Quixotic Mr Gurung'" II

Soumitra Mohan, SNS: The allegation of histori­cal exploitation of Dar­jeeling by the state of West Bengal does not hold water because Darjeeling has the country's best social development indicators. 

Accor­ding to the West Bengal Human Development Report, 2004 pre­pared under the supervision of the United Nations Develop­ment Programme (UNDP), Dar­jeeling was ranked 2nd and 4th in terms of gender and human development indices respective­ly, among all the districts of West Bengal.

If indeed underdevelop­ment and exploitation of Dar­jeeling can be cited as a justifi­cation for statehood, then the Hills ought to be far behind in the queue for promotion to statehood as there are many more regions in the country which would have the first claim. Whether it is income, literacy rates, educational attainments, nutritional status, percentage of BPL (Below poverty line) population, longevity, infant and maternal mortality overall health status and infrastructure.

Darjeeling fares much better compared to most parts of the country or the districts of the state of the West Bengal. For more than three decades it has been under such autonomous self government as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) and GTA.

If the proponents of state­hood believe that Darjeeling could do with more develop­ment, then statehood is definite­ly not the solution. Develop­ment in some of the states is pathetic, to say the least. Jhark­hand became a state against the same background of alleged underdevelopment,  but even after a lapse of more than a decade, it is yet to realise the developmental goals it had set out to achieve way back in the year 2000. Jharkhand  today fares very badly among the newly created states. The fact remains that the likes of Gurung should actually be talking of good gover­nance and administration rather than anything else. Statehood without good governance will achieve nothing but zilch.

Given its size, both in terms of demography and geography, Darjeeling already receives a dis­-proportionate per capita share of resources compared to many other parts of the country. And a substantial share of these resources are from the state of West Bengal, implying that this state has traditionally been pro­viding disproportionate resources to Darjeeling, often at the expense of the more backward and deserving  areas.

The Gorkhaland Territorial Adminis­tration's revenue from all sources is assumed to be not more than Rs 3 crore annually. If we also include the rev­enue received by the state govern­ment from such sources as land, excise, transport, professional and sales tax, then the figure is likely to go up to around Rs 30 crore. Even after tapping all the potential sources of revenue, it can barely go up to Rs.100 crore annually.  In the shorter run, however, a Rs 50 crore annual revenue appears to be a more practical figure.

Moreover, GTA reportedly has a non-plan expenditure of around Rs 600 crore at the moment, with Plan and scheme­ based expenses it will come  to around Rs 1400 crore. If at all the three hill sub-divisions become the cherished Gorkhaland state, the combined plan and non­ plan expenditure is likely to shoot up to, at least, Rs 2000 crore factoring in the expenses for general and police adminis­tration, not to speak of various attendant expenses which come with the formation of a new state. So, if a region which has the best of developmental indi­cators and which has  the rev­enue generation potential of only around Rs 50-10 crore, why should  it receive a dispro­portionate Rs 2000 crore at the expense of the more deserving parts of the country, particularly those areas of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jhark­hand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and other states reeling under extremism?

Mr Gurung should have done his homework better to show that Darjeel­ing is in a position to bear all the non­ plan and, at least, a portion of the plan expenses of the pro­posed Gorkhaland state before demanding the same. If such a new entity expects to be spoon-fed by Central Government's doles there are bound to be similar demands from different parts of the country. And if we allow the concession for one particular region, can we deny the same to others? 

We ought to under­stand that an eponymous Gorkhaland state is not just about the emotional people of Darjeeling, but has far-reaching and insidious implications for the rest of the country.

If Telangana has today become a state, it is because of its geographical compactness, a suitable demographic size, administrative viability and self­ sufficient resources. But the same does not apply to such demands elsewhere, including Gorkhaland. Our state-building process shall never come to an end, nor to speak of the nation­ building process. Gurung should have actually aimed at making the GTA work successfully, it was put in place through a tripartite agreement between the Central Government, the Government of West Bengal and the dominant hill party i.e. Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GIMM) on 16 July 2011. GTA is an autonomous and empowered body which can be suitably har­nessed to fulfill the development aspirations of the local people, if development is what they are looking for.

In an article published on 4 August 2012 in The Statesman, this author had strongly recom­mended that the GTA "should avoid the 'Big Schemes-Big Pro­jects' focus of the erstwhile DGHC and should, instead tar­get such schemes and programmes that have wider out­ reach and directly impact the quality of life of the hoi polloi, an advice not heeded by Mr Gurung to his own chagrin, thereby bringing about his comeuppance. It would be in the fitness of things that GTA be afforded an opportunity to become bellwether of Darjeeling's development to ensure a peaceful and progressive life for the people.

Darjeeling needs an enlightened leadership with vision, one that understands the needs of the local people. It should be able to synergize the energies and interests of the motley interest groups in the hills to bring about better governance and development in accord with the  interests of the nation. One would expect the incoming leaders of GTA to focus more on correcting the basics including repairing the damage  done to the hill economy because of the agitprop at the behest of Mr Gurung. Well-planned develop­ment and good governance are imperative for Darjeeling and its new administrators. The country is waiting for the Queen  of the Hllls to smile.       (Concluded)

SAUMITRA MOHAN , the writer is a Former District Magistrate of Darjeeling and presentlv working as CEO, KMDA. The views expressed are personal and donot reflect those of Government.