Calcutta, June 26: The agenda for tomorrow’s talks includes more autonomy to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council but not statehood, chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said today.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders are scheduled to be at Writers’ Buildings tomorrow for discussions with the government.

“We will definitely hold talks with an open mind. However, our chief minister, who will chair tomorrow’s meeting, has said several times that the question of dividing the state does not arise. So, there can be no discussion on the creation of Gorkhaland during the meeting,” Deb said.

“As far as granting more autonomy and offering more administrative and financial powers to the hill council is concerned, there can always be talks on this….. We can also discuss whether that can be done within the existing hill council structure or whether a new body, armed with more powers, needs to be created.”

According to a source in the chief minister’s secretariat, the government may ask the Morcha if it wants to replace the hill council with a zilla parishad.

Home secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti echoed the chief secretary.

He said the government’s stated position was that statehood could not be accorded but talks on granting “wide-ranging powers to the hill council’’ could be discussed.

“Our government’s stand on Gorkhaland has been made clear by the chief minister and there should be no confusion about it, though we did not set preconditions for the talks,” Chakrabarti said.

“We want dialogue, not confrontation, with the Morcha. We want return of normality in the hills, restoration of law and order and execution of development work in Darjeeling,” the home secretary said.

“There is always a scope for discussing how to make the hill council stronger, or whether any alternative to the hill council can be thought of, if that suits both the government and the Morcha.”