Tribal board ire over chairman's functioning

TT,21 Nov 2019N, Jalpaiguri: Three members of the tribal development board under the Bengal government have complained that chairman Birsa Tirkey is functioning on his own and taking decisions without consulting others.

Satya Narayan Baraik, Enem Bhengra and Kripa Tirkey, the three members of the West Bengal Tribal Development and Cultural Board, submitted a memorandum to the effect to the Jalpaiguri district magistrate on Wednesday. The memorandum was addressed to chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The trio said the board couldn't function properly because of the chairman.

"Birsa Tirkey does not even listen to us at the meetings of the board. He has never intimated us about the expenditure and threatened one of us when he voiced his protests. We want the board to be reconstituted," said a member of the board.

Birsa, however, denied the charges. "The board is functioning as per law. A few members are trying to create problems to suit their interests. We have received Rs 5 crore so far and the state tribal welfare department knows how the money has been spent," he said over the phone from Calcutta..