Hill panchayat poll plan on govt table File sent to chief minister, Mamata to take a call: Subrata

Subrata Mukherjee at the inauguration of a fair at Kanchenjungha
Stadium Mela Ground in Siliguri on Saturday. Picture by Passang Yolmo

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Jan 21, 2018 , Siliguri: The Bengal government is considering holding rural polls in the hills - a demand raised time and again by various political parties - minister Subrata Mukherjee said here on Saturday.

"We have sent the file to the chief minister's (Mamata Banerjee's) office. The final nod has to come from CMO and then, we can make further moves to ensure rural elections are held in the hills, like they were held in the Siliguri sub-division (in 2015)," Mukherjee, the minister for panchayat and rural development who is here to attend a government fair, said.

Since 2005, there have been no elected panchayats in the hills as no rural elections were held after 2000. Block development officers (BDOs) who have been carrying our development works at the local level.

"The situation has been complicated as there is no elected member at the GTA since June last year. The entire work is being carried out by officials in blocks," said a leader in Kurseong.

The CPM had raised the demand last week. State party secretary Surjyakanta Mishra, speaking at an event in Siliguri, demanded that the hill panchayat elections be held immediately.

"It is significant that a senior minister like Subrata Mukherjee has spoken on the issue now and has made it clear that the final decision would be taken by the chief minister," said an observer.

But a probable deterrent to conducting the rural polls, he said, is the absence of an elected board in the GTA. "The term of the previous GTA board has ended and if it continues to run under the board of administrators (as it does now), there might be protests if the state only plans rural polls. Moreover, it depends whether the Binay Tamang camp (in control of the GTA) wants these (panchatyat) elections now or needs some more time to consolidate its support," the observer said.