“The issue of a separate state,
Union territory is a basic political question,” the minister said.
“However, it is time to keep politics aside now. Development of
Darjeeling has been hampered due to politics in this region. Go ahead
with development for the next five-ten years but if politics takes
control then there can be no development,” Jairam said in a rebuttal to
Darjeeling MLA Trilok Dewan who tried to make a case for a separate
state or Union territory status.
On January 29,
chief minister Mamata Banerjee, too, had spoken for a united Bengal in
an government event at the Chowrastha. Her words “Darjeeling is a part
of us” had sparked protests. But Jairam chose his words with care today
at the Gorkha Rangmanch Bhavan today.
The minister was
not as blunt as Mamata, and after making it clear to the crowd that the
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha should concentrate on development, he turned to
the hill party’s chief Bimal Gurung and said: “You should not take it
otherwise.”
Dewan, who spoke before Jairam, demanded that Darjeeling be put under the department of north-eastern region.
“The parliamentary
committee headed by (Sitaram) Yechury has recommended inclusion of the
Darjeeling hills in DoNER (Department of north eastern region).
Darjeeling is separated by Sikkim by just a river and everything is
similar,” Dewan said.
He cited the
example of Sikkim which is under DoNER. “The special category status for
Darjeeling is very important. Sikkim which has a population of six lakh
get a budgets of Rs 2,060 crore while this region with a population of
18 lakh receives only Rs 255 crore per annum,” he said. “This is why the
area should be given statehood or Union territory status.”
Gurung, who spoke after Ramesh, did not get agitated as he had on January 29.
“We are not the
one who is violating the agreement. It is the state government which
does not want to work according to the agreement,” he said.
“When we have to
file cases in the high court for small issues like the transfer of
departments and the appointment of a principal secretary to the GTA,
then it will be difficult to administer the GTA for five years. The
issue of Gorkhaland, our main goal, crops up in such an atmosphere,” he
said.
Ramesh said his
ministry had decided to grant the hills the status of “difficult
terrain” with regard to implementation of the Indira Awas Yojna.
“Earlier the cost of constructing a unit in hilly areas was Rs 48,500
and in non-hilly states it was Rs 45,000. This has been increased to Rs
75,000 and Rs 70,000, respectively. However, since Darjeeling does not
come under the hilly area states, we have decided to classify it as a
difficult area and hence the cost for construction a unit through the
Indira Awas Yojna will be Rs 75,000,” he said.
The minister said
his department would sanction Rs 70 crore for construction of 160km of
roads and Rs 30 crore to fund six projects for water conservation and
harvesting.
When Gurung
complained that 75 per cent of the funds allotted never reached the
hills, Ramesh said: “I will ensure that whenever funds are released by
my ministry, a note will also be forwarded to the GTA.”
The Telegraph
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