Tribals meet Mamata, say won’t cede land to GTA in Dooars-Terai

A 16-member delegation of Adivasi Vikash Parishad on Saturday met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Writers’ Building and reiterated their demand for not including the 400 monzas, demanded by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, within the territory of the newly formed GTA. “We will not allow any of these land to be included into the GTA,” they said.
The team also met Gautam Deb, state minister for North Bengal Development. The delegation included 10 members from the Dooars, five members from Terai and one member from Junglemahal. The ABAVP is opposed to GJM’s demand for inclusion of areas belonging to Dooars and Terai region in the new Hill council.
“We today explained our stand to our Chief Minister. She gave a patient hearing. There are laws and the Constitution and the Parliament. A government-appointed committee is looking into it. But we will never allow the land to be included in GTA where our communities have been living for last 200 years. Nobody can take away our land from us. We will never allow the inclusion of the 400 mouzas of Dooars and Terai in the GTA,” said Birsa Tirkey, president of ABAVP. 

When asked about the bandh called by the ABAVP on the eve of the GTA agreement being signed, Tirkey said, “We called the bandh for not opposing the state government, but to draw its attention towards our demand.”
Meanwhile, Goutam Deb, said, “The ABAVP had called their bandh prior to the signing of the tripartite accord and they withdrew it after I promised them to hold talks on their demands. As they did not have the copy of the agreement then, it led to a misunderstanding which has been cleared now.”  Deb further said the government would take up several development projects in Dooars and Terai area also. 
~indianexpress