|
Development efforts have largely been concentrated in urban areas, and the state
has witnessed a high rate of migration from the villages to the towns. Rapid
urbanisation has far outpaced the supply of infrastructure and civic amenities.
Although the census data show a decline in urban population from 16.65 per cent
in 1981 to 9.15 per cent in 1991, urban population according to the Annual Plan,
1998-99 is closer to 20 per cent. Lower urban population figures in the census
data are a result of the re-demarcation of some of the revenue blocks
surrounding Gangtok as rural land. Earlier these blocks were part of the Gangtok
Municipal Corporation.
With no firm
policy for the acquisition and disposal of plots in urban areas, urban
development has been largely unplanned. Most of the towns have seen rapid
building activity in the last few years, with little attention to aesthetics,
building laws, civic amenities or even to local materials and styles. Apart from
the environmental hazards that result from overbuilding and congestion, many of
the towns and their surrounding areas are fast becoming eyesores in an otherwise
serene and beautiful Himalayan landscape. The process is not reversible, and if
unchecked could - for a start - destroy the tourism potential of the state. If
detailed master plans are drawn up for taking place. Building plans should be
approved in advance: norms on height and areas of structures the development of
all towns, and strictly adhered to, this would check the haphazard development
that is, location, etc. have to be enforced and, if feasible, the use of
traditional materials or architectural styles promoted. If possible, buildings
should be constructed only on the hill-ward side of roads, so that the mountain
views are not obstructed.
Infrastructure and civic amenities have developed in response to problems rather
than as a result of planning based on projections. The result is that in the
major towns only around 61 per cent of the population is covered by water supply
schemes. Only 52.82 per cent of the urban population have access to sanitation
facilities and some parts of the urban areas are still covered only by the old
system of septic tanks, with waste being mostly emptied into streams.
Economic Rates
The government has been the sole
provider of infrastructure in the state, and it provides most of these services
at prices that are a fraction of the costs. Revenue generation is particularly
low in the urban areas: trade license fees are assessed at old, antiquated rates
and user charges either do not exist or are not enforced for civic amenities
like parking and sanitation.
Road
Infrastructure
Roads play a critical
role in the mountainous state. They are not only costly to build and maintain,
but are like lifelines for the population. Inadequate access control, allowing
shops and other establishments to be built along the roadside, lax parking rules
and even more lax enforcement of rules have resulted in traffic congestion and
delays in commuting.
The absence
of a rail network or commercial air services means that motor transport is the
only means of getting around. And among the roads, there is a heavy dependence
on a single highway - National Highway 31A (NH31A) - which is Sikkim's main
transport link with the rest of the country, and the world for that matter. Any
major disruption to NH 31A cuts Sikkim's only link with the outside world. The
proposed second highway linking Darjeeling, Singla, Naya Bazar, Namchi and
Singtam, once built, will not only increase mobility, but also bring down costs.
It will serve as an alternative route to NH 31A, and will also provide an
important road link between several towns.
Roads and
highways are not well maintained. The topography and climate of the region make
the terrain vulnerable to landslides and erosion. The average rainfall is
400-600 cm from June to October and the entire state falls in Seismic Zone IV,
which is subject to earthquakes of severe intensity. Thus roads are in constant
need of repair. While the climate and terrain make road maintenance an ongoing
and expensive exercise, timely maintenance can save a lot of work and money in
the long run. Several tracts of roads, including the main highway, have not been
repaired for long periods. In many places, the rubble has been cleared only to
the extent that traffic can squeeze through. This makes the journey into and out
of the state time-consuming, arduous, and dangerous in places.
Sikkim's expenditure on road maintenance is high. The national
standard for road maintenance is 0.3 worker per kilometre, or one worker to
maintain three kilometres of road. Sikkim, in comparison allots 2 workers per
kilometre, which has resulted in 600 to 700 workers on the muster rolls of the
East District alone. At a monthly salary of over Rs 2,000 per worker, the wages
and salary bill for road maintenance is a huge outgo from the state's exchequer,
despite which road conditions continue to be very poor.
|