Deal for Darjeeling It's now up to GJM's leaders

With the signing of Monday’s tripartite agreement for the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration which will cover the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling district in West Bengal, hopefully peace will return to the region. More than two decades ago, a similar tripartite agreement was signed for setting up the now defunct Gorkhaland Hill Council which, tragically, failed to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong; what it did fulfil, however, was the greed of avaricious Gorkha leaders of the GNLF, among them Mr Subash Ghising. To prevent the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration going the same way, the new Gorkha leadership, affiliated to the GJM, an offshoot of the GNLF, must strive to steer clear of cynical abuse of power that led to the failure of the earlier experiment to bring about self-governance in Darjeeling’s hill sub-divisions. This is all the more necessary because the GTA, unlike the GHC, promises greater autonomy on a host of issues ranging from revenue collection to forest management, infrastructure development to education, agriculture, irrigation, food, industry, women and child development, water resources, municipalities, panchayats, urban development, public health, tourism, culture and sports.

If the elected council is judicious, honest and wedded to the principles of good governance, a lot can be achieved by way of physical and social development of a region that continues to lag behind despite enviable natural and human resources. The West Bengal Government has done well to arrange for direct assured funding from the Union Government for the first three years, after which the council will have to lobby with the Centre like any other State for allocation of resources. One of the reasons why the GHC experiment failed is that it was being spoonfed by the State Government and, consequently, was dependent on Kolkata’s largesse, which in turn provided enough scope for political machination. If Mr Ghising let down his people, the CPI(M)’s role in that was as much a factor as the disgraced leader’s corrupt ways. Seen against that backdrop, the lesser Kolkata’s interventionist role, the better it shall be for Darjeeling. At least the GJM, which can be expected to sweep the council poll, cannot point fingers at others if the GTA fails; its leaders alone shall be responsible.

That said, it would be in order to reiterate that the GJM should desist from insisting upon the inclusion of Siliguri, its adjacent plains and the Dooars in the area to be covered by the GTA. These areas are best left untouched, although Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set up a committee to take a final view on the matter after studying the demography. In any event, this can wait for the moment; what is more important is for the GTA to take off and establish its authority. That by itself would be an onerous task, not the least because Darjeeling district has seen little law and order these past few years. It’s a great opportunity for the people and their leaders to prove they can govern themselves and thus disprove their critics. Will the GJM rise to the occasion?

~the pioneer