The deal, signed by India´s union home secretary K K Pathak, West Bengal home secretary R K Singh and GJMM General Secretary Roshan Giri, paves the way for the creation of Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) with more autonomy and power than the now-dismantled Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), headed by Subash Ghising, in Darjeeling district, which is famous for its scenic beauty and picturesque tea gardens, in West Bengal. [break]
The signing of the deal also marks the end of the latest wave of agitation for the autonomous state of Gorkhaland in Darjeeling, predominated by Indians of Nepali origin. The agitation began in 2007 after Bimal Gurung, a friend-turned-foe of Ghising, revived the decades-old demand for Gorkhaland state.
The deal signing ceremony in Pintail village, around 200 kilometers from Siliguri, was attended by India´s union home minister P Chidambaram, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee and GJMM Chairman Bimal Gurung and Jashwant Singh, who was elected to the Indian parliament from Darjeeling constituency. Surya Kanta Mishra, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), did not attend the function, despite being invited, terming the pact as a step toward allowing Darjeeling to secede from West Bengal.
Allaying fears of secession of Darjeeling as a separate Gorkhaland state, as expressed by some politicians like Mishra, West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee said, “There is nothing to fear. Bengal is not being divided. Darjeeling is close to our heart and it will now smile.” Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party ended the 34-year-long uninterrupted rule by the CPI (Marxist) in West Bengal, had publicly, and of course repeatedly, vowed duing election campaigns to settle the longstanding issue of Gorkhaland within three months of her coming to power.
GJMM Chairman Gurung, who had vowed to not give up the demand for Gorkhaland state ever in future, did not talk about his past resolutions in the ceremony. He just said that the creation of GTA would fulfil the people´s aspirations for development in Darjeeling. He termed the pact ´historic´.
As per the pact, the soon-to-be-formed GTA will have powers to oversee 54 departments in Darjeeling district -- including forests, health, education and tea gardens. This is the first time that any administrative unit in India has gotten so many departments to oversee. Earlier, the Ghising-led DGHC had powers over only 19 departments. The DGHC was formed after a 28-months-long violent agitation led by Ghising in 1988 following an agreement with the then union government led by Rajeev Gandhi.
The GTA has been allowed to oversee only a certain area, which was earlier administered by the DGHC, for the time being. “A high-level team will determine the new extended area for the GTA,” Banerjee said. The GJMM has been claiming Dooars in Jalpaigudi and some Tarai areas around Siliguri.
The elections will be held within six months to form an executive body of the GTA. GJMM Chairman Gurung has said that he will not handle any post in an interim executive body of the GTA before the elections. Early this week, Banerjee had announced a development package worth IRs 100 billion for Darjeeling.
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