A high-power committee has recommended inclusion of five mouzas from the plains into the newly formed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in the Darjeeling hills.

( Mouza is a land revenue collection unit as well as settlement, a legal term on land records)

The recommendations were made following the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) claim for inclusion of 398 mouzas from the plains, into the Darjeeling-headquartered autonomous administrative body.

GJM is the dominant political organisation in hills that is demanding separate statehood for Darjeeling on ethnic grounds.

As part of the GTA Act, a committee — comprising representatives of State, Central as well as the GJM — reviewed the territorial disputes. The committee was headed by Mr Justice Shyamal Sen.

In a report submitted on Friday, the committee recommended inclusion of five mouzas — three in Darjeeling district and two in Jalpaiguri district — from the plains into the hill administration.

Mr Roshan Giri, General Secretary of GJM, said that the party was unhappy with the committee's suggestions. “It is a humiliation for us. We will take up the matter with our party to decide the future course of action,” he told Business Line .

The GJM had demanded the inclusion of 398 mouzas — 196 from Dooars, 199 from Terai and three from Rajganj — claiming dominance of Nepali ethnicity.

The West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, however, said: “There is no reason for any misunderstanding. The decision was neither by the State Government nor the Centre. It was by the high-power committee.”

ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in

abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in

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