Mamata Banerjee
had said recently in Darjeeling that a tripartite meeting of the state
and central governments and the GTA would be held to take stock of the
hill body’s functioning although a date is yet to be fixed. Such
meetings are held once in a while as stipulated by the GTA deal. Ahead
of the tripartite meetings, direct talks are also held between the state
and the GTA to iron out differences over the hill body’s functioning.
Gurung chaired a
meeting of GTA executive members and bureaucratic heads of different
departments to review the powers and functioning of the hill body in
detail. “We held detailed discussions on the GTA agreement and GTA Act.
All the good and the bad of the GTA were discussed. We will be writing
to the Centre tomorrow, giving our views on how to improve the
functioning of the GTA,” he told reporters after the meeting in
Darjeeling.
The Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha had in the past accused the state government of being an
impediment to the smooth functioning of the GTA in keeping with the
letter and spirit of the GTA Act and agreement. The party also alleges
that all departments haven’t been transferred to the GTA completely.
Gurung said he had
no faith in bipartite meetings to resolve issues between the GTA and
the state government. “I don’t have faith in bipartite meetings. Nothing
comes out of it. No follow-up actions are taken,” he said, stopping
short of calling for an end to the bipartite talks.
As far as the
Centre’s role vis-a-vis the GTA is concerned, the Morcha chief is
hopeful. “I have hopes from the Centre. Our MP (S.S. Ahluwalia) is aware
of our problems. He has already started working on them,” he said.
Observers said the GTA was writing to the Centre so that the hill body would have an upper hand at the tripartite meeting.
“The tone of the
previous tripartite meetings was set by the state government. However,
with a friendly government at the Centre, the Morcha wants to take
advantage of the situation and score over the state at the tripartite
meeting. The GTA is writing to the Centre to put pressure on the state
government,” said an observer.
Gurung also
threatened to take legal recourse if all cases filed against Morcha
supporters during the Gorkhaland agitation prior to the signing of the
GTA agreement were not withdrawn. “I had written to Union home minister
on June 2 demanding the removal of IRB companies from Pintail Village
(near Siliguri), withdrawal of cases registered during the agitation and
the pullout of CRPF from the hills. We are hearing that the CRPF is
being withdrawn. But if the cases against our party workers are not
withdrawn, we may have to move court,” he said.
According to the GTA agreement, the state government has to withdraw all cases registered during the agitation.
Gurung also said the hawkers’ market proposed by the state government at Chowrasta in Darjeeling could be relocated.
“We have
identified a place on the top of the beef market where 300 hawkers can
be accommodated. There is another site near the Gorkha Rangmanch Bhavan
where the complex can be built,” he said.(TT)