On 12 May 2022, over a hundred tea garden workers of Doloo tea estate in Lalbagh division of Silchar, the headquarter of Cachar district of Assam, came out to protest against the clearing of the tea estate. If implemented fully, the clearing would result in their eviction from the tea estate and subsequent loss of their only source of livelihood. Doloo tea garden employs approximately 1,900 people, including both regular and non-regular staff. The eviction drive, likely to uproot over 3 milllion plants, is being conducted to clear the land for the construction of a proposed Greenfield airport planned by the Airports Authority of India in consultation with the Assam government.

The state government plans to clear around 859.5 acres of Doloo tea estate out of its total area of 3,294 acres (9,965 bighas) for the airport. Although Section 144 had been issued in the area alongside the deployment of heavy security cover, workers quickly gathered at the site when over 100 bulldozers arrived to raze the tea plantations.

The eviction was conducted by the Assam government amidst strong opposition from the labourers of Doloo Tea estate who claimed that the eviction contradicted the pre-election assurance from the state government that no policy would be pursued that endangers the interests of the tea estate workers.

An affected worker said, “We cannot accept the airport as it will take away our livelihood. Where will we work if the government destroys the tea plantation and constructs an airport? We don’t have the required skill set or education to work in an airport or any other place. The tea garden is the only place where we can work and earn something. This is why we have been protesting. But the tone-deaf government is not ready to listen.”

The eviction is said to be undertaken after an MoU for acquiring the land for the airport was signed in March 2022 between the authorities of the Doloo Tea Company and three registered trade unions viz Barak Cha Shramik Union, Akhil Bharatiya Cha Mazdoor Sangh and Barak Valley Cha Mazdoor Sangh. The tea workers, however, reject the MoU saying that the MoU was signed without consulting them even though they are the actual stakeholders. They further allege that the MoU was kept a secret until the officials came to demarcate the land on 19 April and it was only after numerous protests that the MoU was made public. In two subsequent public hearings, the workers had explicitly rejected the MoU, but their pleas were ignored as the demolition drive continued according to the planned schedule.

Another bone of contention in the conflict is the non-disbursal of the provident fund (PF) money by the Doloo tea management to its workers. The tea workers claim that they are yet to receive the PF contributions they have been making for the past several years. The company management says that it will clear all pending PF and Gratuity claims upon receiving compensation from the government. The tea garden workers counter by arguing that PF and gratuity are their legal entitlements which the tea garden administration must pay from the tea garden's income rather than from government compensation.

However, the proposed greenfield airport finds no mention in the Union government’s list of 21 approved greenfield airports that was shared in the Lok Sabha on 17 March 2022 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. In a written response to a query raised in Rajya Sabha, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that the Union ministry had not received any proposal to build a new greenfield airport in the Cachar region of Assam. 

On 30 November 2022, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma distributed Rs 1 lakh to each of the 1,296 families residing in the Doloo tea estate. However, there are allegations that some workers did not receive the money. "Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma came here to distribute the money. Some workers received it, but many are still deprived of the compensation," said a worker from the tea estate.

During the cheque distribution program, female workers protested in front of the Chief Minister and other officials. Following which, the CM assured them of proving addition benefits through government schemes.

In April 2023, Assam Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan informed the Assembly that the state government had allocated an additional Rs 20 crore for compensating 1,496 casual workers in Doloo tea estate.

Meanwhile, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation General V K Singh (retd) said that the proposal for setting up of Greenfield airport in Cachar’s Doloo tea estate was under consideration by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), in consultation with airport authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and government of Assam (GoA).

In January 2024, three petitioners approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking directions to cease the construction of the Greenfield Airport at Doloo Tea Estate until a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is conducted as per EIA Notification dated 14.09.2006 and to restore the Doloo Tea Estate to its original condition as of 12 May 2022, by replanting uprooted tea bushes, felled shade trees and rectifying the damage caused to the landscape and ecosystem. In an order dated 25 January 2024, the NGT held that an Environmental Impact Assessment Report was awaited and the Environmental Clearance for the airport has not been granted. Yet it held that the NGT plea of the appellants for an order of restraint on the grant of site clearances and in principle approvals was without merit at that stage.

On 8 April 2024, the Supreme Court ordered the Assam government to maintain status quo at the Doloo tea estate. The court, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, questioned the state's decision to clear shrubs without an environmental impact assessment report. It also issued notices to the central government, the MoEFCC, and the Assam government in response to a petition filed by Tapas Guha and others. The petitioners' advocate, Prashant Bhushan, argued that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had made a mistake and that environmental clearance is required even for granting site clearance and in-principle approvals.

On 7 June 2025, around 2,000 tea garden workers gathered at two locations within the Doloo Tea Estate in Cachar to protest, demanding settlement of long-pending dues and improvement of working and living conditions.

On 23 June 2025, the Assam government held a public hearing for the proposed greenfield airport at Doloo Tea Estate. The hearing, organised by the Assam Pollution Control Board, took place at Hatichara Gram Panchayat in Silchar. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the hearing's completion, expressing his optimism that the airport would transform the Barak Valley into a connectivity and development hub.

The hearing was attended by representatives from various trade unions, including the Asom Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU), CITU, NTUI, INTUC, and BMS. According to Cachar DC Mridul Yadav, 151 memorandums were submitted, with 145 supporting the project. However, workers under the Asom Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU) questioned the legitimacy of a public hearing conducted outside the tea garden area. They also demanded cancellation of the EIA report, which they alleged was done in violation of the Supreme Court’s order in the matter. They claimed that the EIA report deliberately omits the environmental impact on the Barail Wildlife Sanctuary and Dolu Lake.

Further, they demanded the government either move the airport to a different location, return the already acquired land, or provide an equivalent area of land elsewhere for tea cultivation. They also demanded that the government provide MGNREGA work to these workers so they can plant tea on the acquired land.

AMSU representatives Arindam Deb and Biswajit Das highlighted the workers' opposition to the destruction of 2,500 bighas of land, which includes 3 million tea plants and thousands of other trees.