Now GTA to form Development Boards for 19 hill communities

10:36 AM

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Mamata Banerjee

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Feb. 15: The GTA has decided to form development boards for 19 communities in the hills and allotted Rs 5 crore for each of them in an apparent move to neutralise Mamata Banerjee who set up similar bodies to the chagrin of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The Morcha has been alleging that Mamata has adopted "divide and rule" policy in the hills by forming development boards for different communities. Till date, the state government has created development boards for the Lepcha, Tamang, Sherpa, Bhutia and Mangar communities and also promised to look into the demands from the Rais and Limbus.

The Morcha-controlled GTA Sabha, however, passed a resolution on February 12 to form development boards for 19 communities which have significant population in the hills with an initial grant of Rs 5 crore for each of them. The 19 communities are Gurung, Bhujel, Newar, Rai, Sunuwar, Thami, Yakkha (Dewan), Khas, Mangar, Jogi, Limbu, Tamang, Dukpa, Lepcha, Sherpa, Bhutia, Yolmo, Scheduled Caste and Adivasis.

Bimal Gurung with Mamata Banerjee in the past

"While the government formed boards selectively to divide hill communities and weaken our Gorkhaland demand, we have created development boards for all hill communities to strengthen our unity and the Gorkhaland demand," said Bimal Gurung, the chief executive of the GTA.

Observers believe Trinamul has been able get a toehold in the hills largely because of its decision to form development boards. "The Morcha definitely feels Mamata's development board politics needs to be countered and that is why the GTA launched similar bodies for all communities," said an observer.

The state government has so far sanctioned Rs 131 crore for the development boards. The Lepcha board alone has been given about Rs 86 crore.

The GTA receives funds from the central and state governments, but the actual amounts are not known. There was an agreement that the GTA would be given a special annual grant of Rs 200 crore for three years once the hill body was formed.

Asked about the activities to be taken up by the GTA's development boards, Gurung said: "We will have to first chart out the composition of the boards and their tasks. The boards will then decide what is best suited for every community."

G.N. Lomjel, the general secretary of the All India Nepali Scheduled Caste Association, today said: "We welcome the GTA's decision to form development boards."


Source: Telegraph

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‎Bengal‬ Sanctions Land for ‪Lepcha‬ Bhavan in New Town, ‪Kolkata‬

10:12 AM

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West Bengal

‪Grid-connected solar panels will be installed on the roof for compound illumination of the state-of-the-art green building. The state urban development department is selecting a reputable architectue firm to come up with the design for the sixth-storied structure. The required built-up space of the building will be at least 12,000 square feet.

NKDA officials said that New Town is being developed as a green smart city and the aim is to have a unique landmark building in the township like the proposed Lepcha Bhavan.

"The aim is to construct an eco-friendly building that will reflect the Lepcha culture. It will be built, bringing together natural resources and modern technology," an NKDA official said.

‎Bengal‬ Sanctions 7.47 Cottah Land for ‪Lepcha‬ Bhavan in New Town, ‪Kolkata‬

During a visit in Kalimpong, Mamata Banerjee had said the Lepcha Board was working for the development of their housing, education, livelihood, sanitation, tourism and preservation and propagation of their culture.

[Via: TNN, File Pic]

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Harka Bahadur Protests Against Tea Gardens Strike on communal basis

10:03 AM

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strike news

Harka Bahadur Protests Against Strike for Tea Gardens - Tries to Communalize Yesterday's Strike ‬

In a not so shocking move, former GJM leader and current favorite of the Bengal government, Kalimpong MLA Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri has decried the 12 hour strike called by the Tea Garden Workers.

Speaking against the strike, Dr. Harka Bahadur stated, "the strike will only harm the hills and won't affect Kolkata at all... they have to please Kolkata and shouldn't trouble the hill people."

Speaking to the Press, Dr. Chettri stated that "Kalimpong District Formation Committee is against the strike, as it won't effect Bengal in any way.."

What we honestly found really disgusting was the fact that Dr. Harka tried to communalize the strike, he stated "The Lepcha and Bhutia community have started to celebrate Loosung-Namsung festival, and those calling for strike has caused harassment to these communities." 

Perhaps Dr. Harka forgets that there are people from Lepcha and Bhutia communities too who are starving to death in the tea gardens.

Politics is one thing Dr. Harka, playing with communal fire quiet another.

Via TheDC

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GJM forms Janmukti Lepcha Organisation

10:21 AM

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Politics

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Aug. 7: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha formed the Janmukti Lepcha Organisation yesterday in an attempt to woo members of the indigenous hill community and counter an association which the party believes has leanings towards Mamata Banerjee.

Lepcha Demonstration in the past

Dawa Lepcha, an elected GTA Sabha member from Algara-Pedong constituency in Kalimpong, was made the president of the new organisation at a meeting attended by around 100 members of the Lepcha community.

"We have formed the organisation as our community members cannot remain aloof and we need to work in tune with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration for better development of our community," Dawa said today.

"A development board (Mayel Lyang Development Board) has been formed and certain community leaders seem to be functioning as if they do not need the GTA or are not staying in the GTA area. The GTA is for everyone. MLDB is being run as if it has been formed to challenge the GTA and ILTA (Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association) leaders seem to be working with a Bengal-centric agenda," Dawa added.

Kalimpong subdivision has the highest concentration of Lepchas in the hills and Kalimpong-based Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association has the strongest support in the community.

The community also has the All India Lepcha Association based in Darjeeling and it is believed to be close to the Morcha leadership.

Asked about the need to form the front when AILA was existing, Dawa said: "Both ILTA and AILA are social organisations. We thought of forming Janmukti Lepcha Organisation so that there is a political guardian for the community."

The relationship between the ILTA and the Morcha hit a rough note after the organisation welcomed Mamata Banerjee to Kalimpong for a programme on September 3, 2013, while the Morcha was agitating for Gorkhaland following the announcement on Telangana.

Despite the Morcha's appeal to the people to stay indoors (under the party's ghar bhitra janta agitation programme), thousands of Lepchas attended the ILTA programme at the Mela Grounds in Kalimpong.

Mamata was felicitated and given the title Kingchoom Daarmit (goddess of good fortune) for setting up the Lepcha development board.

The cabinet gave its nod to form the board in 2013.

The Morcha was against the formation of the board and when the government decided to go ahead despite Morcha's reservation, the hill party demanded that the board be brought under the GTA. The board is under the backward classes welfare department.

Today, Dorji Lepcha, the president of the ILTA, said: "I would not like to comment on the issue immediately because I am not aware of the details of the development."

Dawa said although the 2011 census shows that there are 48,000 Lepchas in the hills, the figure could be around 80,000.

Source- Telegtaph

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Lepcha Para Teachers Lift 109 Day Old Agitation – Claim Victory

9:45 AM

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West Bengal Tribal Development Board (WBTDB)

Lifting their 109 day old agitation, the Lepcha Para teachers whose appointment is still under judicial adjudication yesterday claimed victory.

Lepcha Para Teachers on protest

The West Bengal government had appointed Lepcha language Para teachers on April 15, 2015. However Bengal government had done so without any consultation with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, GTA had in turn filed a court case citing the fact that primary education was a transferred subject under the GTA Accord, and thus the appointment be called null and void.
After the filing of the court case, the Hon’ble Kolkata High Court had put a stay on the appointment of the Para teachers, until a judgement was reached in the case.

Thus it took many by surprise when the agitating teacher appointees started to burst crackers and claimed victory. The reason for their joy it turned out was a letter written by West Bengal State School Education Department Secretary Mr. A Roy to Darjeeling District Magistrate.

The letter reads that the Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board (MYLDB) which comes under the West Bengal Tribal Development Board (WBTDB) has requested that the agitating 46 teachers be included in Lepcha Medium schools currently being run by MYLDB. The Chief Secretary of WBTDB and Additional Joint Secretary of the Home Department have issued “No Objection,” thus the District Magistrate may allow the appointment of these teachers in Lepcha Medium School and Night Schools as Para teachers.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Peter Lepcha a representative of the agitating teachers said, “till our case is resolved this is a temporary settlement on our behalf, and we are very happy, as our salary is being accrued since August 1st… we are most thankful to the State Government for making this temporary arrangement until there is final decision on our appointment from the court…”

He further stated that, “this is a victory of our agitation, and even though schools under MYLDB might be unrecognized, at least we are happy that there will be some reduction in unemployment in the hills.”

They have lifted their agitation.

Via - TheDC

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HC asks for affidavit on Lepcha teachers appointment in Darjeeling

2:11 PM

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West Bengal

Kolkata, 21 April, 2015: The Calcutta High Court today directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit on the steps regarding appointment of Lepcha teachers in Darjeeling district and asked it why it was having frequent conflicts with GTA.

Lepcha parateachers of 46 schools in hunger 

strike in Kalimpong - darpan pic

After hearing of the matter, Justice Tapabrata Chakroborti asked the state government to submit why it was having frequent confrontations with the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) over various issues.

The court asked the state to file an affidavit within three weeks and fixed the matter for hearing after five weeks.

Last June, the state issued a notification and asked the Darjeeling district magistrate to start the selection process of appointing Lepcha parateachers in 46 schools.

Subsequently GTA spokesperson Roshan Giri told the district magistrate not to proceed with the notification as according to the GTA Act 2011, appointment of teachers in Darjeeling district remained within its ambit.

However, the process continued and in August 2014 the appointment process was completed.
Subsequently GTA counsel Ayanabho Raha filed a case in the high court and sought an interim stay which the court refused to grant. PTI

Via : DC

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GJM called off its proposed strike on Lepcha para-teachers appointment issue

9:53 AM

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West Bengal

A confrontation was avoided between the West Bengal government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) at the eleventh hour as the latter on Wednesday called off its proposed strike on April 10 against the move of the former to appoint para-teachers on contractual basis in 46 primary schools across the Darjeeling district for teaching Lepcha language.

Making the announcement to party supporters at Gorubathan in Kalimpong, GJM president Bimal made the announcement. “The matter is sub judice as it is pending in the High Court after we filed petition against the state government. We have to look into technical details before going ahead with our protest. As such we have postponed our April 10 strike of the Hills that we had called earlier,” he said.

While the GJM had dubbed the move of the state government as unwarranted interference in the affairs of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, observers said going for a strike would have been a difficult decision as the GJM had earlier pledged to avoid strikes and calling one on an issue involving the welfare of a hill community would have been embarrassing too.

Bimal Gurung

The GJM-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) had filed a petition in the high court on March 20 challenging the state government’s decision to appointcalled off its proposed strike  in 46 primary
schools in Darjeeling district. “We will wait for the high court verdict on April 10. If it is positive than good but if it is against us than we will move the Supreme Court,” Gurung warned.

The state government had issued a notification on June 3, 2014, directing the Darjeeling district administration to start the process of appointment of para-teachers to teach Lepcha language in primary schools.

Accordingly, the district administration after floating a recruitment notice conducted the written examination on March 17, 2016 in the three Hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling.

The GTA said the hearing on April 6 had been postponed to April 10 although no reasons were provided. “There was a hearing on April 6 but it was postponed for April 10. The judge did not give us any reasons for the change. Let’s see what happens in the hearing,” said GTA Sabhasad P.T.Ola who had filed the case on behalf of the council body.

Earlier the GJM had called the strike on April 2 to protest against the state government interfering in the Hills council matters as education was a transferred subject according to the 2011 GTA act. However, the party shifted the proposed strike citing Good Friday celebration in the Hills. “This time besides the matter being sub judice, there is an examination of the North Bengal University (NBU) on April 10. We don’t want students to be inconvenienced,” Gurung said.

The final list and place of postings of the selected candidates was issued by the chairman of the selection board after an interview at the SDO’s office in Kalimpong on March 25. However, the candidates are yet to join their respective schools.

Source:EOI

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GJM calls on 24-hour strike on April 2 for state government interference in the GTA affairs

10:00 PM

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West Bengal

The cold war between the GJM (Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) and the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal on the issue of welfare of minorities in the hills has reached a flash point, with GJM calling a general strike on April 2 in protest of the district administration’s decision to conduct a written examination for the appointment of ‘para teachers’ for teaching the Lepcha language in primary schools in the hills.

Bimal Gurung and Manata Banerjee

The written examination for recruitment of para-teachers was held on Tuesday in the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions amid tight security. In all, 171 candidates had applied for the exam that was specifically held for the three sub-divisions of the hills. Of the 22 candidates who had applied for the examination from Darjeeling, only 17 appeared, while 112 of the 127 applicants in Kalimpong were present. In Kurseong, 18 of the total 22 applicants wrote the examination.

According to the GJM, the state government is interfering in the affairs of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration by deciding to hold such an exam because education is a transferred subject as per the 2011 GTA agreement. On March 14, GJM president Bimal Gurung threatened to call a 24-hour strike if the district administration went ahead with its plan to hold the examination.

Speaking over phone from Delhi this afternoon, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, “We have not backed down from our resolve to call a strike if the district administration goes ahead with its decision to hold a written examination for the appointment of para-teachers.” Further, he said the GJM is mulling to file a petition at the high court once the party brass returns from Delhi.

“We will move the high court against the state government as it is unduly interfering in the functions of the GTA,” said Giri. “The district administration cannot conduct interviews on para-teachers engaged in primary schools as education is a transferred subject.” He did not specify as to when the petition would be filed.

District magistrate office sources said candidates who are selected will have to appear for an interview in Kalimpong on March 25 and the final list will be out on March 27. The date of joining will be from April 1 to 3.

It may be mentioned here that in September of last year, the GJM filed a case against the state government for sanctioning funds for the welfare of minority communities living in the GTA area. Later that month, it moved the high court again accusing the state government of floating tenders for the construction of three roads in areas under GTA jurisdiction through the North Bengal Development Department maintaining both came under the transferred subjects list. The two cases are still pending in court.

It may also be mentioned that the GJM had resented the move of the State Government to form a Lepcha Development Board for the protection of language and culture of the Lepcha community in the hills of Darjeeling, arguing that the welfare of the Lepchas was a responsibility of GTA and alleging that the Chief Minister was trying to pursue a divide-and-rule policy in the hills. Lepchas are believed to be the oldest settlers in the hills of Darjeeling and are a marginalized community. Often, the identity of the Lepchas has merged with the larger Gorkha identity.

Source:EOI

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