A Morcha rally in support of the tripartite talks at Laden-la Road; and (below) ABGL members on fast at Chowrastha in Darjeeling on Friday. Pictures by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, July 23: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will place three alternatives for the hills at the tripartite meeting in New Delhi tomorrow but it is looking at the Centre to decide on the territorial jurisdiction of the proposed set-ups.

Sources who are in the know of things today told The Telegraph that the negotiations would start with the demand for Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh or a new state.

The Morcha had re-christened the Gorkhaland state it wanted as Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh to woo the Adivasis or tribals so that they joined the statehood movement. A document justifying the necessity of GAP is likely to be submitted during the meeting.

But given the fact that the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, which represents the majority of tribal population, has not yet “officially” agreed to the Morcha proposal, Bimal Gurung’s outfit will also deliberate on two “interim arrangements”. One of them is similar to the proposal submitted to the Centre and the state during the last tripartite meeting in New Delhi on March 18.

“The Morcha is aware that the demand for statehood cannot be achieved immediately at any cost and is now looking forward to things that could be a stepping stone to statehood,” said the source.

The Morcha, according to the source, is pinning its hopes on an “interim arrangement outside Bengal”, which actually amounts to “Union Territory-like status”.

“They will place the demand for an interim arrangement, which will have nothing to do with Bengal,” said the source. Observers believe that this proposal would essentially mean that the Centre should extend its jurisdiction over the area with no interference from Bengal until a concrete arrangement is worked out for the region. However, this proposal is unlikely to be accepted by the state government.

The third option is an “interim set-up within Bengal but with minimal interference”. This would be in line with the document placed by the hill party during the last tripartite meeting, where it wanted the local administrative body to be answerable directly to the governor.

If the government accepts any of the proposed interim arrangements, the Morcha would probably be willing to negotiate on the territory. The Morcha had wanted all areas north of National Highway 31C in Jalpaiguri district to be included in the set-up besides the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling.

“The Morcha will not be averse to forming a joint committee to conduct a survey on the areas demanded, as had been done to settle the territory issue when the Bodo Territorial Council was formed,” the source added.