Sikkim bags Best State award for development of Panchayati Raj Institutions

BAGS FIVE OTHER NATIONAL AWARDS AS WELL
GANGTOK, 24 April [IPR]: Sikkim has been declared the best state in the country in the category of smaller states for its outstanding performance in strengthening and developing the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state by the Union Government.
Union Rural Development Minister, Jai Ram Ramesh and Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Development, V Kishore Chandra Deo presented the ( Panchayat Empowerment and Incentivising scheme award)  PEAIS 2011-12 award to Sikkim Rural Management and Development Department Minister, CB Karki during the national conference to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day function held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi today .
Sikkim bagged five prestigious national awards in the function including the Best Performing North East State award and was presented Rs 1.36 crore. President Zilla Parishad, South district, BM Rai was presented the best performing District award in the function. BB Chamling Gram Panchayat Unit Sangay Dorjee was presented the Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha award. Panchayat Sachiv, Gerethang, Laxmi Prasad Sharma  was presented the best Gram Panchayat Unit, West district and Panchayat Sabhapati  Gram Panchayat Unit Aritar, East district, Dhiren Gurung were presented awards by the Union Rural Development Minister, Jai Ram Ramesh and Union Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Development, V Kishore Chandra Deo.
State RMDD Minister, CB Karki said that Sikkim will be developed as the "Switzerland of the East" by developing its villages on the lines of the rural areas of Switzerland. He said that the State government has prepared a comprehensive and holistic planning and budgeting framework in the form of "Village Development Action Plan" with active assistance from Professor Bernard Dafflon Professor of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland to achieve this objective by further strengthening the decentralisation and empowerment programmes.
He said that a pilot village development action plan for Aritar GPU in East district has been prepared to realise the dream of the State govt and added that Aritar GPU has been awarded the national award for its achievements in this regard. He said that 70% of the state budget is provided for the development of rural areas in the state for the overall growth of these areas.
The Minister said that the state govt has ambitious plans to achieve "Poverty free Sikkim" by 2015 by attaching highest priority to the successful implementation of anti-poverty programmes and improving the quality and delivery of public services to increase rural prosperity in the state. He said that the state govt has provided substantial budgetary allocations to all 165 GPUs and 4 Zilla Panchayats in the state and various Government institutions have been brought under the administrative controls of the GPUs to bring transparency and accountability in Govt schemes by giving equal opportunity in the decision making process in all development activities of the village.
He said that 145 GPUs have their own state-of-the-art Gram Panchayat Kendras fitted with computers, village libraries and other amenities and rest 20 units will be equipped with the same facilities very shortly. He said that Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan (PMEYSA) is organising awareness programmes on various social issues like HIV/AIDS, Legal Aid, Education and Child Right etc and conferences will be organised to discuss the issues affecting women representatives and youth under Panchayati Raj.
The Minister added that capacity building trainings have been imparted to all Panchayat Sabhapatis, Sachivs and rural development assistants besides exposure visits from time-to-time.