West Bengal Governor calls GTA ‘den of corruption’, sets today’s deadline for report

Claiming that Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has become “a den of corruption”, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday shot off a letter to the state government seeking a report on the functioning of the autonomous body that governs Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

The Governor, who posted the letter on Twitter, wrote that a disturbing situation has arisen, pointing towards “serious dereliction of duty” with no report being made available to him in spite of firm directives.

The Governor, who is on a visit to Darjeeling, has asked the GTA administrator to personally update him about the Council’s operations by December 30. He has also sought an explanation in writing for “non-compliance of earlier directives”.

“GTA in a mess. No CAG audit for a decade since inception. No report to Governor on GTA functioning as per section 55(10) of the GTA Act,” Dhankhar tweeted tagging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Section 55(10) of the GTA Act stipulates that the Governor shall obtain a report on the functioning of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and cause that report to be laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly annually.

“Despite firm directives, no report… has been made available. On the last occasion, the secretary under instructions of the then administrator, who was on leave, called on me in Darjeeling. I flagged the issues for an urgent response. Unfortunately, there has been no response, and on one pretext or the other, the administrator has failed to respond.”

“These actions are culpable in the face of inputs that GTA has become a den of corruption with massive fund misuse,” he added.
Dhankhar claimed that GTA accounts have not been audited by the CAG since its inception a decade ago.

Earlier in the day, the Governor continued his attack on the TMC government, accusing TMC leaders and ministers of “using most foul vituperative language defaming and insulting Governor”.

“Undeterred by these, I would continue to earnestly work to secure governance as per constitution and law. The present scenario is alarmingly worrisome,” he wrote.

“Stunned @MamataOfficial “Raj Bhavan mein ek raja baiththa hai ( A king sits in Raj Bhawan) ”stance, while on a political visit to Goa… Unexpected act of impropriety,” he tweeted earlier.

“On December 16, I urged the CM for interaction as constitutional functionaries must act in harmony to serve people. No response – Why no dialogue and deliberation !,” Dhankhar added.

Meanwhile, TMC MP Saugata Roy accused the Governor of posting “anti-Mamata messages every day”. “I am being a disciplined man of TMC. I cannot tolerate anything said against our chief minister. It is unethical for the Governor to engage in such activities,” Roy said.