SILIGURI, 21 JULY: Power equations change party strategies and the
ruling party's apparent volte-face on certain issues is a pointer in
that direction. Although the Trinamul Congress had earlier charged the
CPI-M with destroying the greenery of Chandmoni Tea Estate to build a
township, the Darjeeling district magistrate, Mr PMK Gandhi, today asked
the land and land reforms department to acquire five acres close to the
Uttarayan township for setting up a secretariat of the chief minister
in north Bengal.
The chief minister and Trinamul Congress supremo, Miss Mamata Banerjee, during her recent visit to Siliguri, herself selected the site for her office.
The chief minister, on her way to the Sukna forest bungalow from Bagdogra airport on 17 July, was so enamoured with the scenic beauty of the deserted tea plantation, popularly known as Chandmoni Khal, beside National Highway-31, that she decided to set up her secretariat there.
Protests had erupted in the area in June 2002 after CPI-M leaders, including former state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya, took the initiative to set up a ‘satellite township’ on the tea estate with the help of private partners. Two labourers were killed in police firing during one such protest. The district magistrate today said that a preliminary inquiry had revealed that Chandmoni Tea Estate owns the land.
“Following the chief minister’s instruction, we have already put up a board mentioning the chief minister’s secretariat and branch secretariat, north Bengal development department. Today, I have asked the land and land reforms department to begin an inquiry to know the status of the land so that we can begin the process of acquiring land,” said Mr Gandhi.
The north Bengal development affairs minister, Mr Gautam Deb, was in a tearing hurry to earmark a plot for the office before the chief minister’s visit. “I tried hard to select a suitable land for the chief minister’s secretariat but failed to get one in Siliguri town. At the last moment I decided to inform didi (Miss Banerjee) to consider the plot close to Uttarayan at Matigara. After a quick glance didi selected the plot for her office,” said Mr Deb.
Before selecting the land, Mr Deb approached the Darjeeling SP to provide a plot earmarked for a police camp, adjacent to Chandmoni Tea Estate but the latter seemed hesitant on grounds of security, instead suggesting an alternative plot at the tea estate. sns
The chief minister and Trinamul Congress supremo, Miss Mamata Banerjee, during her recent visit to Siliguri, herself selected the site for her office.
The chief minister, on her way to the Sukna forest bungalow from Bagdogra airport on 17 July, was so enamoured with the scenic beauty of the deserted tea plantation, popularly known as Chandmoni Khal, beside National Highway-31, that she decided to set up her secretariat there.
Protests had erupted in the area in June 2002 after CPI-M leaders, including former state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya, took the initiative to set up a ‘satellite township’ on the tea estate with the help of private partners. Two labourers were killed in police firing during one such protest. The district magistrate today said that a preliminary inquiry had revealed that Chandmoni Tea Estate owns the land.
“Following the chief minister’s instruction, we have already put up a board mentioning the chief minister’s secretariat and branch secretariat, north Bengal development department. Today, I have asked the land and land reforms department to begin an inquiry to know the status of the land so that we can begin the process of acquiring land,” said Mr Gandhi.
The north Bengal development affairs minister, Mr Gautam Deb, was in a tearing hurry to earmark a plot for the office before the chief minister’s visit. “I tried hard to select a suitable land for the chief minister’s secretariat but failed to get one in Siliguri town. At the last moment I decided to inform didi (Miss Banerjee) to consider the plot close to Uttarayan at Matigara. After a quick glance didi selected the plot for her office,” said Mr Deb.
Before selecting the land, Mr Deb approached the Darjeeling SP to provide a plot earmarked for a police camp, adjacent to Chandmoni Tea Estate but the latter seemed hesitant on grounds of security, instead suggesting an alternative plot at the tea estate. sns
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