Darjeeling, March 15: The DGHC amendment bill, which was passed in the Assembly yesterday, has handed over complete control of its employees to the West Bengal government at a time when hill council chief Subash Ghisingh is demanding devolution of powers.

The DGHC Act of 1988 is silent on the recruitment system, but an amendment to the legislation in 1994 made provisions for filling up high-level positions from the central and state cadre.

The 1994 amendment also made a provision (Section 51 [1] and [2]) under which the hill council could appoint Group C and D personnel with the approval of the state government.

However, the government, in the new amendment bill, has inserted a sub-section ?to incorporate the provisions for empowering the government to frame rules regulating the method of and qualification required of officers and other employees of the executive council of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council?.

This, political observers in the hills said, essentially means that the government can frame rules to even recruit Group C and D employees. More important, the new amendment has left ample scope for the government to act as the final appointing authority of even Group C and D categories. In effect, the powers of the council could be encroached upon once the government starts the process of regulating the employment of Group C and D staff.

Kurseong MLA Shanta Chhetri admitted that the new amendment of the DGHC Act had tampered with the earlier provision, but maintained that the DGHC could still stop the government from encroaching on the privilege it had so far enjoyed. ?Even before the bill was passed, I categorically placed certain points on the issue of recruitment of the employees, the focus of which is to make the DGHC the final appointing authority for Group C and D employees,? she said.

However, the bill was passed without incorporating the council?s demand of being the final authority.

Chhetri sought to put up a brave face and said the council could always raise its objections once the process starts. ?The process of regularisation of the employees will have to be taken up by the respective departments. When that happens, we will demand that the DGHC must have the final say,? she said.