The long-standing impasse in the Darjeeling Hills is heading towards a resolution on Monday when the Centre, the West Bengal government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will sign a tripartite agreement for the
formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). This autonomous authority for the Darjeeling Hills will replace the existing Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The agreement will be signed in presence of Union home minister P. Chidambaram and chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Pintel village near Sukna, instead of Darjeeling town — which was Ms Banerjee’s original plan, due to rains and inclement weather.
[The Centre will provide a `600-crore economic package to the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in Darjeeling for development work under its jurisdiction, official sources said in New Delhi, reports PTI. The funds will be released by the Centre over three years — `200 crores each year, starting in 2011.]
Announcing this on Friday, the chief minister said: “The tripartite agreement will be signed on July 18. The Union home minister will come for this. Due to the bad weather, three-hour long journey to Darjeeling may not be possible, the agreement will be signed at Sukna, which also falls under the jurisdiction of Darjeeling. I have asked the chief secretary to also invite the Leader of the Opposition for the programme.” Harka Bahadur Chhetri, a central committee member of the GJM, welcomed this announcement.
When asked what “magic” she had done to resolve a problem which had eluded a solution for a long time, Ms Banerjee said: “The credit should go to the people of the state. My brothers and sisters in Darjeeling also cooperated. We want the people of the Hills to live in peace, and I also assure peace for the people of Terai and Dooars.”
The chief minister also warned outfits which have called a long bandh in the plains protesting against the proposed tripartite agreement. “Some unknown separatist organisations have been spreading false propaganda. They do not want the agreement to be signed as they are against development in the Hills. I request them to desist from such activities,” she said.
In an apparent response to the CPI(M) allegation that by including the word “Gorkhaland” in the name of the proposed authority, the state government was paving the way for the creation of a separate state, comprising the three Hills subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, the chief minister said: “What is in a name? Some people say supravat, some others say good morning. The (Darjeeling) Gorkha Hill Council was earlier also in existence, so it’s nothing new. Some people are indulging in narrow politics over this minor issue.” Rejecting the charge that this agreement would weaken the state’s links with Darjeeling, she said on the contrary it would further consolidate the bonds.
After years of violent agitation on August 22, 1988, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, the state government and Subhas Ghising’s Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), the then main political force in the Hills, and subsequently the DGHC was formed. The situation in the Hills had remained peaceful till the GJM once again started an agitation for a separate Gorkhaland in 2007.
In a bid to strike a balance between the Hills and the plains, the CM announced she would launch several new initiatives for the rest of North Bengal during this visit. She is due to make a token inauguration of the proposed chief minister’s mini-secretariat for six districts in North Bengal. The CM will also flag off the bus service linking Haluabari and Siliguri. The Calcutta high court’s circuit bench in Jalpaiguri may also start functioning during the CM’s visit. A direct flight linking Kolkata and Coochbehar is also on the cards.
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi will accompany Ms Banerjee on this visit as there will be some programmes involving the railways there.