Poll rules ready, GTA Act today

Calcutta, March 13: The state government today finalised the rules for elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, a day before the GTA Bill is enacted through notification.

The Bill, which received Presidential assent on March 7, will be notified as an Act tomorrow and the delimitation process for the election would begin immediately after, chief secretary Samar Ghosh said today.

Ghosh along with DGHC administrator Anil Verma and other officials framed the rules for the GTA poll to be conducted by the state government. “We are going to go ahead with the election. The entire process should not take more than two months, but it could take some more time, depending on some factors,” said Ghosh this evening.

The Election Commission of India — empowered by the Constitution to conduct elections to the Assemblies and Parliament — and the state election commission — given the mandate of conducting panchayat and civic body polls — won’t have a role in the elections to the GTA.

It was agreed upon by the Morcha and the Centre that the state government would be entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the elections to the new body, with the district magistrate as the returning officer.

“We drew up the rules today. The delimitation can start after the notification,” he added. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is determined not to allow elections to the GTA till a final decision is taken on the Gorkha-dominated mouzas in the Dooars and Terai that it wants to be brought under the new body.

The Justice Shyamal Sen committee, which is examining the issue, is yet to submit its report. It has missed its six-month deadline and is now working on an extension. It is unclear when the panel will submit its report.

The Morcha has left it to the state government to find “ways and means” of putting the GTA in place and is keen on running the body with nominated representatives as an interim arrangement.

Asked how the government planned to meet the Morcha demand, Ghosh said there was “no scope” for such “considerations”. “The tripartite agreement has been signed (by the Morcha as well). The agreement is exactly reflected in the law that will be notified tomorrow. It clearly states that the election process would be conducted by the state government even if the committee is yet to submit its report on the territorial matter,” said the chief secretary.

“There is no scope now for such considerations. We will go ahead with the elections,” he added. For now, the elections would be held in the current DGHC area that will be delimited within this month. Writers’ Buildings sources said new territories, if added later, would find representation in the body eventually.(TT)