Will Ensure CAG Audit Of Darjeeling Hill Body, Says Bengal Governor

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said that he will ensure a special audit of the accounts of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body that looks after the development of Darjeeling hills, by the CAG, as he has received several complaints in this regard.

In the complaints made by representatives of the people and others to him, the GTA was labelled as a "den of corruption" and though crores of rupees were allotted to it, there has been no matching development, the governor said.

Mr Dhankhar said that the representations he received claimed that there has been no audit in the GTA for several years.

"I will ensure that there is full special audit by CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) of GTA accounts so that those who were in the board of administrators are made duly accountable," he said, wrapping up his week-long stay at the Darjeeling Raj Bhavan.

Mr Dhankhar said that since 2017, there has been no elected body, terming it as "decimation of democracy".

As per the Gorkhaland Territorial Act of 2011, the GTA was established for the region comprising Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong subdivisions and some mouzas of Siliguri subdivision in Darjeeling district.

The GTA Sabha was constituted on August 2, 2012 with 45 elected members and five members nominated by the governor.

The Hill Affairs Branch of the state government's Home and Hill Affairs Department is the nodal branch to look after the matters of the GTA.

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