Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS) As the fresh political equation in the hills of Darjeeling involving the trio of Bimal Gurung, Ajay Edwards and Binoy Tamang is becoming a major threat to the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM)-Trinamool Congress alliance, quick granting of land deeds to the people of the hills is going to be the tool for the later to combat the trio.
After returning to the hills on Friday from Kolkata after a series of meetings with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other ministers of the state cabinet, the BGPM chief and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)’s chief executive Anit Thapa told the media persons that the state government has assured him of quick beginning and completion of the process of granting of prajapattas (land deeds) to the tea garden workers residing on the land leased by the garden owners from the state government.
“The process of the review on this count will be completed in the next 10 days, following which the distribution of the prajapattas will start. The chief minister has personally assured me on this count. This is great news for the tea garden workers, whose demand for prajapattas was long standing,” Thapa told mediapersons.
It was learnt that since the majority of the tea gardens are located on land leased by the state government, there were some technical problems in granting land deeds to the workers residing there.
Before every election, there had been promises of granting land deeds in the hills, which were hardly fulfilled.
However, estranged Trinamool Congress leader, Binay Tamang claimed that this promise of granting of land deeds was yet another gimmick by the state government and BGPM before the panchayat polls this year.
Hamro Party founder Ajay Edwards too said that since GTA has failed in fulfilling each and every promise it made before, the people of the hills have no trust in the fresh promise, on granting of land deeds.
“What GTA and the state government has done is sheer politics and playing with the sentiments of the tea garden workers,” he said.
–IANS
src/pgh
