The West Bengal government has released ₹313 crore to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), including ₹250 crore for 465 development projects and ₹63 crore from the budget for the 2026–27 financial year, Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front president Ajoy Edwards said on Saturday.
Edwards, an elected member of the GTA Sabha, said state government leader Suvendu Adhikari informed him about the release during a late-night telephone conversation on Friday. The details were shared by Edwards in a written statement. No separate government release confirming the allocation was provided in the report.
“The Chief Minister has sanctioned and credited ₹313 crore to the GTA. This includes ₹250 crore for 465 development schemes and ₹63 crore from the budget fund for the 2026 to 2027 financial year. I thank him for this historic support to our Hills,” Edwards said.
The reported release comes amid uncertainty over the GTA’s finances and functioning following a change of government in West Bengal. Anit Thapa, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, had resigned as the GTA’s chief executive after the BJP won the Bengal Assembly elections. The state government has since appointed an administrator to run the hill body.
The GTA operates under the state’s hill affairs department and is responsible for administering development activities in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hill areas. The new funding is expected to support projects already identified by the administration, although the report does not provide a project-wise list, locations, implementation schedules or details of the departments responsible for execution.
Edwards said the release should be accompanied by tighter scrutiny of past and future payments. According to his statement, old GTA bills should not be cleared before a special audit, while new bills should be paid only after physical verification of the completed work. He also called for safeguards against false bills, double billing and alleged “cut money”, along with greater transparency in tendering.
“Every rupee belongs to the people and must be used for the people. This is my promise,” Edwards said.
The state government has also announced that Bishal Lama, minister of state for home and hill affairs, will coordinate with the government on issues concerning the GTA. The appointment of an administrator and the designation of a state-level coordinator indicate that the government is establishing an administrative mechanism to oversee the hill body and its development spending after the resignation of its previous chief executive.
The next stages will involve scrutiny of existing bills, physical verification of works and the tendering and execution of the 465 projects. The report does not specify when the projects will begin or identify the individual works covered by the allocation.
