Darjeeling, Aug. 8: The Democratic Front has alleged in its reply to a Bengal government query that the Centre’s proposal for an interim administrative set-up for the hills is not only contradictory but has also failed to address core issues of the region.

The response from the front, a six-party anti-Gorkha Janmukti Morcha alliance in the hills, is a clear indication that the state’s move to build a consensus among political parties on the set-up has fallen flat on its face.

The front representatives were given copies of Delhi’s proposal for a stop gap arrangement during their meeting with Bengal ministers Asok Bhattacharya and Surjya Kanta Mishra at Writers’ Buildings on July 24. The state government had wanted the front’s observations on the proposed set-up.

The front has made it clear that even though it is “equally concerned about the future of this area and early resolve of the current crisis, any interim arrangement at this juncture is neither feasible nor desirable”. The proposal, which the front believes is contradictory, concerns a clause in the Centre’s proposal. The clause says that even though the interim authority will be in place till December 31, 2011, it has talked about a five-year term for the elected members of the Gorkhaland Autonomous Authority (GAA). “Paragraph 2 specifies that GAA would be an interim authority valid up to December 31, 2011, only, but at the same time Paragraph 6 provides that the term of elected members of the GAA will be for five years. These two clauses are contradictory to each other,” the front’s observation reads.

The front has also said the issue of the casual workers of the DGHC has not been addressed in the draft. The welfare of the cinchona and tea garden workers has not been addressed either. “Since we were told to reply to the Centre’s proposal we have just made these observations,” said Dawa Sherpa, the convener of the front.

In fact, the Morcha rivals in the hills are determined to start a campaign to oppose the set-up. The CPRM, the party known to have the largest base in the hills after the Morcha, today held a public meeting at Sonada to apprise the people of the set-up.

The Morcha, which is expected to send its “observation” on the Centre’s proposal by tomorrow, has, however, decided to keep its card close to the chest. “We would not want to give the state government any undue advantage by revealing our report now. We will reveal the content to the people when we believe that such revelation will not impact the state’s strategy,” said a Morcha leader.

Sherpa today admitted that the front had written to the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad for a meeting “sometime back”. Sources maintain that with the Centre and state developing cold feet on holding a meeting with the Parishad over its demand for Sixth Schedule status for the Dooars, the tribal outfit is likely to hold parleys with both the Morcha and the ABGL to work out a strategy for a joint agitation either way.

Wheel jam

A transport union affiliated to the Morcha has called a general strike in Kurseong subdivision and a chakka jam in the rest of the hills on August 10 to coincide with the ABGL’s scheduled public meeting at Kurseong that was announced earlier during the day.

Subash Pradhan, secretary, Gorkha Janmukti Chalak Mahasangh, said: “We have decided to call a general strike and a chakka jam on August 10. This is a prescheduled programme of our union and has got nothing to do with the ABGL’s meeting. We demand the repair of NH55 that is affecting life in the hills and we appeal to all parties to support it.”