On the auspicious occasion of the 75th Independence Day of our nation, I extend my warmest greetings to all the Sikkimese people and my fellow countrymen.
Today marks the day when our brave freedom fighters secured independence from 200 years of British rule.
Let us take a moment to honour the brave men and women who fought valiantly for the cause of our nation. We remember them and their contributions with gratitude and great reverence.
Since the attainment of freedom, our Country has witnessed remarkable progress in multiple areas and have been a forerunner in many fields earning recognition as a forthcoming nation in terms of socio-economic growth. We must stand together with the rest of our countrymen to take the country ahead in all its goals and aspirations and to pledge to work and ensure that we emerge as a strong and prosperous nation where the basic needs of all individuals are fully met.
Sikkim merged with India in the year 1975 and since then, we have made significant strides. Over the years, Sikkim has been bestowed with numerous awards and recognitions and has emerged as one of the most exemplary states of the nation and have set examples for others to follow.
There are many more goals that we are steadily aspiring to reach and have been formulating policies towards achieving them. The education and the health sector are the chief areas of focus for the State Government and a major chunk of the budgetary allocation for the current financial year has been made towards these sectors.
The State Government aims to make the best of healthcare and education available to the citizens with state-of-the-art facilities in these sectors which are easily accessible to all even in the remotest areas of the state.
The Covid -19 pandemic has further strengthened the State Government’s commitment towards ensuring that its citizens are safe, healthy and have the best of healthcare facilities easily available and we are determined to provide health facilities right at the doorsteps of both the rural and urban residents.
Major changes have been brought about in the health sector since the formation of our government. Some of the measures taken to achieve our aspirations in this sector are:
1. More than 400 Health workers, including Specialists, Medical Officers and Non-technical employees have been recruited.
2. Oncology Department has been upgraded and facilitated with the chemo and radiation therapy Unit.
3. Remarkable increase in budgetary allocation for medicine and consumables.
4. Earmarked a substantial sum for Ambulance expenses.
5. Cashless treatment initiated from Chief Minister’s Rural Health Insurance Scheme from CMRF. Cash aid is also being given to the patients from Chief Ministers Discretionary Grant (CMDG).
6. The State Government and the Sikkim Manipal Medical College, Tadong have an agreement for 50 fully free and 30 full payment MBBS seats.
7. Cancer Hospital at Karfectar is under consideration under PPP mode.
8. Dialysis centres have been established in district hospitals of Gyalshing Namchi and Gangtok.
9. Cardio Specialist, appointed along with Neuro and other Surgeons in STNM and district hospitals.
10. Sufficient ICU have been created in STNM and District Hospitals.
11. Super speciality outreach programme in districts (ENT, Cardio, Neuro etc.) initiated.
12. Cardio Sub-Unit established in Jorethang PHC.
13. CHC with special facilities is under construction at Soreng.
14. Commencement of Neuro super speciality facility at New STNM Hospital.
15. Under the Su-Swastha Yojana, provision of health insurance will be made to all the government employees along with their family members in collaboration with the employee and the government.
16. Inauguration of Private room complex and inauguration of dedicated Super- speciality wing complex has been done at New STNM, Sochyagang.
17. Upscaling of Namchi Hospital to 300 bedded hospitals with high-class modern facilities is underway which will cater for the need of South and West Sikkim.
18. Refrigerators for storing vaccines and medicines have been made available to all PHCs.
19. The state government will also commence with the facility of Mobile Village Clinic Ambulances with a doctor and nurse and all the basic medical facilities and will go for a weekly visit to all the villages so that the villagers need not come to the district hospitals for minor ailments.
20. There were no oxygen plants in the entire Sikkim before 2019. Nevertheless, anticipating the problem of the requirement of oxygen during the Covid-19 pandemic, the State Government established a 500 ltr per minute PSA Plant at STNM Hospital which helped out in the 2nd wave in a big manner. In addition, the following provisions are being made to ensure adequate supply and easy access to oxygen.
At the request of the State Government, the Union Government promptly sanctioned an oxygen plant with a capacity of 1000 litres per minute, now installed at STNM hospital, 500 at Mangan, 500 litres at Namchi, 200 litres at Singtam, and 200 litres at Gayzing. The State government will also be establishing a 1000 litres per minute, oxygen filling plant at Mining, Rangpo.
The State Government seeks to boost and transform the education sector to ensure complete literacy and quality education for the students.
The State Government desires to see that the students receive a holistic education, both academics and co-curricular activities, to enable them to meet the growing challenges of the modern world.
1. The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University of Excellence is being established at Chakhung, West Sikkim which will engage top-class professionals, internationally experienced academicians and recognized education administrators. This centre will be a par excellence institution of higher learning with local ethos, national goals and global orientation. It will be a centre of learning dealing with the relevant subjects like climate change, global warming etc.
2. Extension of Campus of Sikkim University for Master Degree Courses in different colleges of Sikkim has been initiated.
3. Establishment of 32 community radio stations with the support of the Government of India to reach out to students, even in the remotest corners of the State.
4. The State Government has passed the bill for establishing Kanchanjunga Buddhist University at Pangthang by Denzong Charities Trust and the setting up of Board of Open Schooling and Skill Education for the State in a PPP model. Similarly, upcoming universities like Sikkim Medhavi University at Bermiok, Sikkim International University, Sribadam and Sikkim Alpine University, Kamrang will aid in making Sikkim an Institutional area.
5. Budget has been allocated for the construction of Sikkim State University at Temi Tarku.
6. Acquired 100 acres of land for the National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Khamdong.
7. Up-gradation of the infrastructure of Gyalshing Degree College second phase is under construction.
8. Extended Chief Minister’s Merit Scholarship to 55 seats (5 seats for the students from Dzongu) which can be availed in schools and colleges within and outside Sikkim.
9. The State Government has provided students from class VIII to XI with smart Android TVs along with dish and set up boxes to help with online education.
10. The State Government aims to construct 105 school buildings from Primary to Junior High Schools and the Secondary Levels in the most needed geographies and communities across the State.
11. We have upgraded playgrounds and have improved the status in the village to boost sports from the grassroots level.
The State Government stands firm in its resolve to turn Sikkim into the “Education Hub of the Country” and aims to cater to students from all across the globe.
In the Agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors, the State Government is committed to making Sikkim self-sustainable and self-reliant. We are keenly promoting and establishing value and supply chains in each of our major agriculture communities. Through the National Food Security Mission, beneficiaries have been exposed to cluster demonstrations on cereals, pulses and oilseeds with the distribution of free seeds. The beneficiaries are also trained on resource conservation techniques, efficient water application tools, and cropping system-based training.
Furthermore, under the “PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana”, 10,007 farmers have benefitted as a measure to encourage more participation in farming. A Joint Venture Company with M/s IFFCO namely, Sikkim IFFCO Organics Ltd (SIOL) to create post-harvest processing and packaging facility at Rangpo, East Sikkim to promote value addition and export of the State’s Organic Produce.
The State Government has extended a Price Support Scheme for various crops, vegetables and fruits.
In addition to these, the Government introduced India’s first “Milk Production Incentive Scheme” @ Rs.8 per litre for the Organised Sector which has been highly successful.
We have also initiated the “Highest Milk Producer Award” for individual farmers with a cash prize of Rs. 2.00 Lakh, and announced that 1st July of every year will be celebrated as "Gwala Diwas" to commemorate the contribution made by Gwalas /Milk producers.
The State Government has also introduced India’s first “Piggery Incentive Scheme” from the current financial year 2021-2022 wherein small and marginal pig farmers will be covered. An incentive of Rs. 5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand only) will be given per pig of a maximum three (3) numbers of breeding stock having a minimum weight of 50 kgs preferably with a ratio of 2 females and one (1) male or three (3) females.
To boost the IT sector in the state and to enable digitisation of the Government facilities through various e-Governance projects and other Information Technology related projects to allow efficiency, transparency and smooth delivery of Government welfare schemes, the State Government since its formation has initiated various policies and programmes.
Some of the notable achievements are:
• Launching of the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund web portal thereby enabling the online contribution of fund support by the citizens into the said Disaster relief Fund.
Installed CCTV cameras at the Rangpo and Melli Check Posts enabling continuous surveillance of the check posts movements.
• Launched a centralised portal on COVID-19 which allowed the citizens to access any information about the Pandemic including the latest Notification/Directives/Guidelines/Orders issued by the Government.
• Developed a centralized permit system for the citizens entering Sikkim from different parts of India.
• The Department of Information Technology has also developed an Oxygen Monitoring system for the New STNM Hospital and the Central Referral Hospital for monitoring and maintaining the stock of the Oxygen cylinders in the hospital for ensuring availability of oxygen 24 x 7.
• E-office: A digital workspace solution comprising of a suite of products that paves the way for an efficient and open Government by streamlining workflow for both inter and intradepartmental file movements. The application has been launched at the District Administrative Centre, East District and Department of Information Technology.
• E-Cabinet: is a paperless system, that enables to prepare and conduct Cabinet Meetings, entirely without paper.
Sikkim Government Services Portal (SGSP): The SGSP is the online web application with the feature of a single sign-on which allows the user to access any e-services of the Government with a single login credential. The portal also hosts all e-services available by the Government of Sikkim. Inclusive of the Portal, 15 e-services are also being developed for the various departments of the Government.
• Special Economic Zone: Proposal for setting up a Special Economic Zone for an area of 6.80 hectares at Namli, East Sikkim has been approved by the Government of India.
• The State Government has signed an agreement with M/s. Reliance JIO for providing Internet Connectivity at 118 Gram Panchayats and 18 blocks on a rental basis.
• 100 Mbps Internet Connectivity has been provided to the New STNM Hospital.
Online application for Skill Development Department wherein citizens can apply online for availing various Skill Courses offered by the Government.
The Tourism sector is one of the most prominent and promising sectors in the State with a large section of the local population being directly or indirectly engaged in tourism and allied services. Propelling the tourism sector to greater heights to enable the State Government’s aspiration of achieving optimum benefit from this sector is crucial. Focus is now shifting to High-Value Domestic Tourist along with International Visitors by providing World Class Tourism products. Thrust is being given to Rural Tourism by tapping into the pristine natural beauty that is synonymous with our State. The focus is on allowing the tourists to explore the natural beauty, experience the colourful multi-culture and traditions, exotic local cuisine and so on.
The State Government has undertaken significant projects which will further add to the tourism landscape of the State such as the Eco-Tourism Pilgrimage Complex at Dodak in West, Herbal, Medical and Spiritual Healing Complex at Nandugaon. The State Government has also taken steps to revive the project for the construction of Ram Dham at Tumin and ropeway at Pelling.
The State Government also aims to build 1000 Mega Homestays in three ethnic designs of Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali architecture which will be equipped with furniture etc. These shall be run by the locals themselves who will be trained on the nitty-gritty of home stay promotion and management.
Development in the rural areas is crucial to achieving the comprehensive developmental goals for the State envisioned by the State Government.
Our dream of a prosperous and fully developed State will be incomplete without bridging the gap between the rural and urban areas. With the shift in focus to Rural Tourism, there will be major developmental activities taking place in the rural areas. Rural connectivity has been achieved to almost all the least connected areas with potable water reaching most households. Under the Jal Jeewan Mission, every rural household in the State will be facilitated with a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC). Furthermore, all flagship programmes aimed at the upliftment of the rural areas and rural populace are being implemented successfully. Several awards received by the State in this sector are a testimony to the commitment of the State Government’s determination to provide all-around development in the rural areas.
To ensure equitable distribution of all developmental schemes and initiatives in the rural areas without any discrimination based on affiliations, the State government took a historic decision and abolished the party-based Panchayat Election.
Furthermore, rural housing schemes, rural marketing centres, PHSCs, Schools and BACs have been established to ensure that the villagers can access these basic facilities with ease and comfort.
The State Government is constructing 3050 nos. of pucca houses under the Sikkim Garib Awas Yojana (SGAY). Similarly, for the Urban needy, the construction of 502 nos. of Housing in the Beneficiary’s land and 270 units of flats under the Urban Garib Awas Yojana is underway which will be launched on the occasion of Independence Day, i.e., today.
In addition to these, House Upgradation/ Repairing Scheme is also being extended to poor and deprived families of the State. Our vision is to ensure that every citizen has a roof over their head and have implemented programmes and schemes to uplift the vulnerable sections of society.
As a progressive decision of the government to help overcome the growing financial insecurities faced by the targeted beneficiaries, the existing rate of pension for the schemes namely Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) & Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Schemes (IGNDPS) has been enhanced with for different age groups where, 60-70 Years will receive Rs 1500, 70-80 Years receive Rs 2000, and those above 80 years of age will be given Rs 2500 every month.
Also, to provide wider coverage of the scheme and to benefit the marginalised, the minimum age limit for availing the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme has been lowered from 40 years to 21 years and above.
This would give them the independence to take decisions of their daily living and improve their social status, thus providing them with economic empowerment to facilitate their life with dignity and honour and the financial implication arising out of this revision is borne by the State Government. The schemes are being implemented successfully with the disbursement of the pension through the mode of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) regularly every month.
The State Government has also decided to grant a Conveyance Allowance of Rs. 1,000/ to the differently-abled MR employees per month which are at par with the Allowance received by the Regular differently-abled employees of the State Government.
We seek to train, expose and build capacities among fresh and young doctoral degree holders along with young management and technology experts. With this goal, the Young Professional Programme (YPP) is being introduced wherein young professionals shall be attached to the Chief Minister’s Office and will be exposed to dealing with critical issues for a certain time.
The State Government also seeks to set up Foreign Workers Training and Recruitment Institute in cooperation with various Foreign Embassies in India and other international job recruitment agencies to provide ample scope for employment in foreign countries for our youths.
Through the Skilled Youth Start-Up Programme (SYSUP), the State Government is providing subsidies to young budding entrepreneurs and many have benefited from this scheme. It is the State Government’s earnest desire that more of our youths come forward and avail these schemes and benefit from them.
It is heartening to know of all the Medal Winners from the Tokyo Olympics whose hard work and dedication have brought great dividends. I extend my heartiest congratulations to these sportspersons who have made the entire nation proud and brought such glory to the nation.
To further encourage more participation from our Sikkimese sportspersons, the State Government will be granting Cash Incentives to Meritorious Sports Persons for medal winner in the Olympic Games as follows:
Gold Medal – Rs 2.50 cr
Silver Medal – Rs. 1.50 cr
Bronze Medal – Rs. 1.00 cr
The State Government has also been organizing Sports Talent Hunt to recognize and train upcoming sportspersons. Cash incentives are being provided to those who excel in their fields; job reservations have been increased from 2% to 5% under the sports quota. Further, to encourage and support our women players, a New Sports Academy for Girls has been established at Soreng, West Sikkim.
During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was concerning that the patients in quarantine were facing hardship to procure essential medicines and food. Addressing this problem, we provided a medicine kit along with ration to the needy.
The creation of an All-women Anti-riot force has been proposed to the Govt. of India which will be a historical achievement empowering our women.
We have also proposed pilgrimage for those senior citizens who cannot afford it. The long-awaited proposal to convert Pakyong and Soreng into districts have finally been achieved and will help in speeding up the process of development of the areas and will also assist in making life convenient for the public.
In my recent official tour of Mumbai, I was pleased to meet the Hon'ble Governor and the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra and expressed my gratitude for the support provided for the upcoming Sikkim House at Khargar, Navi Mumbai. I went for the site inspection and interacted with the Hon'ble MLA of Belapur, Managing Director/Vice-Chairperson and officials of the City and Industrial Development Cooperation (CIDCO).
Similarly, in my official tour to New Delhi, I called on the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon'ble Union Home Minister, Hon'ble Defence Minister and other Union Ministers to place the long pending aspirations of our people like Limboo-Tamang seat reservation in Sikkim Legislative Assembly, tribal status for the 12 left out communities and the visit of H.H the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Sikkim. Apart from these demands, I also placed several current issues including enhancement of facilities and infrastructure, road connectivity, the establishment of various facilities, etc.
I was pleased to receive a positive response from the Hon'ble Prime Minister and Union Ministers who have assured me to look into all the aforementioned matters.
I also visited the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp at Wazirabad and interacted with the jawans on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee celebrations and also addressed some of the urgent issues faced by them. I announced the enhancement of certain allowances including the increase of house rent from the existing 16% to 24%, from Rs 2500 to Rs 3000, an increase of ration allowance from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 per month, enhancement of Children education and assured the release of increased Dearness Allowance (DA) before Dussehra this year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed our progress to some extent but has not stopped our efforts. With the Vaccination drive being carried out successfully, we hope to be able to gain momentum and work with greater zeal. We have an enormous task in front of us and I am confident that we collectively work and join hands in making Sikkim heaven on earth.
I once again extend my thankfulness to the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Hon'ble Union Home Ministers, Hon'ble Defence Minister and other Union Ministers for rendering constant support to Sikkim.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the people of Sikkim, frontline warriors, doctors, nurses, officials, police personnel, home guards, safakarmacharis, Dhobi, Medical attendants and all supporting staff, volunteers, civil society organisation, political workers, media, farmers, daily wage workers, drivers, businessmen, tourism industry stakeholders and all others for their patience, forbearance, cooperation and support during both waves of the pandemic.
With the current Covid-19 situation several restrictions have been imposed to avoid large gatherings because of which we cannot grandly celebrate the day. I hope and wish that next year will be different.
I once again express my best wishes to the Sikkimese people and my fellow countrymen on this happy and auspicious occasion of 75th Independence Day 2021.
JAI HIND! JAI SIKKIM