Kathmandu, June 7: The tea garden is the identity of Ilam. However, after the government handed over the tea gardens to the private sector, due to negligence on the part of the private sector management, the beauty of the tea gardens was destroyed.
This year, on the occasion of Environment Day on June 5, the Ilam Municipality decided to plant new saplings in areas where tea plants had been destroyed, as the private sector management had requested not to plant tea saplings there.  
The Shanghai Group took over the government-owned Nepal Tea Development Corporation on lease for 50 years, however, it has not properly taken care of the gardens owned by it, due to which, the gardens have turned ugly.
Locals in Ilam believe that this is a conspiracy to destroy Ilam’s identity, and the Municipality has asked the government to cancel the agreement and hand over the gardens to the local bodies.
It has already been 25 years since the Shanghai Group took over the gardens belonging to the Nepal Tea Development Corporation, but it has failed to manage and protect the gardens. Neither the private sector management nor the royalty is being paid according to the lease agreement.
In 2057 BS, the government handed over the management of the seven tea gardens—Ilam, Kanyam, Soktim, Chilimkot in the Ilam district and Barne, Baradashi, and Tokla tea gardens in the Jhapa district to the Shanghai Group with 65% of its ownership. Since the Shanghai Group took over the management, the gardens have not been properly maintained and preserved.
Thus far, the local bodies in the districts are asking the government to hand over these gardens to the local bodies.
The businessmen look after their profit and manipulate royalty, therefore, the privatization process in Nepal has not been successful. At a time when other private sector-operated tea gardens are making a profit, the government-privatized tea gardens are at the stage of collapse.