Writes Upendra for The Darjeeling ChronicleIn a strange and unusual order, definitely one of the 1st such orders ever issued, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM also popularly known as SDO) Avik Chatterjee (WBCS, Exeutive) of Darjeeling has imposed a blanket ban of construction from St. Andrews Church to HMI.
While Darjeeling residents would have otherwise supported the innocuous seeming order in the hopes of retaining whatever green space is left under the Darjeeling Municipality area, it is the manner in which the order was issued and the nature of the order which is highly dictatorial to say the least.
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Order issued under section 144CrPC prohibiting construction work in the area of the
East Jawahar Road from Gorkha Rangmancha Bhawan to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute |
The order dated 7th of September, 2015 issued under section 144CrPC prohibiting, “construction work of any type in the area of the East Jawahar Road from Gorkha Rangmancha Bhawan to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, except with prior permission from the Executive Magistrate, Darjeeling after submitting all relevant documents in this court” hints at attempts by the Bengal government to take over the functioning of Darjeeling Municipality, and establish their writ on Darjeeling
Let me quickly elucidate why it is so.
ANNOYED MAMATAWe have earlier reported that, when Mamata visited Darjeeling in August she went for a walk and she was annoyed at the under construction Ram Krishna Siksha Parishad (RKSP) School building which apparently blocked her view. So she wanted a portion of the school building to be dismantled.
RKSP was formed in 1944, before India became an independent country and the school has stood there even before Mamata was born. RKSP which was designed as a school for the “drop-outs” is today one of the most prominent schools in town, thanks to their hard working teachers, supportive parents and local administration.
Currently, GTA was in the process of converting RKSP into a Model school for which the funds are sanctioned by the Central government. The proposed school building was duly approved by Darjeeling Municipality and it follows all the laws of the land and is within the stipulated height restriction of 11.5 meters. In fact, the new building strictly follows the height of the older school building.
However, if Mamata wants it destroyed, it has to be destroyed.
Former Darjeeling SDM Soura Mondal did not demolish the building, or order its demolition as he could see that the building was well within the stipulated norms. So Mamata during her recent visit did what she does best, she shunted out the officer who did not toe her line.
SDM Soura Mondal was kicked out from the office on Friday 4th of Sept, 2015 and a new SDM Mr. Avik Chatterjee who seems more subservient was put in his place. The former SDM Soura Mondal has not been giving any new posting and he continues to draw his salary from Darjeeling District, but without having any responsibilities or power. In administrative circle, that particular state of limbo is often referred to as “Pichone Banss” these days [details:
http://on.fb.me/1KCRiBZ]
As soon as he took charge, the new SDM Mr. Avik Chatterjee set things rolling according to Mamata’s wishes, and the 1st order of business he dealt with was to issue the dictatorial order preventing any Construction without prior permission from his office on the 7th of Sept, 2015 [Pic attached]
ABSURD ORDER Since Criminal Procedure Code or (CrPC) 144 requires for the issuing officer to state the nature of the emergency under which such an order is passed, the SDM has listed several such reasons. In my personal opinion, all of them are absurd, and hints at the SDM trying to keep the eccentric Mamata happy, than justifying real reasons for a need to pass such an order.
The SDM writes, that “due to the presence of Rajbhawan and other Govt buildings the area is sensitive,” and that since “there is nearby Mahakal Temple, St. Andrews Churh and HMI buildings and tourist regularly visit the areas and also VIPs including state dignitaries visit the area”
So he states, “with many new buildings are being constructed which has made the area vulnerable from Security and traffic point of view”
He then claims that “few buildings are in violation of the limits of the prescribed height as per existing norms,” and he then cites “recent earthquake in the hills and subsequent aftershocks rendered the region very vulnerable to large scale landslides.”
Hence he concludes, “I am satisfied there is sufficient ground to promulgate an order u/s 144 CrPC to prevent and stop construction of building or any repair or extension thereof.”
For me the whole host of issues raised by the SDM are very vague, generalized, and boat loads of baloney.
To begin with, the school has stood next to the Governors house forever, and till date the school has not posed any threat to anyone. Even during the 1986-88 violent Gorkhaland andolan days, the school did not pose any threat to anyone. So what changed all of a sudden? Moreover, Shri. MK Gandhi the former Governor invited RKSP boys to sing at Governor house on a regular basis, as he was mesmerised by their morning assembly. How did these boys all of a sudden start posing a threat to the Governor, or other so called VIPs?? It is not like VIPs never visited Darjeeling before.
If the concern for VIP safety etc is so paramount, then why is Nabanna the seat of power of Bengal government situated in the heart of an industrial township in Howrah, right next to a highway? How is Nabanna safe and why is Governor House in Darjeeling unsafe? Moreover, Howrah is 100 times more crowded than Darjeeling, so if we are to go by traffic jam argument, then Nabanna should be immediately vacated as no other place in Bengal sees more jams than Howrah.
Moreover, the governor hardly visits Darjeeling for 15 days in a year, so why is his safety more important than the quality education and future of our children? Governor is just a figure head, so what threat would he face, and from whom?
So if tourists and Bengali politicians start visiting a certain portion of Darjeeling, will the Bengal government declare it to be off limits for the locals?
The argument that “few buildings are in violation of the limits of the prescribed height as per existing norms,” could have held some ground, but only if the SDM had bothered to verify the documents surrounding those buildings, instead of issuing random probationary orders.
Recent Earth quake has left all of Darjeeling region equally vulnerable, so the absurd argument that only a particular part of the town is more vulnerable is completely unfounded.
All these are indications of how desperate Bengal is to run its writ on our hills.
CrPC 144 CrPC 144 is a draconian law devised by the British in 1861 to prevent our freedom fighters from what they termed as “unlawful assembly.” The country which gave us this dictatorial act – Britain, eradicated the law in 1986, civilized countries like Bangladesh did so way back in 1976. Where as in India CrPC has been used time and again by the government to harass and bully the people.
This law, though designed to prevent “unlawful assembly” for the fear of leading to riots etc, provides any magistrate wriggle room to impose his will whenever, in the opinion of the magistrate, “there is sufficient ground for proceeding under this section.” So it’s like a blank cheque given to the administrators to use, 'as and when they see fit.'
Even though the order “gives the magistrate God-like power, it also urges him/her to apply their mind”[details:
http://bit.ly/1VMfxQ3]. More often than not, the magistrates apply their mind in using CrPC 144 to prevent riots, every once in a while we have administrators like the new Darjeeling SDM Mr. Avik Chatterjee who misuse this important provision.
UNFOUNDED GROUNDSCrPC 144 is designed to empower a magistrate to stop an imminent threat or danger to the public, the operative phrase is “to be used depending on the urgency of the situation.”
To prevent the construction of RKSP school by using CrPC 144 as a tool reeks of sycophancy on the part of the SDM to keep Mamata happy, and is definitely not used to prevent any threat to the public. Rather by stopping the construction of a new school building, the SDM is himself becoming a nuisance and a threat to the welfare of the hill people.
Moreover, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has clearly stated that, “the Parliament never intended the life on an order under section 144 of the code to remain in force beyond two months when made by a Magistrate” [Details:
http://bit.ly/1FwHHVC]
So what will happen after 2 months Mr. SDM?? What will you do then? Will ground realities – as stated by you while issuing the order have changed? I don’t think so, what is true today will remain true is two months time, so after the duration of your order runs out, what will you do?
SPEAK OUT AGAINST THIS DICTATORSHIP The Bengal government is trying to wrestle Control of Darjeeling administration by hook or crook. They have interfered in the functioning of GTA, and now they have stooped very low to control the functioning of Darjeeling Municipality.
This order is a proof of how intrusive and dominating Bengal actually is, even when they don’t have any grounds to stand on, they will use existing laws and rules to prevent us from expressing our rights.
I urge Darjeeling Municipality to file a write petition against the Bengal government and particularly this SDM who has definitely issued this order not out of concern for our people, but to please Mamata.
We cannot, and we should not allow such intrusions from Bengal.
Our elders used to say, “कति जाना मान्छेको बेउरानै हुँदैन… काँध मा टेक्नु दियो भने… टाउको मा हग्छ” which roughly translates to, “some people do not have any manners, if you allow them to stand on your shoulders, they will end up shitting on your head”… and that is exactly what has been happening in Darjeeling. For far too long we have allowed Bengal and its two penny bureaucrats to dictate terms to us, they now believe that they can do whatever they please.
It is high time that we spoke against such acts of Dictatorship, today it is RKSP school they have objection to, tomorrow it could be the students they may term as security threat, and the next day all the people of Darjeeling may be labeled as “security threat” and asked to leave, perhaps using CrPC 144.
Source :The Darjeeling Chronicle
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