The Tea Board is holding a meeting of owners of closed tea gardens and their bankers to discuss the rehabilitation package announced by the Central government in the Eleventh Plan.

The first meeting with the owners and bankers was held in Kolkata on Saturday for the closed gardens in West Bengal and Assam. The rehabilitation package was approved by the commerce ministry recently.

Another meeting for the tea gardens in South India will be held in Kochi on July 12.

Tea Board Chairman will preside over the meetings. The total number of closed tea gardens is 33 -- 17 in Kerala, 14 in West Bengal and two in Assam.

The owners of the closed tea gardens, keen to avail of the benefits under the rehabilitation package, have to furnish undertakings, expressions of interest, to the chairman of the Board confirming their commitments to reopen the gardens.

The components of the scheme include restructuring of existing banks loans, waiver of Tea Board loans, damages on the Employees' Provident Fund, extension of facility of term loan for gardens improvement, extension of facility under quality upgradation and product diversification scheme and sanction of working capital and the grant of interest subsidy on the loans.