Start panchayat system in Hills, say alliance and TMC unitedly

Amitava Banerjee, HT, 23 April, DARJEELING: While the Congress CPI( M) alliance is fighting the Trinamool in the plains, in Darjeeling it has decided to launch a joint movement with Mamata Banerjee’s party demanding the implementation of the panchayat system in the Hills. The Jan Andolan Party (JAP) convened a meeting attended by different political outfits in Kalimpong on Saturday. The meeting resolved to launch a joint movement demanding immediate panchayat election in the Hills.

The last such election was held in the year 2000 with then GNLF party under Subash Ghisingh objecting to panchayat elections in 2005 alleging that the panchayat was diluting the powers of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). Since then panchayat elections have not been held in the Hills. Incidentally, with the formation of DGHC in 1988, the threetier panchayat system prevalent throughout the country was replaced by a two-tier system in the Darjeeling Hills by amending the Indian Constitution.

However, with the formation of GTA, GJM demanded the three-tier system be reinstated. Even the GTA memorandum of agreement (signed between the Centre, state and GJM in July 2011) mentions a three-tier panchayat system in GTA area.

However, for the three-tier system to be implemented the Indian Constitution has to be amended again.

Saturday’s meeting was attended by Congress, CPI(M), T rinamool and Gorkha Rashtriya Congress.

“The people residing in the panchayat areas are suffering. They have been deprived of development activities and benefits of the panchayat system. We have to raise a unified voice in the Hills demanding the immediate implementation of the panchayat system,” said Nayan Pradhan, JAP general secretary.

Tara Sundas of CPI(M) said, “We fail to understand that despite the GTA Act clearly stating that a three-tier panchayat system will be implemented in the Hills, why it is not being done”

“We need a joint movement for the benefit of the masses,” said Peter Khawas of the Trinamool.

Parties including GJM, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist, GNLF and the All India Gorkha League stayed away from the meeting.

Most of the political outfits absent from Saturday’s meeting claimed that owing to the meeting called on a short notice it was not possible to attend.

However, Roshan Giri, GJM general secretary, said, “There is no question of attending the JAP meeting. We will soon hold our own party meeting if we want a two-tier panchayat or a three-tier following which we will make our decision public.”

“We will again meet on April 29 with other political outfits to chalk out a roadmap to ensure that our joint movement bears fruit and panchayat system is implemented in the Hills,” said Pradhan.

NIGHT, RIVER PATROLLING

The Election Commission has initiated night as well as riverine patrolling in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas and Howrah districts where polling will take place on April 25 in the fourth phase, an official said on Saturday. “Special arrangements for the fourth phase have been made,” he added