Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday assured the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leadership that the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) would come into force in 10 to 12 days.
“The interministerial committee has sent the GTA Bill to the home minister which will send it to law ministry which in turn will send it to the Prime Minister and finally, it will be sent for Presidential assent. The chief minister has assured us that the whole process will be completed in 10-12 days,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said. He was speaking after a meeting between the chief minister and the GJM leaders at Kalimpong on the concluding day of Ms Banerjee’s visit to the Hills. Mr Giri, however, made it clear that the GJM would stuck to its stand and if the GTA did not come into force by March 27 then they would revive their agitation.
Mr Giri agreed that even if the GTA became a reality, the inclusion of 391 mouzas from Terai and Dooars in the autonomous body would be a time-consuming process. “The issue of inclusion of mouzas is being dealt with by a high-powered committee headed by Justice (retired) Shyamal Sen. A GTA election, therefore, is not possible in the immediate future,” he added. The GJM leaders put the onus of finding a mechanism for the implementation of GTA on the state government.
Top GJM leaders including Bimal Gurung participated in the meeting. Neither Mr Gurung not Ms Banerjee spoke to the media which was briefed by Mr Giri and party spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri.