Archive · 3 Oct 2026
Questions Mount Over Status of Elected GTA Sabha Members
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has 45 elected members.
Several leaders resigned after a change of government in West Bengal.
The state appointed an administrator to run the hill body.
A law says the government can take over the Sabha in certain situations, but it must give reasons and let the Sabha respond first.
The law also says members leave office if the Sabha is formally superseded.
The article says it is unclear whether such an order was issued.
The administrator has met with the elected members, and an official said they took part in an advisory role.
A member said they had not received written notice saying their role was only advisory.
The status of 45 elected Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha members is unclear after senior leaders resigned.
The West Bengal government appointed then-principal secretary S. Mohanty as administrator in the first week of September.
Section 64 of the GTA Act allows the government to supersede the Sabha under specified conditions and requires reasons to be published in the Official Gazette.
The Act also requires the government to give the Sabha an opportunity to make a representation before supersession; a member said he did not recall receiving such an opportunity.
The administrator recently met elected members, whose participation was described by a senior official as advisory, though a member said no written notice had defined their role that way.
- Who
- The West Bengal government, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, and its elected Sabha members.
- What
- The legal status and role of elected Sabha members are unclear following the appointment of an administrator.
- When
- The administrator was appointed in the first week of September; the article also refers to a meeting held last week.
- Where
- The Gorkaland Territorial Administration hill region in West Bengal.
- Why
- Questions arose over whether the government followed the GTA Act’s procedures for superseding the elected Sabha.
- Elected Sabha members
- 45
- Administrator appointed
- S. Mohanty, then principal secretary of the GTA
- Relevant provision
- Section 64 of the GTA Act addresses supersession of the Sabha.
- Required procedure
- The government must publish reasons in the Official Gazette and give the GTA an opportunity to make a representation before an order under Section 64(1).
- Reconstitution period
- The Sabha must be reconstituted within a period not exceeding six months after supersession.
- Members' status after supersession
- Section 65 says members vacate office when a supersession order is passed.
- Reported meeting role
- A senior GTA official described elected members’ participation in the administrator’s meeting as advisory.