A BJP MLA in north Bengal has formally urged the state government to carve out a separate Siliguri district from the existing Darjeeling district, arguing that the strategic Chicken Neck corridor requires a more efficient governance structure.
In a letter addressed to chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on May 20, Matigara-Naxalbari MLA Anandamay Barman said the long-standing demand for a separate Siliguri district had become necessary because of the region’s growing population, strategic importance and administrative difficulties faced by residents.
Siliguri subdivision forms the plains of the Darjeeling district. The subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Mirik form the district's hill areas.
“I am writing to draw your attention to the long standing demand of the people of Siliguri for the creation of a new and separate Siliguri administrative district,” Barman wrote in the letter.
Barman has pointed out that people of Siliguri and the surrounding areas currently have to travel more than 100km to reach the district headquarters in Darjeeling.
“Due to the hilly terrain and difficult road conditions, reaching Darjeeling town takes over 4 to 5 hours, causing frequent delays and unnecessary financial burden on the people,” the letter stated.
Barman highlighted Siliguri’s importance as the “second largest urban hub in West Bengal and largest city in North Bengal”, claiming that over 25 lakh people reside in and around the city.
“The region serves as a crucial commercial and transit point for all North Bengal districts and also connects with the Northeast states, Sikkim, Bihar, and the rest of West Bengal,” he wrote.
The MLA underscored the strategic significance of the proposed district because of its location in the Siliguri corridor, which is called the Chicken's Neck.
“The proposed Siliguri administrative district lies in the heart of the Chicken neck corridor sharing borders with Nepal, Bangladesh, and providing access to Bhutan and Tibet,” read the letter.
According to the proposal, the new district would include the entire Siliguri subdivision under the jurisdiction of the Darjeeling district and parts of Jalpaiguri district, which are within the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
The proposal is for the inclusion of portions of the Rajganj block in Jalpaiguri district, which covers nearly 200sqkm including Siliguri Municipal Corporation wards from 31 to 44, apart from the gram panchayats of Dabgram 1, Dabgram 2, Fulbari 1 and Fulbari 2 in the proposed district.
The proposed district would comprise four Assembly constituencies, Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari, Phansidewa and Dabgram-Fulbari.
If the new district is created as mooted by Barman, it would be spread across around 1,000sqkm.
The MLA argued that residents of the Dabgram-Fulbari constituency have to travel more than 40km to Jalpaiguri town for official work.
Barman has said Siliguri possesses the infrastructure required for district status, including the Siliguri District Hospital, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, Siliguri Municipal Corporation and the Siliguri police commissionerate.
“The city also houses the regional headquarters of the BSF, SSB, CRPF, and other important deployments stations of our nation’s Army and security forces,” he wrote.
The MLA has said that although Bengal is the 13th largest state in the country and the fourth most populous, it has fewer districts compared to other states.
“Smaller states or with lesser population than West Bengal, such as like Odisha (30), Assam (35), Bihar (38), Tamil Nadu (38), Rajasthan (50) and Madhya Pradesh (55), has more administrative districts than West Bengal (23),” read the letter.
Barman said the number of districts should be increased for better government services.
In 2017, the Kalimpong subdivision of Darjeeling was created as a separate district.