In a significant development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that she would set up a small extension of Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Darjeeling district.
Ms. Banerjee, who is on a visit to north Bengal, was in Darjeeling district during the day. She said an official of the CMO will be posted in Darjeeling and would help in disbursing funds from the Chief Minister’s Relief fund to the people of the hills.
Last year, the Chief Minister had set up a secretariat at North Bengal named Uttarkanya for the districts of north Bengal. The Chief Minister said Uttarkanya in Siliguri “is functioning well and will continue to do so in future.”
Political observers described the announcement of an extension of the Chief Minister’s secretariat in Darjeeling as a significant political development.
“There used to be a similar arrangement during the regime of Siddhartha Shankar Ray when an officer Hill Secretary to Chief Minister was posted in the hills. But since, the State Assembly passed an Act and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), I do not see any use for this extension centre of the secretariat,” Enos Das Pradhan, president of a political outfit, Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh said.
Mr. Pradhan, who was a key member of Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC) — a joint platform of hill parties — said that since GTA was operational no such arrangement should be tried. The GJAC was, however, dissolved when the agitation for a separate Statehood was called off.
Observers also pointed out that the attempt is to give a message that Darjeeling, which has been rocked by separate Statehood movement, is part of the State.
During the day, representatives of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the main political force in the hills which controls the GTA, also met the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister announced that four hydel power units would come up in the region. A medical college would be set up at Kurseong under Public Private Partnership (PPP).
