April 11: Calcutta High Court today
passed an interim order directing the state government to give names of
three IAS officers to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)
and the court by April 18 so that one of them may be appointed the
principal secretary to the hill body.
“Let the matter be
fixed for hearing on April 18. The state is directed to provide the
names of three IAS officers to the court as well as the GTA in the
meanwhile,” Justice Dipankar Dutta directed the state government.
Binay Tamang, the
executive Sabha member of the GTA Sabha who filed a case in the high
court on March 25, said over phone from Calcutta: “The high court has
instructed the state government to provide it with a list of three
senior IAS officers to be appointed as the next principal secretary by
April 18. The panel will be sent to the GTA chief executive by the High
Court.”
Tamang moved a
petition before Calcutta High Court challenging the state government’s
decision to give power of the executive officer of the GTA board to
the district magistrate of Darjeeling.
The Morcha is
inclined to see today’s interim order as a victory because the hill
party’s chief, Bimal Gurung, had repeatedly spoken about his displeasure
with the current principal secretary, Darjeeling district magistrate
Saumitra Mohan.
Mohan has been officiating as the GTA principal secretary since the forming of the hill autonomous authority last year.
Gurung had said often that Mohan did not inform GTA Sabha members about matter relating to the hill authority.
He also said that a separate principal secretary should be appointed for the GTA.
Tamang today said
the lawyers representing the GTA had argued that a list of five IAS
officials should be sent to the chief executive of the GTA to choose
from the next principal secretary.
“However, the state representative said that they could forward the list of three IAS officials,” he said.
On March 29, the
state government had proposed the name of A.K. Singh, divisional
commissioner of Jalpaiguri, to take up “additional charge” as principal
secretary of the GTA.
But Gurung wrote to the state government demanding a list of at least five IAS officers to choose from.
Before challenging
Mohan’s candidature, the Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Asthai Karmachari
Sangathan had stopped Mohan from entering the office of the principal
secretary situated at Lal Khoti from February 7 to March 1.
On February 6, the
GTA Sabha also passed a resolution not to consult Mohan on affairs
related to the GTA, though files related to the day-to-day operations of
the hill authority were being sent to him as he is the financial
drawing and disbursing officer of the GTA.
The Telegraph
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