The Darjeeling collectorate that houses the subdivisional office

Darjeeling, April 4: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has announced that it will shut down the subdivisional and block offices in the hills from April 7, the party’s back-to-agitation call being seen as a tactics to force the Centre and the state into accepting its interim proposal that includes a redrawn territory map to be covered under the new set-up.

The next round of tripartite talks on the interim set-up is expected to be held before the middle of May.

Party sources also said the subdivisional officers of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and the block development officers would not be allowed to use their official vehicles. As an immediate effect many of the rural projects like the 100 days’ work scheme and the Pradhan Mantri’s Gram Sadak Yojna are likely to be affected.

The announcement to go back to agitation was made yesterday by Morcha president Bimal Gurung at Gayabari in Kurseong subdivision. “We have had rest (from the agitation) for a couple of months now. I will announce an agitation from April 7. We will continue to fight until we achieve Gorkhaland,” Gurung said.

However, today, Amar Lama, a Morcha central committee member, said the party would shut down the subdivisional and block offices from April 7. “We have found that they are levying a lot of taxes on our people. The allocation of 100 days’ work has also not progressed smoothly,” said Lama.

Even though no major instances of the subdivisional and the block offices levying taxes can be immediately cited, there were some opposition to the Darjeeling municipality increasing the monthly water tax about a fortnight back. The three hill municipalities have been headed by the subdivisional officers since last year when civic elections could not be held because nobody had filed nominations.

Palden Lama, secretary, Janmukti Hotel Owners’ Association, which had protested the new rates, said; “We found that the Darjeeling municipality had increased the water tax by almost 225 per cent. We have already told our members not to pay the revised taxes.” However, Palden, could not provide the new and old figures on the basis of which he had claimed the 225 percentage hike.

With Sunday being a government holiday there was no confirmation from the Darjeeling municipality officials either.

However, the Morcha’s agitation could not merely be because of the municipality’s water tax.

“The party wants to step up the agitation to put pressure on the state and the Centre to agree to the proposed territory that the Morcha wants under the interim set-up. A stand-off between the state and the party on the territory issue is expected,” said an observer.

While submitting the “secret document” on the interim set-up, the Morcha felt it had made some concessions by leaving out areas in the Dooars where there is no significant Nepali-speaking population. The party has made it clear that no further “concessions” on territory will be made.

A second school of thought believes that the Morcha wants to ensure that the GNLF has no space to have a toehold in the hills. Of late the GNLF had started forming village committees in the Terai. “If the Morcha steps up its agitation the atmosphere would not be conducive for the GNLF to form units in the hills,” a political observer said.