The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is looking at creating a satellite township of Darjeeling at Rangaroon tea garden near Ghoom.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee raised the issue of setting up a satellite township for Darjeeling at an administrative meeting held in Siliguri on Wednesday.

Anit Thapa, the chief executive of the GTA, said: “Regarding the extension of Darjeeling and the satellite township, we, along with the principal secretary (of the GTA) and the DM are working on it. We will now identify the land.”

Speaking to The Telegraph, Thapa said that the GTA was looking at setting up the satellite township at the Rangaroon tea garden.

“We are looking at the Rangaroon tea garden as it has a number of advantages,” said Thapa.

To start with, Rangaroon is about 16km from Darjeeling town, near the 3rd Mile area.

“Setting up a township there would mean that traffic will not enter Darjeeling town,” said Thapa.

The need to set up a satellite township and shift most of the government offices out of Darjeeling town was raised more than two decades back. A proposal to this effect had been sent by the then Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) to the state government in 2002.

The then Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had promised to study a proposal to set up a township at Lapchajat, some 15km from Darjeeling town, but nothing came out of it.

“That area (identified for the satellite township near Lapchajagat) comes under the forest department and it is difficult to obtain required permissions,” said Thapa.

Rangaroon being a tea garden technically belongs to the state government.

The place is also known for its flora. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, the first man to climb Mount Everest, had also opened a trekking route for the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) through this area.

Thapa, however, said that he would also seek opinions from the public before finalising the site. “I will also go to the public and see if they have other sites in mind even though we feel that Rangaroon has many advantages,” said Thapa.

The GTA is also constructing a 13km stretch from Lebong to 3rd Mile via the Pandam and the Rangaroon tea gardens.

“At the moment we are focussed on creating a satellite township for Darjeeling as it is bursting at its seams,” said Thapa.

According to statistics compiled by the state government in 2001 Darjeeling town has the highest human density among all mountainous regions of the world with a population of 1,266 persons for every sqkm.

The population of Darjeeling town is more than 1.5 lakh. Another six lakh tourists visit the town on an average every year.