare values: personally stigmatizing form
of fmancial dependency; inability to perform a socially valued function; lack
of good quality education; low aspirations or hopelessness for upward socio-
economic mobility etc.
• Extent of individual dignity: respect for self-respect and dignity.

It is believed that there have been considerable erosions in some of the

above-mentioned functions of a household. However. the situation is relatively

1
J. Seaman. P. Clarke. T. Boudreau. and J. Holt. 2000: The Household Economy
Approach -A resource manual for practitioners, Save the Children. London. p. 7
2 Census of India. 200 I: West Bengal. Primary Census Abstract, October 2004. Series

20. Vol. II. p. xlviii

178
better in those households that have been able to adjust to the new changes,
which have taken place in recent times.
This chapter deals with Labour Household Economy in lslampur
subdivision in North Bengal. It is a comparative study of 60 plantation and 60
non-plantation labour households on which the author conducted field survey
during January to March 2005. A comparison is made between the labour
households engaged in tea plantation identified as 'Plantation Labour Household
Economy' and the labour households engaged in other agricultural works termed
as 'Non-Plantation Labour Household Economy' in Islampur subdivision. It is
worth mentioning here that these households are also distributed in two different
agro-ecological set-ups, i.e. the Dangi sustainable livelihood zone representing
'Plantation Labour Household Economy' and the Nichanpara sustainable livelihood
zone corresponding to 'Non-Plantation Labour Household Economy·.
Culture in its most general sense. is held constant. Both the labour
household economy under study fall within the same major cultural-linguistic
region of North Bengal - the people in both places speak mutually intelligible
dialect/language called Suryapurt they are mostly Muslims and Rqjbanshis3 (as
mentioned in the second chapter) of Hindu community, they eat the same ltind of
food and wear the same kind of clothes. They also share a typical nucleated
settlement pattem characterized by relatively compact collection of dwelling units,
often including one or more outlying hamlets but generally clearly demarcated by
fields and other natural features.
As discussed in the second chapter. there are certain micro regional
contrasts of natural environments and land use between the two livelihood zones
i.e. the Dangi livelihood zone and the Nichanpara livelihood zone. In the Dangis,
soil is sandy and porous in character. It has low water-retaining capacity due to
high degree of permeability. The topography is a little raised and water table is at
20-25 feet depth 4 • The land is mainly used for pineapple and tea cultivation, which
engages labourers throughout the year. On the other hand. in the Nichanparas.
soil is clayey and impermeable and water-retaining capacity is high. The

3
These two communities are spread in almost all the districts of North Bengal and are
mainly dependent on agriculture.
4
Informed by the villagers in both the Dangis and the Nichw1paras. Researcher also
verified the level of water in Ring Wells and Kutcha Wells during field survey.

179
topography is low and water table exists at a depth of 10- 15 feet. It is important to
mention these facts here because. despite lower depth of water table. the non-
plantation labour households in the Nichanparas cannot afford safe drinking
water by setting hand pumps or other safe sources. As opposed to this, plantation
labour households have more number of hand pumps in their houses (discussed
below). Apart form this, rice and jute are the main crops in the Nichanparas as
mentioned in the Second Chapter in agriculture section. Due to seasonal nature of
crops. labourers are employed for a few months of a year. largely because it has
prolonged lean agricultural season. Restricted local employment has serious
implications for the Household Economy of non-plantation labourers.
It was discussed in the Third Chapter that tea was introduced as a small
tea plantation crop in the study area during 1990s. Since then it has made
significant changes in the employment condition and nature of the household
economy. In this chapter an attempt has been made to study the comparative
perlormance of the household economies of the plantation and the non-plantation
workers.
To make the study more objective the selection of the villages and the
households was done on the basis of the methodology discussed in the First
Chapter under the Section dealing with Methodology. However, for the purpose of
this particular chapter a detail analysis of various aspects of the household
economy are analysed with the help of the data generated through the field survey.
To begin with, the micro-levelland use and general employment conditions
prevalent in the area have been discussed in the Second Chapter as background
information. because these have significant contribution to the condition of
household economy in the area. Various studies discussed under the section on
Survey of Literature have indicated that introduction of pineapple in 1970s and
tea in 1990s has made a significant difference in terms of improving the
bargaining power of labour households in the labour market. As compared to this.
the agricultural labourers engaged in activities other than tea plantations are
viewed here as labourers with low bargaining strength and subject to poorer
working conditions in the labour market. Such an approach is expected to clear
the doubts about the role played by the Small Tea Plantations on the nature of
employment and household economy in the area.

180
 I
CONDITION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS IN ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION -A
PARTICIPATORY APPROACH

In the earlier days. before the emergence of Small Tea Plantations.

agricultural workers were ignorant about wages and their bargaining power
particularly in the Islampur Subdivision. Here it must be mentioned that before
the arrival of pineapple cultivation in this area. paddy and jute were the two
principal crops produced in the Nichanparas and jungles and shrubs were
prominent in the Dangis presently. With the introduction of pineapple in the late
1970s and tea in late 1980s and early 1990s (particularly in the Small Tea
Plantations) the situation changed dramatically. Aijun Paul was the flrst person to
start pineapple cultivation in the area in 1970'ss. He is also considered as the
main person who introduced hiring of wage labour in the agriculture sector.
Labourers received the wage both as cash and kind. It was also reported that
during 1971-72 (at the time of independence of Bangladesh). the daily wage was
Rs.1 in cash and 1.25 kilogram of rice in ltind. per worker per day in the paddy
and jute fields (it should be mentioned here that during the same period the price
of sugar was Rs.l.25 per kg.). The daily rate of a HaalG (plough) was Rs.5 including
one man who was also provided a meal called Ponta.-Bhat7. This Ponta-Bhat is an
important indicator and symptom of poverty and household economy in this
micro-regions. The schedule of work for the Jonse Oabourers) was from sunrise to
sunset in these areas. which was approximately twelve working hours per day.
Since there was no altemative employment opportunity available in these

s R. Maity. 2000: Uttar Banglay Anaraser Chas - Sambhabana. Samassa 0 PraUkar (in
Bengali). Saar Samachar, Vol. 37 No. 4. p. 56
G Haal is made of wood and iron. used to plough the agricultural fields by engaging two
bullocks.
7 Ponta-Bhat is leftover rice of dinner. and in the next morning it is served to the

labourers by mixing with water. in addition to that a piece of onion. chilly. a little amount
of salt, and a drop of mustard oil are also served.
8 In Dangis. cash wage system is prevalent particularly in tea and pineapple fields and

labourers do not prefer to eat it as it causes cough and cold. It is because of their high
bargaining power in labour market and consequently improvement of household economy:
while in Nicllanparas. a combination of cash and kind wage particularly in paddy and
other paddy fields and less bargaining power of labourers left them with no option than to
eat Ponta·Bilat.
9 Jon means labour or worker. e.g. one Jon means one wage-worker or wage labour. It is

used locally and till today it Is popular in the study area.

181
backward areas the workers were forced to accept these harsh working conditions.
Moreover. pineapple cultivation did not employ l8bour regularly being relatively
less labour intensive than tea cultivation. So. agricultural wages as well as the
working conditions were against the interests of the workers. Hence. accepting the
wages in kind was the only prevailing option left for the rural agricultural
labourers.
Introduction of pineapple cultivation during the early 1970s initiated the
cash-wage system and some improvement took place in the labour market as
labourers were gaining importance slowly in a phased manner. The cash wage rate
was Rs.2 in the pineapple fields. A pineapple worker's day involved hard work and
long duration. Generally he was expected to work from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m .. with an
hour's break for midday meal. Apart from the m_ain break. the worker also
managed to snatch few minutes to smoke a Bidi. There were two other factors that
greatly weakened the bargaining position of the pineapple worker. These were:
existence of massive underemployment. and the immigration labourers coming
from the Nichanparas. which compounded the underemployment problem.
However. despite these adverse conditions. the over all conditions of labourers was
better in the pineapple fields than their counterparts working in the paddy and
jute fields.
The beginning of Small Tea Plantations in late 1980s and early 1990s led to
further improvement in the condition of workers in the labour market. Now, the
workers are in a position to find employment throughout the year in the tea
plantation. The conditions of employment including wages have changed
significantly. The workers fmd themselves placed in better bargaining positions.
Now nobody works more than eight hours in the Small Tea Plantations. The wages
are more rationalized as compared to what they are in the pineapple and other
traditional agricultural activities. In the paddy and pineapple fields the contract
wage or piece-rated wage system is still prevalent. Here the field-owner and labour
both bargain and settle their wage on a daily basis. Thus, labourers working in the
paddy and jute fields work mainly during the peak season when they get a
somewhat better deal. Otherwise. they remain unemployed for most of the times in
a year or they migrate in search of seasonal jobs. So there was not adequate
employment in real sense in these areas. Therefore labourers used to borrow

182
paddy from the village landowners for their livelihood and survival during the lean
season in exchange for labour in the forthcoming season to either paddy or jute
fields. The calculation of the debt was ex-ploitative and a kind of cyclic exploitation
prevailed in these areas. Generally. the market price of paddy during the lean
season used to be high and low in the harvesting season. The landowner lent the
paddy at the rate of lean-season-price and received the paddy at the rate of lean-
season-wage (when wage rate is low. as there is no work available) during
monsoon in exchange of labour (when wage rate is high). This pushed many
labourers to undertake debts from the landowning classes. The relationship
between the two became similar to the one that existed between master-slaves.
Meaning thereby, the labourers could not fmd the ways and means to come out of
the prevalent vicious circle. It was also mentioned by some of the respondents that
at times, only two meals were served instead of cash-wage and the labourers had
to accept it due to rampant poverty and lack of altemative source of livelihood. So,
if one compares the situation after the introduction of the Small Tea Plantations. it
can be said that it is different. In the following section a comparative analysis of
the workers en~:1ged in the plantation and non-plantation agricultural activities
has been done to make an objective analysis of the conditions.
The impact of employment in the Small Tea Plantations on 'Labour
Household Economy' can better be understood when per capita assessment is
computed on quality of living and housing. consumer durables. livestock and
poultry. cereal consumption and consumption expenditure. savings and
indebtedness. Developing the concept of culture and poverty. Oscar Lewis
characterizes the features as follows:
-Low wage and chronic unemployment and underemployment which lead to
low income, lack of property ownership. absence of saving. absence of food
reserves at home and a chronic shortage of cash. which not only reflects
scarcity but reduces the possibility of effective contribution of these group to
the economic and production system- 10 •

All these characteristics are related to labour households in Islampur subdivision

have been analysed sequentially in the following section:

10 Oscar Lewis. cf. B.K. Panda. 2000: Perspective on Poverty. Population. Poverty and

Environment in North East India (edited by B. Datta Ray. H.K. Mazhari. P.M. Passah.
and M.C. Pandey). Concept Publishing Company. New Delhi. Perspective on Poverty. p.
220

183
 n
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AND LABOUR HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY IN
ISLAMPUR SUBDIVISION

It is interesting to note that though the agricultural labourers are paid

higher wages as compared to the workers engaged in the Small Tea Plantations in
the study area. there are other advantages enjoyed by tea workers. This is so
because. agriculture employs the workers for a brief period restricted to two to
three months in a year but the tea farms employ workers throughout the year.
Besides this, they also enjoy a sense of security by receiving yearly bonus.
protective clothing. provident fund (farm employing more than 20 workers) etc.
Gender differences in wages do not exist in Small Tea Plantations since inception
(as per bipartite wage agreements). In the year 2004-05. agricultural wage was Rs.
50 for men and Rs. 45 for women; on the other hand. wage rate in the Small Tea
Plantations was Rs. 45.90. Table-5.1 shows that male and female wages are same
in the Small Tea Plantations. and it is also seen that there is a sharp difference
between men and women wages in agricultural wages. This has led the labour
households in an equitable order.
TABLE-5.1
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL WAGE AND TEA FARM WAGE
State/ Wage Male/ 1993-94 1999-00 2004-05•
Ref!ion (In Rs.) Female
West Bengal Agriculture Male 24.20 43.45 50.00
Female 19.92 37.02 45.00
North Bengal Small Tea Combined 20.20 32.30 45.90
Plantations (M+F)
Differential between Male -4.00 -11.15 -4.10
Agricultural Wage to Small Female 0.28 -4.72 0.90
Tea Plantations Wa(!.e
[• It apphes to study area only and not the whole state of West Bengal; - represents the
negative absolute wage differences between agricultural wage to tea farm wage)
Source: Agricultural wage of 1993-94 and 1999-00 compiled from NSS 55th round and
2004-05 based on field observation. and Tea Farm wage compiled from Memorandums of
Settlement dated on 08.1 0. 1994. 0 1.11. 1998, and 07.03.2002 for the year 1994-95. 1999-
oo. and 2004-05 respectively.
Labour Household Economy Approach describes how different labour
households live. what risks are they vulnerable to and how they cope with shock?
It describes the assets and resources accessible to these two sets of workers i.e.
the plantation and non-plantation households. and how these resources are

184
exploited in the daily. seasonal and long-term process of making ends meet? The
impact of employment conditions in the Small Tea Plantations on household
economy are analysed by differentiating plantation and non-plantation labour
households under the following common heads. Some of the important aspects
selected for the purpose of comparison are:
1 . Quality of living and housing is identified and analysed by making an
inventory of the resources available at the homestead. land and house.
kutcha or pucca house. room density, availability status of drinking water.
sanitary toilet. and source of energy for cooking and lighting.
2. Work availability status is characterized by work availability throughout the
year, place of work and distance covered type of work. out migration for
work etc.
3. Household assets: two categories of assets are considered i.e. consumer
durables include bicycle. bullock cart. table. chair. bedstead. almirah,
radio. wrist watch, wall clock etc.; livestock and poultry include bullock.
cow. goat as livestock; poultry includes country hen etc.
4. Consumption of food. fuel and light etc. are considered with a reference
period of 30 days under NSS heads.
5. Consumption of clothing and services are considered with a reference period
of 365 days under NSS heads.
6. Expenditure on miscellaneous goods and services are considered with a
reference of 30 days under NSS heads.
7. Expenditure on purchase. construction and other durables are considered
with a reference period of 365 days under NSS heads.
8. Household vulnerability is defined in terms of food insufficiency. savings.
indebtedness. nature of security etc.

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD:

The average size of the household•• is 5.22 persons in the plantation labour
households and room density is 3.40 persons. As compared to this the average
size of household is 5.37 persons in non-plantation labour households and room

11The average size of the household Is computed of total number of persons divided by
total number of households both in plantation labour households and non-plantation
labour households.

185
density is 4.29 persons. Out of 60 households in the Dcmgis. 8 households are
Scheduled Caste. 1 Scheduled Tribe. and the rest 51 are in General category.
Similarly. the caste composition of households in Nichanparas is 13 and 47 of
Scheduled Caste and General category respectively. The caste composition is
mostly related to religious distribution. Again in the Dangis. out of 60 households
8 are Hindus. 1 Christian, and 51 Muslims and in the Nichanparas, 13 household
are Hindus and 4 7 Muslims.
As far as other cultural aspects are concerned almost all the people
communicate in Suryapuri (discussed in second and fourth chapter) dialect except
1 tribal household. The Hteracy12 rate of the head of the household is 21.67 per
cent in the Dangis and 18.33 per cent in the Nichanparas. The above-mentioned
characteristics clearly indicate that the labour households are most neglected.
vulnerable and socio-economically excluded from the mainstream development
process. Therefore. to identify the impact of employment in Small Tea Plantations
on Labour Household Economy. it is important to study this vulnerable group and
their quality of living. consumption pattern. accumulation of assets and incidence
of indebtedness and food insufficiency and their micro-level differences between
the Dangis and the Nichanparas. In the following section these have been analysed
sequentially.
2. OWNERSHIP OF HOUSE AND HOMESTEAD LAND:
The distribution of ownership of homestead land is almost uniform in
plantation labour households. Out of 60 households. 59 of them own homestead
land and one household does not own (Table-5.2). This is because the owner of the
household is a migrant and stays in tea farm. This particular household stays in
farm quarter and therefore do not own the house. As compared to this. in the Non-
plantation labour households. out of 60 households 54 own homestead land and 6
of them do not have homestead land. These 6 households are provided homestead
land by the village landowning class 30 years back. As per the records of the Land
Department Office. these households' land is recorded as Anumati•3. This reflects
the land use in this micro-region. Previously land was less valued in the Dangis

12
Here literacy means a person who can read and write and the literacy level is either
related to Primary School or Madrasa education.
13 In Anumati system. the land is recorded and khatlan Is prepared ln the name of actual

owner only and land in possession ls recorded in the name of actual occupant ln the field.

186
(as discussed in the Third Chapter). Hence. large proportion of it was either
considered fallow land or land under forest. The situation was entirely different in
the Nichanparas where settled wet-rice cultivation was in practice for a long time
and land under other categories was limited. Due to this land was more valued in
Nichanparas and landlords used to collect Khazna 14 (rent) as it was more
productive. As opposed to this, in Dangis no one was interested as tenant as land
was considered to be infertile. As mentioned in the third chapter. at that point of
time, the Nichanparas had more value than the Dangis, particularly from
agriculture point of view. Consequently, the people of the Nichanparas were better
off than the people of the Dangis. The differences were so striking that people
living in the Nichanparas did not prefer to give their daughters in marriage to the
people of the Dangis. This was mainly because of the low agricultural productivity.
But today, with the introduction of Small tea plantations. the situation is
diagrammatically opposite. The possession of the Dangis is considered a sign of
prosperity and the owners have higher status in the society. This is because of the
changes in agriculture, land use. and household economy.
TABLE-5.2
DISTRIBUTION OF OWNERSHIP OF HOUSE AND HOMESTEAD LAND IN LABOUR
HOUSEHOLDS
Number of Households
OWNERSHIP OF HOUSE AND Plantation Labour Non-Plantation
HOMESTEAD LAND Households Labour Households
Owned 59 54
Homestead Land Not owned I 6
Total 60 60
Owned 59 58
House Not owned 1 2
Total 60 60
Source: Field Survey

3. SHELTERS AND QUALITY OF HOUSING:

The two aspects of quality of housingJs and shelter mean the quality of
construction of the residence i.e. whether a household resides in a pucca or a

14Khazna ls used to be collected by Sipahis (Army) of landlords after the harvest of crops.
15
The Census of India defines quality of houses based on the material used for
construction of walls and roofs separately. If both the walls and roof are made of pucca
material. a house is classified as Pucca.: if wall and roof are made of kutcha material the
house is classified as kutcha.: and In all other cases the houses Is classified as semi-pucca.

187
kutcha construction; and shelter refers to living space or number of persons per
room or room den~ityiG.

As mentioned before the average size of the household is 5.22 persons in

the plantation labour households and a room density of 3.40 persons and in non-
plantation labour households the average size of household is 5.37 persons and
room density is 4.29 persons. Though. the average size of the household in both
the places is almost similar. there are some diffefences as far as room density is
concem. The difference of room density between plantation and non-plantation
labour households is 0.89 persons which shows that the living space as well as
quality of living is better in the Dangis (plantation households) as compared to the
Nichanparas (non-plantation households).
There are three types of houses found in the labour households in the
present study and these are Kutcha houses named as Thatched Houses·. Kutcha
walls with GI corrugated sheet roof named as 'GI Corrugated', and pucca walls
with GI corrugated sheet roof named as 'Semi-pucca' (Table-5.3). Thatch houses
are made of bamboo, reeds and straw. In the plantation labour households. thatch
houses are made of only bamboo and reeds for walls and thatches are prepared by
straw from shrubs. But in the non-plantation labour households. Thatch Houses
walls are made of bamboo and reeds and after that walls are covered with mud,
and thatches are prepared by paddy-straw as there is hardly any jungle found in
the Nichanpara region. The house preparation is also related with local
environmental resources e.g. in the Dangis. soil is sandy but in the Nichanparas it
is more clayey. so. walls of thatch houses are covered with mud. Semi-Pucca
houses are mainly provided by the Gram Panchayats under the scheme of Indira
Awas Yojana. The differences in distribution of Thatch Houses and GI Corrugated
between plantation and non-plantation labour household shows variation in
quality of housing and level of living. It is evident from the revelations of the
respondents in field that when a household enhances its income and savings. they
go for roofmg their house with GI Corrugated sheets. This shows that regular
employment has an impact on housing conditions in the study area. The total
number of G/ Corrugated houses is higher in the Dangis than the Nichanparas, it

16
Room Density is computed as total number of persons divided by total number of
rooms.

188
is 21 and 9 in plantation and non-plantation labour households respectively and
the difference between absolute numbers is 12. As opposed to this, the number of
Thatch Houses is more in non-plantation labour households in comparison to
plantation labour households and the distribution is 45 and 34 respectively.
TABLE-5.3
DISTRIBUTION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSES IN LABOUR HOUSEHOLDS
Number of Households
HOUSE TYPE Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
Households Households
Thatch House 34 45
Gl Corrup:ated 21 9
Semi-Pucca 5 6
Total 60 60
Source: Field Survey

4. AVAILABILITY OF DRINKING WATER:

As per the Census of India. if a household has access to drinking water
supplied from a tap or a hand pump/tube well situated within or outside the
premises. it is considered as having access to safe drinking water'7. There are four
sources of drinking water in the labour households found in Islampur subdivision
and these are hand pump. ring well, kutcha well. and not in premises's. Under the
not in premises category. water is fetched from distance ranging between 50-150
metres. The most unhygienic conditions prevail in ring wells and kutcha wells.
where water is not filtered causing water-bome diseases e.g. gastro-enteritis and
cholera many times in these localities. In addition to that. setting up a hand pump
in the Dangis costs around Rs.2500, but in the Nichanparas it costs only
Rs.l500J9. The cost of setting up a hand pump is related to depth of sinking. cost
of drilling and fitting of iron pipes. It was observed that it requires a depth of
between 40-45 feet sinking of iron pipes in the Nichanparas and it is between 70-
80 feet in the Dangis to get good quality water. Thus. fewer hand pumps are
expected in the plantation households and more in the non-plantations
households. But. the results obtained in the field survey give opposite picture.
Table-5.4 shows that out of 60 households. 31 have hand pump as a source of
drinking water in the Dangis. as compared to 8 households in Nichanparas. This

17 Government of India. 2002: National Human Development Report, Planninp;

Commission. New Delhi. p. 41
18 It is related to the available space in homestead land. lack of space in premises limits

the household not to dig a kutcha well.

10 This is based on the interaction with the Panchayat Members and Head of households.

189
difference is remarkable to identify the condition of household economy of labour
households in this micro-region and particularly the impact of stable employment
throughout the year in the Dangis. Though the cost of setting up a hand pump is
higher in the Dangis, people could afford to have it due to their regular
employment and income from plantations. On the other hand. in the Nichanparas
labourers could not manage the same due to irregular work and fluctuations in
their income.
TABLE-5.4
DISTRIBUTION OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER IN LABOUR
HOUSEHOLDS
Number of Households
SOURCES OF DRINKING Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
WATER Households Households
Hand Pump 31 8
Ring Well 1 3
Kutcha Well 13 28
Not in Premises 15 21
Total 60 60
Source: F1eld Survey

5. AVAILABILITY OF MODERN FACILITIES:

Sanitary toilets are mostly absent in the labour households under study.
Most of them use the open space. Indira At.vas Yojana household beneficiaries
have sanitary toilets. In plantation labour households, four households have
sanitary toilet while in non-plantation labour households six households avail this
facility (Table-5.5). This also indicates a sense of more poor households existing in
the Nichanparas. Electricity for lighting is available on rent with two-three houses
sharing a meter. The energy used for lighting is electricity and kerosene. Here
availability of electricity for lighting mean that the households do not have
electricity connection in their houses but they rent one or two bulbs connection
from their neighbour. These households are not in a position to have separate
meter connection and cannot afford minimum bill for the connection. And
generally one bulb connection costs of Rs.l 0 per month. In 60 plantation labour
households. 12 households have such connection and rest of the households are
dependent on kerosene as a source of lighting. On the other hand, the non-
plantation labour households use only kerosene as energy for lighting.
Availability of local environmental resources plays a major role in using
energy for cooking in labour households in the study area. As these households

190
cannot afford LPG for cooking. they mostly depend on common property resources
by supplementing their family labour. Mostly children are assigned such tasks. In
the plantation labour households basically fr.rewood Wld chips are used in cooking.
but in non-plantation labour households it is cattle dung cake w1d chips used as
the main sources of energy in cooking. In the Dru1gis. forests and shrubs.
pineapple waste. pruned tea branches etc. are available. but in the Nichru1paras it
is cow dung from common grazing fields and paddy straw from paddy fields that
provide cooking energy source. This shows that the options are more with the
plantation households as compared to the non-plantation households.
TABLE-5.5
AVAILABll..ITY OF SANITARY TOll..ET AND ENERGY FOR LIGHTING AND COOKING
Number of Households
HOUSEHOLD Status I Source Plantation Labour Non-Plantation
AMENITIES Households Labour Households
Available 4 6
Sanitary Toilet Not Available 56 54
Total 60 60
Electricity 12 Nil
Energy for Lighting Kerosene 48 60
Total 60 60
Firewood and chips 53 12
Energy for Cooking Dun~ cake and chips 7 48
Total 60 60
Source: Field Survey

6. WORK AVAILABILITY STATUS AND ASSOCIATED OUT MIGRATION:

The incidence of out-migration is a common feature in the Nichanparas and
Table-5.6 proves this. It has been unanimously informed by the labourers that
they temporarily migrate in search of employment to other places. It is mostly
seasonal in nature. The period normally stretches from November to March in a
year. This can be termed as pushfactor in the Nichanparas. Most of the migrants
are individuals. The most preferential destinations are Delhi, Punjab. Darjeeling,
SUiguri etc. to mention a few. Therefore, destination routes are divided into two
categories i.e. inter-state out migration and intra-state out migration. In Delhi,
they engage mostly in construction. embroidery and knitting. painting and white
washing. working in Dhabas and Tea Stalls. In Punjab, they remain involved in
agriculture particularly in winter wheat farming. Both Delhi and Punjab are inter-
state type. on the other hand. Siliguri, Da.rjeeling and other smaller towns in West
Bengal are of intra-state type of out migration. In these towns. they get involved in

191
rickshaw pu1ling, head load work, construction etc. Interestingly, all the works
penormed by them comes under the unorganized sector where they is no social
security as of now and the Unorganised Worker Bill is underway to get inroads by
the present government. As opposed to this, in the Dang is, there is pull factor in
tea plantations. Besides local workers, there are migrant workers in Small Tea
Plantations. As mentioned in the fourth chapter, there are two routes of migration
into Small Tea Plantations in North Bengal. labourers coming from district
Kokrajhar in Assam which is inter-state type and the other, intra-state type. is
from estate gardens of district Jalpaiguri. Almost all the migrants are tribal and it
is a family migration including husband, wife and children. The possible reasons
are ancestral background in tea cultivation and stable employment throughout the
year. Females also participate in work thereby they also contribute in enhancing
family income. Consequently. it has positive impacts on household asset building
and consumption pattem in labour households.
TABLE-5.6
INCIDENCE OF OUT-MIGRATION IN LABOUR HOUSEHOLDS
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation
OUT MIGRATION STATUS Households Labour Households
Mip;rate 4 48
Number of Do not migrate 56 12
Households Total 60 60
Source: Field Survey
7. HOUSEHOLD ASSETS:
In the household economy approach, the wealth of a household is defined
by its holdings of assets that have a market value2o. In rural areas these typically
include cash savings, gold, land, livestock and farm implements. Household assets
play a vital role in the labour households in the study area both in plantation or
non-plantation labour households. They provide a sense of security and act as
supporting instruments for livelihood. When a household is in a difficult situation
e.g. non-availability of work, leading to starvation specifically during agricultural
lean season, immediate illness like spread of contagious diseases, or any kind of
conflict leads court case or police intervention etc., the assets are mortgaged to
receive money for the temporary relief. This may better be termed as short-term
strategy for livelihood.

20 J. Seaman. P. Clarke, T. Boudreau, and J. Holt, 2000: The Household Economy

Approach -A resource manual for practitioners. Save the Children. London, p. 9

192
 The common consumer durables maintained by labour households are
bicycle. bullock cart. table. chair. bedstead. Almirah. radio. wristwatch. wall clock
etc. The per capita value of consumer durables2J is Rs. 459.57 in plantation
labour households and Rs. 335.23 in non-plantation labour households (Table-
S. 7). The difference between the two livelihood zones is Rs. 124.34. which is
indicative of the comfortable position of plantation labour households. In addition
to that. the above-mentioned common consumer durables define the quality of
living in the labour households.
TABLE-5.7
HOUSEHOLD ASSETS- CONSUMER DURABLES
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
CONSUMER DURABLES Households Households
Yes No Yes No
Bicycle 51 9 27 33
Bullock Cart 1 59 Nil 60
Table 45 15 22 38
Number of Chair 26 34 13 47
Households Bedstead 59 1 41 19
Almirah 1 59 Nil 60
Radio 25 35 17 43
Wrist Watch 26 34 21 39
Wall Clock 28 32 14 46
Per Capita Value of
Consumer Durables (In Rs.) 459.57 335.23
Source: Field Survey
Livestock rearing is a mechanism to combat poverty and improve household
income in the study area. As these households do not own land other than
homestead land. the livestock are reared in the vicinity of villages mainly on
common grasslands with an expectation of improving household condition.
Livestock unlike consumer durables multiply and increase their market-value over
time. This brings a gainful income as well as involving children to work and share
the incidence of family poverty. Besides this, these labour households also use
home produce milk for beverages like tea. Otherwise direct consumption of milk
from the market is not significant in the households. Milk is basically sold to the
market and the earnings are used for buying groceries and other household
requirement. Moreover, the livestock are considered valuable assets during crisis

21 The Per Capita value of Consumer Durables Is calculated by converting common

consumer articles in rupees according to the local market value divided by household size.

193
management of the household like accident met by any member. illness. prolonged
diseases. etc. The difference between consumer durables and livestock animals is
that the former is used during short-term crisis and the later is kept for long-term
goals. Of course. there is no strict distinction between two and at times both
provide security to the household for overcoming the problem faced by the
household.
In Islampur subdivision. the most common livestock are bullock. cow, goat,
etc. Bullock is mainly used to plough the agricultural fields as subsistence
agriculture prevails over the region. The rest of the animals are reared with an
expectation of retum in the form of milk, meat and offspring. This ultimately
improves economy of the household. Country hen is the only poultry bird that is
found in the labour households. In the Nichanparas, the labour households have
certain limitation of rearing livestock animals, as village common grazing fields are
scare as compared to the Dangis. It is also observed that the surplus money
available is limited in non-plantation labour households due to prolonged lean
agricultural season and underemployment. As opposed to this. plantation labour
households can afford to buy more animals and birds and rear due to their stable
income throughout the year. This is reflected by the composite measurement of
per capita value of livestock and poultry22 in Table-5.8. Per capita value of
livestock and poultry is Rs. 641.79 in plantation labour households and Rs.
526.85 in non-plantation labour households and the absolute differences between
the two livelihood zones is Rs. 114.94.
TABLE-5.8
HOUSEHOLD ASSETS -LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY Households Households
Yes No Yes No
Bullock 1 59 Nil 60
Number of Cow 52 8 36 14
HouseholdsGoat 52 8 38 12
Hen 44 16 55 5
Per Capita Value of Livestock
and Poultry (In Rs.) 641.79 526.85
Source: Field Survey

22
The Per Capita value of Livestock and Poultry is calculated by converting the
livestock animals and poultry birds In rupees according to the local market value divided
by household size.

194
8. HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE:
Households have many other needs over and above an adequate food
supply. Though it is difficult to define a reasonable standard of living, availability
of resources to avail even the most basic needs of life such clothing, shelter, salt,
fuel, soap and medical facilities etc. are most basic for a measure of quality of life.
Apart from this, expenditure on weddings, funerals and other ceremonies too are
essential for a proper and dignified social existence. On this basis of these criteria
household expenditure can be divided into two broad categories23, although the
distinction is not always precise:
• Obligatory expenditure, which a household cannot avoid, e.g. food, clothing, salt,
the minimum cost associated with births, deaths and weddings, emergency medical
costs. debt repayments, etc.
• Discretionary expenditure is that over which a household has greater or lesser
control, e.g. school fees. most incidental medical expenses and in some locations.
meat, fats, oils and other more costly foodstuffs.

The division between the two depends on the absolute level of household income.
Poorer households may have to make trade-offs between different expenditures.
It is listed in Table-5.9 that most of the cereals consumed by labour
households in Islampur subdivision are rice, wheat. m.uri. chira. suji., and sewai.
The total consumption of cereals per person per month (30 days) is 15.27 kg in
plantation labour households and 13.59 kg in non-plantation labour households
and a difference of 1.68 kg between indicates that consumption level is higher in
the Dangis as compared to the Nichanparas. It is also evident from Table-18 that
the quality of rice consumed is better in plantation labour households with the
average market price about Rs.9.86 per kg. On the other hand, it is Rs.9.70 per kg
in non-plantation labour households. In addition to this, it should be mentioned
here that labourers seldom eat Ponta-Bhat in the Dangis, (mentioned earlier under
payment in kinds) but it is never in the form of kind payment. As opposed to this,
Ponta-Bhat is still preferred by the workers in non-plantation households. The
most obvious reason is the absence of kind wage system in the Dangis,
particularly after the introduction of cash crops like pineapple and tea. The
presence of a combination of cash and kind wage in the Nichanparas particularly
in paddy fields compels the labourers to consume Ponta-Bhat It is observed

23 J. Seaman. P. Clarke, T. Boudreau, and J. Holt, 2000: The Household Economy

Approach -A resource manual for practitioners, Save the Children, London. p. 24

195
during the survey that labourers in the Nichanparas do not prefer to have
breakfast in the moming as it incurs more expenditure to the household and they
prefer to consume Ponta-Bhat in the moming. In winter months it causes serious
ailments like frequent attacks of cough and cold etc., which in tum has an
adverse impact on pubic health in non-plantation households.
TABLE-5.9
AVERAGE QUANTITY OF CONSUMPTION OF CEREALS PER PERSON PER 30 DAYS
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
CEREALS Households Households
Quantity Value Quantity Value
lin~) lin Rs.) lin Kg) (in Rs.)
Rice 12.52 123.43 11.23 108.93
Wheat I Atta 1.86 20.76 1.54 16.63
Muri 0.62 9.09 0.64 8.64
Chira 0.23 2.82 0.18 2.25
Other Cereals 0.03 1.07 0.00 0.00
Total Cereals 15.27 157.18 13.59 136.45
Source: Field Survey

The overall monthly per capita consumption expenditure is Rs. 393.04 and
Rs. 368.77 in plantation and non-plantation labour households. The difference
between the two agro-ecological livelihood zones is Rs. 24.27 (Table-5.10). This
difference is largely due to variations in the food consumption by the households.
It should be mentioned here that as of 1999-2000, the poverty lines declared by
the Planning Commission were Rs.327 and Rs.454 (total expenditure - both food
and non-food expenditure), for rural and urban areas, respectively. Currently,
these figures stand at approximately Rs.368 and Rs.559 per person per month for
rural and urban areas24. It is also indicative that the non-plantation labour
households somehow reached at the poverty line.
The monthly per capita food consumption in the Dangis is Rs. 268.35 and
Rs. 245.65 in the Nichanparas with a difference of Rs. 22. 70. It really proves that
food intake is higher in the Dangis. It is also observed that most of the non-
plantation labour households do not drink tea or take breakfast; rather they
directly go for Ponta-Bhat at 9 a.m. in the moming. In addition to that. it is also
revealed by many labourers during the field survey that they could hardly afford to
take meat. fish, chicken. egg etc. Similarly. the difference in per capita expenditure
on fuel and light expenditure is a little high in plantation labour households. The
24M. Guruswamy and R.J. Abraham. 2006: Redefining Poverty- A New Poverty Line for a
New India. Economic Political Weekly, 24 June. p. 2534

196
main reason for this ic that some of the labour households in the Dangis could
afford to use electricity for lighting by giving rent to their neighbourhoods. The per
capita use of soaps and detergents is almost same in both the zones. It was also
noticed that most of the households in both the zones use only detergents and
washing powder for bathing as well as washing clothes. They could hardly afford
to buy bathing soaps. Clothing mainly includes both the second hand as well as
first hand clothes. It is also observed that labourers engaged in tea plantations
spend more on clothing. Generally, during Durga Puja every year they buy new
clothes as they receive bonus from their respective tea farms. Such opportunities
are not available to non-plantation workers.
Apart from the above differences, expenditure on education too is an
important constituent of household expenditure. But it is ironical to mention that
most of the households don't give preference to children's education. Though,
some of them send their children to the traditional village Madrasas25 among
Muslims and Primary School among Rqjban.shis. Very less expense is involved in
schools, as books and salaries of teachers are paid by the state govemment in
case Primary schools. In Madrasas. besides books, salary of Moulvf2 6 is also
shared by all the villagers. So, Madrasa education incurs more burdens on labour
households both in the Dangis and the Nichan.paras. Some changes were noticed
particularly after the introduction of mid-day meal programme in the primary
schools but it is still quite early to show any desired results.
An interesting fact about the household survey is that though the non-
plantation labour households are poor yet their per capita medical expenditure is
high. This is mostly related to the contaminated drinking water from ring wells
and kutcha wells, and poor state housing and living space and housing as
mentioned above. Similarly, the per capita expenditure on purchase and
construction is again high in non-plantation labour households. It is largely due to
the high maintenance cost of a poor quality house they live in. This too has
serious consequences on their household economy particularly on savings and
indebtedness.
25 Madrasas are informal religious teaching centres of Islam. where all the villagers share

the total expenditure collectively including salary. fooding and stay of Moului in a
respective village.
26
Moulvi is an expert In religious texts and supposed to teach moral education on
religious lines among Muslims.

197
 TABLE-5.10
MONTHLY PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE (MPCE)
(I n Rupees I
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
FOOD AND NON-FOOD ITEMS Households Households
Food Total 268.35 245.65
Pan, tobacco & intoxicants 6.31 6.42
Fuel & Light 32.12 29.82
Soaps & Detergents 7.36 6.60
Clothinj! 24.26 21.43
Footwear 5.00 4.95
Education 10.78 7.80
Medical 21.86 24.85
Purchase and Construction 17.00 21.25
MPCE 393.04 368.77
Source: Field Survey
9. HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS:
Households often save and invest after fulfilling their needs. Ideally
speaking, savings should be in a form that is secure, holds its value over time and
offers a retum, either in the form of interest or some other benefit27. Households
typically diversify their savings. e.g. as gold (often jewellery), as livestock which
gives a retum in the form of milk and meat, and interest in the form of offspring.
as items such as corrugated roofmg that are not only useful but also retain their
value and can be resold. if necessary. It is a measure, which provides a sense of
security and confidence during distress and difficult times to a household. A
family or household can withstand and survive during illness and accident of its
members, can take part in ceremonies and social gathering, socio-cultural
festivals etc. if it has some savings.
The experiences of the study too are quite rich in this respect. Here,
household savings are grouped under four categories. i.e. cash at home, cash at
bank account. jewellery, and no saving. The per capita savings in plantation labour
households is Rs. 238.98 and Rs. 158.62 in non-plantation labour households.
The labour households save more by engaging themselves in tea plantations as
compared to other agricultural activities. As indicated by Table-5.11, saving is Rs.
80.36 more in plantation labour households. Cash wage, regular works available
in the vicinity of the villages, participation of females etc. are some of the reasons
of higher saving such households. As mentioned above, per capita livestock and

27
J. Seaman, P. Clarke. T. Boudreau, and J. Holt, 2000: The Household Economy
Approach -A resource manual for practitioners, Save the Children, London. p. 18

198
poultry. is also higher in plantation labour households. This also improves the
monetary retum in the form of milk. meat. egg. and offspring in such households.
TABLE-5.11
HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS IN LABOUR HOUSEHOLDS
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation
HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS Households Labour Households
Cash at home 28 13
Number of Bank account 4 Nil
Households Jewellery 6 8
No savin_g 22 39
Total 60 60
Per Capita Savings (In Rs.) 238.98 158.62
Source: Field Survey
10. INCIDENCE OF INDEBTEDNESS:
Majority of the households under study borrow money from non-
institutional sources at an exorbitant interest rate. There are two types of
borrowing, i.e. cash borrowed and kin~ borrowed. The reasons for borrowing
mostly include, illness and health related problem. maintaining household
expenditure during lean season. house repairing. ceremonies etc. The main
sources are villagers. friends and relatives. village clubs. The interest rate varies
from no interest to 5-12 percent per month and sometimes a flat interest of 50
percent of the total amount is fiXed. In case of kind borrowings28. paddy is
borrowed for eating and sustenance during lean agricultural season from the
neighbours or villagers. This is mostly prevalent among the non-plantation
households. which is repaid through labour (man day's work) during the peak
monsoon.
Moreover. the incidence of underemployment in the Nichanparas compels
the labour households to remain dependent on the aftluent village people. They
remain in poverty over the years in this process. As opposed to this. the labourers
in the Dangis are absorbed throughout the year in tea plantations: hence such
kind of kind borrowing and its related consequences does not arise. Moreover.
incidence of kind borrowing is not prevalent in the Dangis. The level of poverty
trap can be understood from Table-5.12. The per capita indebtedness29 is

28 Kind borrowing is common in Nichnnparas only. and the labour households borrow
paddy at the rate of lean season price from village affluent and return the same at thl" ratt"
of lean season wage during monsoon in exchange of labour.
2 9 The Per Capita Indebtedness is calculated by adding cash and kind borrowing together
into n1pees divided by household size.

199
Rs.106.87 in plantation labour households. and it is almost double i.e. Rs. 223.28
in the non-plantation labour households. The absolute difference is Rs. 116.41. It
is also observed that the labour households in the Nichanparas have total
submission to the affluent village class of the village which has resulted into their
lower bargaining strength. low wages. longer work schedule from sunrise to
sunset, and seasonal cash and kind payment etc. to mention a few. On the other
hand, in Dangis these situations have improved over the years particularly after
the introduction of pineapple followed by tea cultivation.
TABLE-5.12
INCIDENCE OF INDEBTEDNESS IN LABOUR HOUSEHOLDS
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation
INDEBTNESS Households Labour Households
Yes 14 52
Number of No 46 8
Households Total 60 60
Per Capita Indebtedness (In Rs.) 106.87 223.28
Source: Field Survey
11. HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY:
The household vulnerability is understood in terms of three major points
i.e. food availability status, household savings, and household Indebtness.
Household savings and indebtedness have been discussed above. and food
insufficiency or availability3o is analysed in the Table-5.13 below. Here food
insufficiency means that a household compromises to compensate by reducing its
consumption of food intake due to certain external factors. This is evident from the
field that due to the impact of underemployment in the Nichanparas during
agriculture lean season particularly November to March food insufficiency occurs
in non-plantation labour households. This shock is compensated by low food
intake and even by taking Ponta-Bhat and one meal a day. Out of 60 households,
15 of them have expressed the food insufficiency in the Nichanparas. On the other
hand. in the Dangis only 3 households out of 60 have reported the incidence of
food insufficiency and the possible reason cited by them is the pruned season in
tea plantations and rotation of work in the farms. Therefore, it can be justified to
say that food insufficiency is severe in the Nichanparas as compare to the Dangis.

30 Here food insufficiency refers to the nature of deficiency relates to qualitative aspects.
the occurrence period and the reasons behind such kind of a situation - it is mostly
coincides with agricultural lean season when labourers are unemployed or underemployed
for a long period in Nichanparas and food insufficiency Is severe in Nichanparas only.

200
 It is evident from the present study that location as well as spatial factors
influences local level employment and demand of labour in the labour market. In
the Dangis demand of labour is low during January to February causing irregular
income and underemployment in plantation labour households. The reason
behind such kind of occurrence is pruning season in tea plantations and lean
period pineapple fields. Contrary to this, the length of lean season in agriculture in
the Nichanparas is wider and it stretches from November to March. This causes
low demand of labour in the Nichanparas as pineapple and tea cultivation is non-
existent in this micro-region. It is during this period people in the Nichanparas
migrate in search of employment to other places like DeUti, Punjab, Dwjeeling,
SUiguri etc. Thus, labour market at the local level is highly influenced by location.
and bargaining strength is decided by spatial factor particularly land use.
TABLE-5.13
DISTRIBUTION OF LABOUR HOUSEHOLDS BY FOOD AVAILABR.ITY STATUS
Plantation Labour Non-Plantation Labour
PARAMETER Households Households
Distribution of Households Per 60 Households Per 60 Households
Number of households do not get 3 15
enough food everyday
Period of food insufficiency January-March November-March
No work regularly, Lean season in
Reason of insufficiency pruning season in agriculture, no work
plantations and during this period
rotation system for the
labourers, irregular
income leads to low
income etc.
Source: Field Survey
13. COMPOSITE LEVELS OF HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY INDEX (HEI): A
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PLANTATION AND NON PLANTATION
HOUSEHOULDS

The levels of household economy index (HEI) are measured on the basis of
the 12 indicators. The selection of these indicators is based on the rationale given
in the previous section in this chapter. It was a difficult choice mainly due the
following reasons: paucity of objective and sufficient data, difficulties in
standardizing the data on time, space and social dimension etc. on many
occasions the researcher had to rely on surrogate indicators in order access some
of the important dimension. Moreover, most of the data used here are also
qualitative in nature and transformation of this into quantitative measures was

201
another important difficulty. However. in spite of all these limitations the
researcher was able to select some best representative indicators such as
ownership of household goods and assets, out migration. consumption level.
household savings, indebtedness and food insufficiency etc. and the methodology
followed here was simple mathematical aggregation of the subjective scores given
to levels in individual indicators. The scale of points given to each variable is also
based on subjective judgment of the researcher. The values of each indicator have
been graded into a subjective scale of high, medium and low. Higher values in the
indicator sliow better condition of the household economy and quality of living and
it is given higher value and lower value represents bad performance of the
household for the same indicator. The scale for each indicator is as follows:
• Number of rooms: 3 for three rooms, 2 for two rooms, 1 for one rooms;
• House types: 3 for GI corrugated, 2 for semi-pucca, 1 for thatch house;
• Sotirces of d.rinkin.g water. 4 for hand pump, 3 for ring well. 2 for kutcha
well, 1 for not in premises;
• Sanitary toiletfacility: 2 for available, 1 for not available;
• Energy for lighting: 2 for electricity, 1 for kerosene;
• Out migration status: 2 for do not migrate. 1 for migrate;
• Per capita consumer durables: 3 for more than Rs.1000, 2 for Rs.501 to
Rs.1000. 1 for less than Rs.500;
• Per capita livestock and poultry: 3 for more than Rs.IOOO. 2 for Rs.501 to
Rs.1000, 1 for less than Rs.500;
• Monthly per capita conswnption expenditure: 3 for more than Rs.450, 2 for
Rs.401 to 450, 1 for less than Rs.400
• Household savings: 2 for yes, 1 for no;
• Incidence of indebtedness: 2 for no, 1 for yes;
• Food insufficiency: 2 for no, 1 for yes;

Index score ranges from less than 20 as 'Low HEI', 20-22 as 'Medium HEI', and,
23 and above as 'High HE I'.
TABLE-5.14
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY INDEX (HEn
Household Number of Households Percentage of Households
Economy Plantation Non-Plantation Plantation Non-Plantation
Index (HEn Labour Labour Labour Labour
Households Households Households Households
Low 18 29 30.0 48.3
Medium 20 23 33.3 38.3
High 22 8 36.7 13.3
Total 60 60 100.0 100.0

It is clearly evident from the table-5.14 that plantation and non-plantation

labour households have significant differences in their living conditions. Out of

202
total 60 plantation labour households. 18 are Low. 20 are Medium. and 22 are
High HEl households and their percentage share is 30 per cent. 33.3 per cent and
36.7 per cent respectively. As opposed to this. in non-plantation labour
households the distribution is 29 are Low. 23 are Medium. and eight are High HEI
households and their percentage share is 48.3 per cent. 38.3 per cent. and 13.3
per cent respectively. The proportion of High HEI in plantation labour households
is significantly higher than the non-plantation labour households and the absolute
difference between the two is 14 households. and the difference in percentage
terms is 23.4 .. Similarly, the most contrasting picture arises in case of Low HEI.
Here the proportion of non-plantation labour households is higher as compared to
plantation labour households and the absolute difference between the two is 11
households and the difference in percentage terms is 18.3 per cent. Thus. the
results of the composite index validate the rationale given in Section-11 of this
chapter.
To summarize the foregoing discussion. it can be stated that plantation
labour households enjoy better living and higher consumption than the non-
plantation labour households. Introduction of tea cultivation have changed
working conditions and consumption level of the plantation labour households.
The abolition of kind wage in the Dangis has changed the power equations in the
society in general and bargaining strength of the labourers in the wage market in
particular. Tea plantation has also initiated institutionalized bargains among the
labourers under the frame of bipartite agreements. As opposed to this the
situation in the non-plantation households in the Nichanparas is far from
satisfactory and they are still dependent on affluent classes in the village. Regular
employment in Small Tea Plantations has leveled up the quality living in
plantation households, asset formation. reduced incidence of Indebtness. food
sufficiency etc. As opposed to this. non-plantation labour households are lagging
behind. It is particularly reflected while analyzing their out-migration status. food
intake. incidence of indebtedness. expenditure on medicine etc.

203