The state government is not ready to discuss about the territory of the proposed interim authority for the Darjeeling Hills in the tripartite discussions before setting up the interim authority. The tripartite meeting at the administrative level which was held at New Delhi on Tuesday ended in a stalemate after the Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha representatives demanded to include Dooars in the territory of the interim authority, which the state government refused. CM Bhattacharjee on Wednesday evening called on governor M.K. Narayanan, who would visit Darjeeling from May 16, to apprise him of the development. “The meeting was convened to discuss the structure, power and functions of the interim council, but the GJM pressed for the inclusion of Dooars in the territory of the interim authority. We want to set up the interim authority first and do not wish to discuss its territory now,” state home secretary Samar Ghosh said. “The Government of India will take decision on the political level meeting,” Mr Ghosh added.
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‘Trinamul linked with Maoists’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
Kolkata
May 12: Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs minister Susanta Ghosh on Wednesday alleged that the Trinamul Congress was hand in gloves with the Maoists to stop development works in the Jangalmahal area. He said that unless the local people broke this nexus, the development work would not speed up. He was speaking after a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the Writers’ Buildings where the chief minister reviewed the performance of the department. “My department is responsible to carry out different development programmes in 74 blocks in Paschimanchal. In some blocks, the actual implementation is less than the target due to the nexus between the Trinamul Congress and the Maoists, who are preventing us from carrying out the development programmes,” Mr Ghosh said.
Earlier in the meeting, the chief minister asked Mr Ghosh to give emphasis on projects like providing safe drinking water, ration system, education, construction of roads in the tribal belt. Mr Bhattacharjee also sought a district wise report of the implementation of the projects.