Meena. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, March 11: The newly appointed caretaker administrator of the hill council, B.L. Meena, will meet the heads of all DGHC departments on Friday before he focuses on the unfinished projects, including schemes associated with drinking water, roads, rural electrification, education and tourism.

Meena, who is also the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri, went to Darjeeling this morning to assume charge of the council at its headquarters in Lal Kothi.

“Officials heading all departments have been asked to attend a meeting on March 14 with detailed information on the status of unfinished schemes, list of proposals yet to be executed and unspent funds available,” said the new council chief.

Sources said 19 departments were handed over to the council after its formation in 1988. However, the GNLF-led council and its erstwhile chairman Subash Ghisingh had increased the number to 40-45 by dividing each department.

“We are thinking of concentrating on schemes associated with drinking water, roads, power, rural electrification, education and tourism,” Meena added. “However, the list will be finalised only after the data is tabled before us at the meeting.”

Meena added that he would ask the Bengal government for more manpower. Currently, the DGHC has only three deputy magistrates who, along with other senior officials like executive engineers, look after all the departments.

In Siliguri, Ghisingh — the man Meena replaced — is showing sings of recuperating from a bout of flu. However, he may not go to Darjeeling on Thursday as originally planned, so that he can rest for a couple of days more, said Dawa Pakhrin, the Kalimpong branch president of the GNLF.

Asok for polls

In Calcutta, state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya today said elections to the DGHC must be held at the earliest to restore peace in the hills and suggested that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung would have to play a key role in the process.

“Although we are opposed to Gurung’s call for Gorkhaland, he has been spearheading a movement on this demand involving the majority of hill people. So he should play a key role in restoring peace in the hills,” said Bhattacharya.

Two rebel GNLF MLAs, Pranay Rai and Gaulan Lepcha, today submitted a memorandum in support of Gorkhaland to the chief minister’s principal secretary, Deepankar Chakraborty. The duo have been allotted separate seats in the Assembly following their request to the Speaker.

The third GNLF MLA, Shanta Chhetri, said in the Assembly that the House should bring a resolution for Gorkhaland.