GTA to rehabilitate slides victims in phases

Vivek Chhetri, Darjeeling, July 9: The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has decided to rehabilitate landslides victims in three phases in what is expected to be one of the biggest rehabilitation processes in the hills in recent times.

Arun Sigchi, the elected GTA Sabha member from Soureni, today said: "On July 6, we held a meeting with the management of Soureni, Gayabari and Singbuli tea gardens. The management of the gardens has agreed on the need to rehabilitate those who have been affected in the landslides. We plan to undertake the process in three phases."

Those people whose houses are inhabitable will be immediately relocated to safer places in the first phase. In the second phase, those whose houses are partially damaged will be rehabilitated.

"In the third phase, we will relocate those houses which are situated on steep slopes and in vulnerable areas," said Singhi.

The GTA is also looking at using the survey report of the Geological Survey of India to finalise its long-term rehabilitation process.

Sigchi said they were looking at rehabilitating around 600-700 families only in the Mirik block. The figure is expected to touch around 900 families across the Darjeeling hills.

According to preliminary reports, property worth around Rs 27 crore has been lost in the July 1 landslide. The figure, however, does not include damage to infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

The district administration will be providing a sum of Rs 1.01 lakh each to reconstruct fully damaged houses.

"Since this amount will not be enough, the GTA will also be pooling in funds for the reconstruction of houses," said Sigchi.

The GTA today held a review meeting in Darjeeling that was chaired by Ravi Inder Singh, the principal secretary of the hill body.

At present, the GTA has cleared 40 roads leading to various villages across the hills.