Mamata Banerjee announces monitoring cell for various development boards in north Bengal hills

Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a special monitoring cell to regularly scan the functioning of the various development boards in the hills of the state's northern part.  

The decision in this regard was taken after the Chief Minister had a meeting with the different officials of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) including its Chief Executive Anit Thapa.

"The 16 development boards in the hills will be reorganised within the next couple of months for the purpose of smooth functioning. The monitoring cell will be there to ensure smooth functioning. Anit Thapa, the Chief Executive of GTA, will be the Chairman of the cell, and L.B. Rai will be the Vice-Chairman. The District Magistrates of two districts in the hills, namely Darjeeling and Kalimpong will also be included in the monitoring cell," Banerjee told media persons at the end of the meeting.

However, state government sources said that the decision to open the monitoring cell has been taken amid a series of complaints of corruption from each board. The state government provides an annual fund of Rs 2 crore to each such board.

Thapa, whose Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), is having an electoral understanding with Trinamool Congress, said that whenever the Chief Minister comes to the hills, "she has something new to give to the people there".

"The people of the hills have started realising that. We in GTA look forward to working closely with the state government to further development in the hills. Our party is always with the state government. The Chief Minister has a true love for the hills. I hope that the hills progress towards development further with active assistance from the state government," Thapa said.

Even after it came to power in 2011, the hills of Darjeeling had always been a weak pocket for the Trinamool. On the other hand, the BJP got their party candidates elected from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for four consecutive terms since the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Even in the subsequent Assembly elections, the state’s ruling party could not make much of a dent in hill politics.

--IANS

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