Opinion An uphill task

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has to avoid mistakes of the past

August 10, 2012 02:24 AM IST First published on: Aug 10, 2012 at 02:24 AM IST

The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA),which has just been launched by the West Bengal government under the Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha after a nearly four-year-long turmoil in Darjeeling and the surrounding areas of Dooars,is now considered a panacea for all the grievances of the region,including the 105-year-old demand for a separate state. Besides the insertion of the term Gorkhaland in the nomenclature of the new administrative system,the GTA differs from the earlier Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) accord,signed under the aegis of the Gorkha National Liberation Front in 1988,in three respects. One,more departments and functions are given to the GTA. Two,it has some legislative powers and additional functional autonomy. Three,the GTA has some appointing functions. But in critical areas like its membership of the North Eastern Council,constitutional sanction,devolution of resources in Bengal’s planning process and institutional set-up,no conspicuous deviation is found.

The DGHC experimentation failed and literally crashed after 20 years because it systematically demolished the institutions of governance. Ad-hocism and piecemeal practices became rampant,funding patterns were lopsided and the entire development dynamics got disoriented. More importantly,in the absence of almost zero accountability and evaluation of the DGHC,the Bengal government concentrated more on assuaging the leader rather than listening to the people. All these consolidated the whirlpool of demand for a separate statehood. The socio-economic downturn,environmental degradation and decline in people’s confidence on the institutions of governance,including law and order,were unprecedented in the world-famous Queen of the Hills. The hill towns saw a mushrooming of concrete structures,collapse of educational and heath amenities and a sharp increase in political crimes during this period.

The GTA has a lot to introspect and learn from these mistakes and malpractices before it really takes off. The DGHC,except for the first plan prepared in 1989,never prepared even the blueprint of development projects. Except for a few individuals deputed from the Bengal government,it had no technocrats and experts who could think big and link it substantively with the state,national and global systems. More critically,it also got entangled in the worst quagmire of Bengal’s bureaucracy. For every small investment and plan allocation,officials had to go to Writer’s Building. As a result,for the past decade or so,the majority of schools in Darjeeling have had no permanent heads. For 25 years there was confusion,complication and misdirection. Most of the Centrally sponsored projects stopped in Siliguri,thereby forcing the hill people to depend on spring water. A large number of villages still do not have electricity.

Darjeeling and the Dooars are known for their natural resources,agricultural and plantation practices,and educational institutions. The brand name sells anywhere,anytime. But it requires substantive and innovative interventions in planning,newer institutions and better infrastructure.

If the GTA has to succeed,it has to bring the best people to govern it. Its membership of the North Eastern Council is essential for sustained funding. Its annual accounts must be brought under the purview of the Comptroller and Auditor General. And its crucial and natural limbs in Dooars must be part of the body. The state government has a critical role to play: this is an opportunity for it to prove that it honestly believes in developing this alienated and deprived region and correcting the historical injustice.

Instead of piecemeal funding,the state government could set aside at least 3 per cent of its annual plan allocation for this region,clearly demarcate the departments and functions and hand them over quickly to the GTA. It should also set up a one-window-policy in Writer’s Building for all GTA related functions and activities and allow GTA to bring investment from within India and from outside as per the Centre’s norms and practices.

The establishment of a Central university and an IIT,among others,which is attached in the annexure of the tripartite agreement signed for the GTA,seems to be just a wish list,but these are very critical to provide a new and broader orientation to development dynamics. The dilapidated national highways should be now handled by the Border Roads Organisation. The hope lies in the Bengal government’s sincerity to transform and,of course,in the GTA leadership’s ability to think big and act boldly.

The writer is a former member of the National Security Advisory Board,express@expressindia.com