KOLKATA(TNN): The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the West Bengal government on Monday took the first steps towards formation of a new hill council for Darjeeling, replacing the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council that had been formed in 1988. It is expected that a new council would pave the way for return of normality in the Hills, hit by repeated bandhs and disturbances since 2008.
A GJM delegation led by its general secretary Roshan Giri and including four MLAs of the party had a meeting with state government officials led by chief secretary Samar Ghosh where the details about the formation of a new council were discussed. The meeting would continue on Tuesday to thrash out the the issues that needed to be settled before a council could be formed.
Giri said the talks focused on two main issues - the territorial jurisdiction of the proposed council and the transfer of the office of land (locally called "tauji") under the jurisdiction of the council. "Today's meeting was held under a cordial atmosphere. Our points are on the way to be solved," he said. The delegation raised seven points, he said. The GJM general secretary made it clear that while they were not giving up the Gorkhaland demand, they were not pressing the issue either.
GJM wanted inclusion of areas in the Terai and the Dooars, besides the three Hills subdivsions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. If the discussion with state government officials progresses satisfactorily, the formula worked out would be taken up in a tripartite discussion at the political level in which representatives of the Centre would also be present. The state government would have to take into account the feelings of adivasis living in the Dooars and the Terai before a deal is concluded.
Earlier, in negotiations with the Left Front government, GJM had demanded that the whole of the Terai and the Dooars be included in the proposed interim council, but had later scaled down the demand to only the Gorkha-majority areas in these places. According to sources, however, identification of the mouzas in the Terai and the Dooars where Gorkhas are in a majority would take some time. On an earlier occasion, it had been planned that a committee would be set up to do this identification.
The territory of the earlier DGHC formed in an agreement between the Jyoti Basu government and the GNLF comprised the three hills subdivisions and 14 mouzas in the Siliguri subdivision. Following the rise of GJM in the hills and the marginalization of GNLF, however, DGHC has practically ceased functioning.
Since the formation of GJM, the Hills have been in a state of almost continuous paralysis because of bandhs and agitations. in support of various demands. People in Darjeeling town say more than anything else, even formation of a separate Gorkhaland state, the people of the hills now want peace to return so that they can lead a normal life. Residents of Darjeeling, it is learnt, are watching the outcome of the talks between GJM leaders and the state government keenly.
A GJM delegation led by its general secretary Roshan Giri and including four MLAs of the party had a meeting with state government officials led by chief secretary Samar Ghosh where the details about the formation of a new council were discussed. The meeting would continue on Tuesday to thrash out the the issues that needed to be settled before a council could be formed.
Giri said the talks focused on two main issues - the territorial jurisdiction of the proposed council and the transfer of the office of land (locally called "tauji") under the jurisdiction of the council. "Today's meeting was held under a cordial atmosphere. Our points are on the way to be solved," he said. The delegation raised seven points, he said. The GJM general secretary made it clear that while they were not giving up the Gorkhaland demand, they were not pressing the issue either.
GJM wanted inclusion of areas in the Terai and the Dooars, besides the three Hills subdivsions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. If the discussion with state government officials progresses satisfactorily, the formula worked out would be taken up in a tripartite discussion at the political level in which representatives of the Centre would also be present. The state government would have to take into account the feelings of adivasis living in the Dooars and the Terai before a deal is concluded.
Earlier, in negotiations with the Left Front government, GJM had demanded that the whole of the Terai and the Dooars be included in the proposed interim council, but had later scaled down the demand to only the Gorkha-majority areas in these places. According to sources, however, identification of the mouzas in the Terai and the Dooars where Gorkhas are in a majority would take some time. On an earlier occasion, it had been planned that a committee would be set up to do this identification.
The territory of the earlier DGHC formed in an agreement between the Jyoti Basu government and the GNLF comprised the three hills subdivisions and 14 mouzas in the Siliguri subdivision. Following the rise of GJM in the hills and the marginalization of GNLF, however, DGHC has practically ceased functioning.
Since the formation of GJM, the Hills have been in a state of almost continuous paralysis because of bandhs and agitations. in support of various demands. People in Darjeeling town say more than anything else, even formation of a separate Gorkhaland state, the people of the hills now want peace to return so that they can lead a normal life. Residents of Darjeeling, it is learnt, are watching the outcome of the talks between GJM leaders and the state government keenly.
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