JAP's Darjeeling municipality gherao part of poll campaign

EOI, DARJEELING, 3 Apr 2017: The Jan Andolan Party today gheraoed the Darjeeling municipality demanding transparency in the works being undertaken under different government schemes by the civic body.

The gherao was part of its three-day poll campaign programme that started on Thursday. The JAP has decided to contest the municipality election alone that is tentatively slated in May.

JAP bureau member Amar Lama said, “People have the right to know about the various schemes of the state and central governments. Funds have come to the municipality to implement projects and we only want to know what the present status is."

JAP leaders also met the administrator of the Darjeeling municipality with their demands. Among the several demands are the status of the Rs 205 crore work under the AMRUT scheme and the Rs 2 crore project given by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

“We had filed a RTI in November but did not receive any reply. That is why we have started this programme of ours to get the civic body authorities to give us information about the various works that have been undertaken under various government schemes,” Lama said.

He added, “We have information that Rs205 crore under AMRUT and Rs2 crore from the GTA have come to the municipality. The AMRUT project, which is for drinking water, involves laying of new pipelines, setting up of tanks in all the 32 wards of Darjeeling municipality among others. Tenders have already been floated but no work has started yet. We only want funds not diverted of misused."

Asked about a possible alliance with other parties of the hills to take on the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the municipality election, Lama said, “As of now we have not decided on that. But we are open to an alliance and will contest from all the municipalities of the hills."

In the last election the JAP had extended support to the TMC in Kalimpong constituency but lost to the GJM. The tie-up was because of the JAP demand for creating a separate Kalimpong district which Mamata Banerjee later denied, antagonising the former.

Darjeeling SDO Avik Chatterjee, who is presently administrating Darjeeling municipality, said, “JAP members had come seeking for information on various public works, which I have shared with them. If they require more informations I will definitely give them."