Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari made a slew of announcements and articulated certain decisions for the Darjeeling hills on Friday as he held the first major administrative meeting regarding the region.
On one hand, he reached out with a message to the hill residents that the state would consider their longstanding demand for a “permanent political solution (PPS)”. On the other hand, Suvendu addressed the demand for an inquiry into allegations of corruption in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), in the implementation of the Centre’s drinking water scheme and over the recruitment of teachers.
“For the hills, the Centre has appointed an interlocutor, and we will discuss with him. But today, we are refraining from commenting on it,” said the chief minister after the meeting.
In October, the Narendra Modi government appointed Pankaj Kumar Singh, a former deputy national security advisor, as the interlocutor to hold talks with stakeholders for PPS, an issue that the BJP leadership has time and again mentioned and has said that it is “under consideration.”
Addressing the hill residents, Adhikari said the BJP government would work for the development of their region.
“We had a high-level meeting today. I want to assure the residents of the hills that the BJP government is committed to working for them and will take short-term and long-term steps to meet their aspirations,” he said.
Political observers pointed out that as the erstwhile Trinamool government was principally against the longstanding demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, it had played the development card and had time and again questioned the Centre’s decision to appoint the interlocutor.
“The new BJP government, however, has to strike a balance, considering the political stand of the central party leadership on PPS. Today, the chief minister did it. While he assured that talks would be held with the interlocutor, he also elaborated on the short-term initiatives to address certain issues on an immediate basis,” said a political veteran based in the hills.
Along with the chief minister and senior administrative officials, Raju Bista, the
BJP MP of Darjeeling, all three BJP MLAs of the hills, and Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri, the president and general secretary of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (which is BJP’s ally), respectively, were present at the meeting.
While talking to newspersons, Adhikari elaborated on the important decisions made at the meeting.
The Telegraph enumerates some of the decisions.
Teacher scam
The chief minister referred to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of around 400 teachers in the hills. He said a case was filed before Calcutta High Court and a CBI investigation had been ordered.
“The previous government moved the Supreme Court and obtained a stay. We have now decided that the state government will step out of the case so that the CBI can conduct a free and fair investigation,” he said.
Flood relief
Referring to last year’s devastating floods in Kalimpong district that damaged around 100 homes, Adhikari said the government sanctioned ₹3 lakh per house for the remaining 90 affected families who are currently staying in community shelters.
He said district authorities have been instructed to facilitate construction work, while land identification for a proposed medical college in Kalimpong is also underway.
Drinking water
The chief minister ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the Amrut 2.0 drinking water project in the hills, which has an estimated allocation of ₹1,200 crore.
He said the principal secretary of the municipal affairs Department will visit the hills on June 7 and submit a report. Until then, the concerned implementing agency will remain blacklisted, he added.
Graft charges
For the GTA, the state had allocated ₹180 crore in the 2025-2026 fiscal, but the GTA, where the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), an ally of Trinamool, is in power, did not provide utilisation certificates.
Also, for the 2026-2027 fiscal, another ₹170 crore was allotted, but the GTA did not get money because it did not provide the concerned plans, said Adhikari.
“There are certain charges of corruption against the GTA. The home secretary has been asked to form a special inquiry team that will submit its report within seven days,” he said.
Tea industry
On the tea sector, the chief minister said efforts are underway to utilise central funds sanctioned in 2021 for the welfare of tea garden workers.
He added that plans are being made to release nearly Rs. 300 crore for workers in closed tea gardens, in coordination with central guidelines.
“The deputy chairman of the Tea Board will visit the hills and also Assam, a state that has used around ₹370 crore out of this total fund of ₹1,000 crore for the development of tea workers, to gather information so that the same can be done in the tea industry of north Bengal,” he said.
Civic services
With three of the four municipalities in the hills currently without elected bodies, Adhikari instructed officials to ensure uninterrupted civic services.
He also directed MLAs and MPs to submit priority lists of urgent development works, particularly in the health sector.
Ahead of the monsoon season, the state disaster management department’s principal secretary will visit the hills within 10 days to review preparedness and strengthen emergency response mechanisms, he added.