What is Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA)?
- A semi-autonomous administrative body for the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal, India.
- GTA will have administrative, executive and financial powers but no legislative powers. [important fact for CSAT]
Timeline of Events
| 1980s | Subhah Ghising, chief of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), started a movement, demanding a separate state for the Gorkhas living in Darjeeling. |
| 1988 | Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was setup. |
| 1988 to 2005 | Subhas Ghising remained its chairman for three successive terms. |
| 2005 | The fourth DGHC elections were due in 2005 but the government decided not to hold elections and instead made Ghising the sole caretaker administrator of the DGHC. |
| 2007 | Bimal Gurung, a close aide of Ghising, broke away and formed a new political party called the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). |
| Mar-08 | Ghising was forced to resign as caretaker of the DGHC. |
| 2011 | Mamata Banerjee became CM of Bengal. The GJM signed a tripartite agreement with her government and the Central government in July 2011, for the formation of the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) in the Darjeeling hills. |
| Jul-2012 | Elections to the GTA were held and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha won unopposed. |
Difference between DGHC vs GTA?
| Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) | Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) |
| The DGHC had 28 seats. | GTA has 45 seats and five nominated members. |
| DGHC started with 19 departments in 1988 | GTA will start with 54 departments along with 14 executive members. |
| Power in the DGHC was centralised and rested with Subhas Ghising who was the chief of the DGHC. | Power has been decentralised and there will be a chairman and chief executive who will run the GTA along with other executive members. |
| DGHC did not have the power to prepare the budget for its departments. It would receive funds as part of the state government’s budget. | GTA can have its own budget and can allocate funds to various departments. |
| DGHC was given an annual grant of Rs 22 crore by the Central government | GTA will receive a grant of Rs 200 crore every year for the next three years. |
| DGHC did not have the power to create posts of Group C and Group D and it could not generate employment. | GTA will have the power to create Group D staff. |
| DGHC did not have the power to amend any rule. | GTA has the power to prepare its regulations and send them to the state government as recommendation. |