Gorkha Janmukti Morcha promptly rejected the Justice Shyamal Sen Committee report on the jurisdiction of the Gorkha Territorial Administration terming it as 'biased and insulting' and threatened a renewed stir in the hills.
Making public the report of the Justice (retd) Shyamal Kumar Sen committee, Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters today that "the recommendations have been made on the basis of homogeneity, contiguity, compactness and ground- level situation of the mouzas."
The 10-member committee was set up after the signing of the tripartite agreemment by the Centre, the state government and GJM on July 18 last year for setting up a new hill council, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, to replace the existing Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
During the signing of the agreement, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had made it clear that there could not be a further division of Bengal.
The agreement was reached by the Mamata Banerjee government, which took over the reins of Bengal in May last ousting the Left Front from power, after three and a half years of agitation by the GJM for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
Of the five mouzas recommended for inclusion, two were Samsing and Chalouni in Jalpaiguri district and three M M Terai, Gulmakhari and East Kalaibari in Darjeeling district, Ghosh said.
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A mouza is less than a subdivision. The hill council runs the administration in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district -- Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
GJM had demanded that 398 Gorkha dominated areas in the adjoining plains in the Terai and Dooars in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts should also be included in the jurisdiction of GTA.
The chief secretary, to whom the report was submitted yesterday, said the committee prepared the report in consultations with all.
On February 24 this year, it was agreed by the state government and GJM that all parties would abide by the recommendations of the committee, Ghosh said.
Asked when the election to GTA could take place, the chief secretary said "we will work out the date of the election."
He said a report on delimitation had earlier been submitted to the Home Secretary. Election would take place in 45 seats while there would be 5 nominated members.