Calcutta, Jan. 31: The state government today said it had made it clear to GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh that election to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council would be held within March 25, 2005, ending months of speculation over the fate of the long-pending poll.

?The chief minister and I have made it clear to Ghisingh that there is no reason to postpone the election any further. If Ghisingh has any demand or grievance, it can be sorted out throughout bipartite or tripartite meetings, but in no circumstance should the election be stopped,? said urban development and municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya, who is also in charge of the hill affairs for the CPM.

No particular date, however, has been set.

The election to the DGHC was originally due in March 2004, but the state government had twice extended the tenure of the council reportedly at the request of Ghisingh. The present term of the council ends on March 25, 2005.

?According to the DGHC Act, the government can extend the tenure of the council by a maximum of one year. So, we must hold the election before March 25, 2005. We are gearing up the state machinery to hold the poll,? he added.

The statement, coming days after the second round of tripartite meeting ended in Delhi without any concrete results, is being seen as a blow to Ghisingh who had earlier warned that no election could be held until the hill issues were resolved.

It also cleared the uncertainty that had arisen after chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee?s announcement in Sukna earlier this month that the decision on the council election would be taken only after the review meeting.

Referring to Ghisingh?s threat to boycott the poll, the urban development minister today asserted: ?We are not in a position to bow before any threat. Election is a democratic process. The Left Front government has established democracy and we are determined to maintain and protect it. Besides, there will be a legal crisis if we cannot form the council within the due date.?

On the demands raised by Ghisingh at the review meeting, home secretary Amit Kiran Deb said: ?There are some demands which are not possible to meet as the law will not permit us to do so. The council may be an elected body but the government will have to work within the framework of the law. We cannot do anything to please anybody by violating the law of the land.?

The tripartite meeting, held on January 28, was held in the presence of Union home secretary Dhirendra Singh, state chief secretary Asok Gupta and Deb.

Deb added the government would forward the DGHC?s demand for annual grant to the Centre.

?The DGHC wants Rs 50 crore annually from the Centre. We will write to the planning commission, informing them of this demand,? he said, adding that the government had written to the Centre on this issue thrice since 2001.

Some of the demands that were rejected by the state government are ?

lFormation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Corporation exclusively for Darjeeling.

lPower to recruit teachers for hill schools and issue permits for bus and taxi

lControl on security management (policing) in the hill areas

lThe BDO will work under the DGHC

lFunds meant for the three hill municipalities (Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling) will be distributed via the council