Hill secy nod by court

April 11: Calcutta High Court today passed an interim order directing the state government to give names of three IAS officers to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the court by April 18 so that one of them may be appointed the principal secretary to the hill body. “Let the matter be fixed for hearing on April 18. The state is directed to provide the names of three IAS officers to the court as well as the GTA in the meanwhile,” Justice Dipankar Dutta directed the state government. Binay Tamang, the executive Sabha member of the GTA Sabha who filed a case in the high court on March 25, said over phone from Calcutta: “The high court has instructed the state government to provide it with a list of three senior IAS officers to be appointed as the next principal secretary by April 18. The panel will be sent to the GTA chief executive by the High Court.” Tamang moved a petition before Calcutta High Court challenging the state government’s decision to give power of the executive officer of the GTA board to the district magistrate of Darjeeling. The Morcha is inclined to see today’s interim order as a victory because the hill party’s chief, Bimal Gurung, had repeatedly spoken about his displeasure with the current principal secretary, Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan. Mohan has been officiating as the GTA principal secretary since the forming of the hill autonomous authority last year. Gurung had said often that Mohan did not inform GTA Sabha members about matter relating to the hill authority. He also said that a separate principal secretary should be appointed for the GTA. Tamang today said the lawyers representing the GTA had argued that a list of five IAS officials should be sent to the chief executive of the GTA to choose from the next principal secretary. “However, the state representative said that they could forward the list of three IAS officials,” he said. On March 29, the state government had proposed the name of A.K. Singh, divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri, to take up “additional charge” as principal secretary of the GTA. But Gurung wrote to the state government demanding a list of at least five IAS officers to choose from. Before challenging Mohan’s candidature, the Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Asthai Karmachari Sangathan had stopped Mohan from entering the office of the principal secretary situated at Lal Khoti from February 7 to March 1. On February 6, the GTA Sabha also passed a resolution not to consult Mohan on affairs related to the GTA, though files related to the day-to-day operations of the hill authority were being sent to him as he is the financial drawing and disbursing officer of the GTA.