Smritiranjan Mohanty Appointed As GTA Administrator

The West Bengal government has appointed Smritiranjan Mohanty as the new administrator of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. He was previously working as the principal secretary of the GTA. He will now manage the autonomous body that looks after civic and development work in the hill areas of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong.

Reason For New Appointment

According to the official gazette notification, Mohanty will work as the administrator until new elections are held and a new elected board is formed. This appointment was made after the previous GTA board resigned. The earlier board was led by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, an ally of the Trinamool Congress. Key officials resigned in June amid allegations of financial irregularities in the work of the board.

Background And Political Context

Anit Thapa, the founder of BGPM, was the first to leave the post of chief executive of the GTA. Following him, chairman Anjul Chauhan and vice-chairman Rajesh Chauhan also resigned from their posts. Political activities in the hills were already high due to these allegations of financial irregularities. In June, during a public meeting in Kurseong, the issue of alleged corruption was raised, and the state government stated that legal action would be taken against those responsible.

Ensuring Smooth Public Services

More than two months after Thapa resigned, the hills did not have a full-time elected leadership. This raised worries about administrative work and civic services in the region. A state government official stated that the new administrator was appointed in the public interest so that administrative work and development activities of the GTA continue smoothly until a new elected board takes charge. This announcement was made during a visit to North Bengal.