Only head to know panel report: Morcha

Calcutta, May 29: The report of the territory committee will be submitted to the state government by its chairman in early June without revealing the contents to other members, a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha representative on the panel said today.

The Morcha protested at the decision to keep other members out of loop.

At the end of the concluding meeting of the committee headed by Justice (retired) Shymal Sen today, one of the four Morcha representatives L.B. Pariyar said: “We discussed all issues pertaining to the territory after which Justice Sen would draw up the recommendations in about 10 days and send the report directly to the chief minister. They would not be shown to us or any other member of the committee.”

Pariyar said the Morcha representatives were “unhappy” with this decision. “At today’s meeting we have registered our dissatisfaction in this regard,” Pariyar said. “We wanted to be allowed to go through the recommendations before they are handed over to the chief minister”.

The committee headed by Sen is looking into the Morcha’s demand to include Gorkha-dominated mouzas in the Dooars and the Terai in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

Emerging from the meeting, Justice Sen said: “In accordance with the request that was made to me, I will try to submit the report by early June. I have received the census report (on the linguistic pattern in the Dooars and the Terai) that I had sought from the home ministry. But I cannot reveal its contents. This was the last meeting held before we submit the report.”

Pariyar said “given the sensitive nature of information”, only Justice Sen, the chairman of the committee, would have access to the census report. He added that the Morcha expected that 50 per cent of the 398 mouzas in the plains would be brought under the jurisdiction of the new hill body.

“Yes, we certainly expect to get 50 per cent of the mouzas we have identified for their included in the GTA,” Pariyar said. “The GTA election process is on and it is likely that it would be held by the second week of July. The delimitation process is about to be concluded.”

Asked about the Morcha’s probable stand if its demand was not met, Pariyar said: “Let us first come to the bridge and only then will we cross it.”

The Sen committee, formed in September, started work seeking written submissions from the people of the Dooars and the Terai on the demand to bring parts of the plains under the GTA.This was followed by assessing the views of political parties on the Morcha demand.

The committee was supposed to submit its recommendation by February 2012. However, it could not do so and sought a six-month extension.

Committee members said one of the reasons for missing the deadline was the delay on the part of the Union home ministry in forwarding the census report on the linguistic pattern in the Dooars and the Terai.Today’s meeting was held after the data arrived a fortnight back.(TT)