Panel to protect hill streams - Conservation plan through 100-day job scheme irks morcha

Lyangsong Tamsang, the chairman of the Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board, after receiving a
cheque for Rs 10 crore from Mamata Banerjee at Ronaldshay Park in Kalimpong on Wednesday.
The amount is for the board to build houses for the Lepchas. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Kalimpong, Sept. 3: Mamata Banerjee today announced the formation of a steering committee comprising the Darjeeling district magistrate and the police chief to conserve mountain streams in the hills through the 100-day work scheme, raising the hackles of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha as the job guarantee initiative falls under the purview of the GTA Sabha.

Coming on the heels of Mamata’s announcement yesterday that she would set up a chief minister’s office in Darjeeling, the Morcha sees the formation of the committee as an effort by the government to infringe on the powers of the GTA.

The chief minister, who was addressing the third foundation day of Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board at Ronaldshay Park in Kalimpong, also announced that an office of the north Bengal development department would be opened in Kurseong.

Morcha leaders, who had yesterday reacted to the decision to set up a CMO in Darjeeling by saying it would not accept “a dual administration” in the hills, today maintained that it was “clear” that the chief minister was trying to “erode” the powers of the GTA.

Mamata, during her address, said today: “The jhoras (mountain streams) are beautiful and the water that flows through jhoras are clean. We need to conserve them now. They can turn out to be a big industry in future.”

Mamata was probably hinting at the packaged drinking water business.

She then went on to announce the formation of a steering committee. “We will form a steering committee to conserve the jhoras. The district magistrate and the superintendent of police will be members of the committee. We will also have Lyangsong Tamsang (chairman of the Lepcha development board) as one of the members. They will do their work through the 100-day job scheme. The representatives of the predominant community residing in the area where the work is being implemented will also be included in the committee.”

After the formation of the GTA, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or the 100-day work scheme, is being implemented through the hill body as the panchayat and rural development department has been transferred to the hill body.

“The district magistrate has no role in the implementation of the MGNREGS in the areas that are under the GTA,” a senior district official said.

“The principal secretary of the GTA is the programme co-ordinator in the GTA areas. The district magistrate is the programme co-ordinator only for Siliguri subdivision (which does not fall under the jurisdiction of the GTA).”

The official said the funds for the job scheme sponsored by the Centre came to the GTA through the state government. “The GTA has been receiving anything between Rs 150 to Rs 200 crore annually for the 100-day work scheme,” the official said.

Roshan Giri, reacting to Mamata’s announcement, told The Telegraph today: “The administrative set-up in the hills is different from the rest of Bengal. How can the district magistrate head the steering committee for work, which is being done through the 100-day work scheme? The committee has to be under the principal secretary of the GTA.”

Sources in the hill Trinamul Congress said the decision to form the steering committee and set up a branch of the north Bengal development department in Kurseong was a move aimed at boosting the morale of supporters.

Rajen Mukhia, the president of the Trinamul Congress Hill Committee, said: “We welcome the chief minister’s decision. We will work in areas where people have been victimised (by the Morcha).”

Trinamul leaders in the hills have complained in the past that with most of the administrative powers vested with the Morcha-dominated GTA, the party was not being able to spread its wings in the hills. “People come to us with some expectations but we have not been able to do much for them,” a Trinamul leader, requesting anonymity, had recently told The Telegraph.