Sikkim’s Human Development Report to be a ‘Citizen’s Report’

GANGTOK, 07 June:  A consultation meeting for the preparation of the second Human Development Report for Sikkim was held at the Tashiling Secretariat conference hall, chaired by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today. The meeting was also attended by Dr. AK Shiva Kumar, who has been appointed Advisor for formulation of the Report, Lok Sabha MP PD Rai, Deputy Chairman and members of the State Planning Commission, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries and Heads of Departments.
In his address at the consultation meeting, the Chief Minister stressed that the state has already detailed comprehensive Mission Statements to make Sikkim a complete and perfect State in all spheres.
“It is an opportune moment for this initiative since it is the beginning of the 12th five year plan of the country,” highlighted Dr Shiva Kumar at a press conference held later in the evening.
The report will be a blue print for the next 5 to10 years of planning for the State which will be matched with financial outlays, he said highlighting the importance of the report.

“Sikkim will be the first state in the country to come out with a second HDR,” added the MP, Mr. Rai.
He informed that the Chief Minister’s Office will have an “HDR Mission Cell” specifically for the formulation of the report and Special Secretary, RMDD, Sandeep Tambe, will be in charge of this cell.
He further informed that by 01 July, the commissioning of research papers on various subjects for the report will be completed, along with the identifying of researchers and by November the Advisory Council will hold its first meeting.
This meeting will determine the subjects to be studied in detail. By June 2012 the first draft of the report will be prepared, he added.
Explaining the participatory approach that the formulation of the HDR will incorporate, Dr Shiva Kumar said that meetings with NGOs and civil society groups “to assess the ground realities”, panchayat level discussions, focussed discussions and interviews with the public will be undertaken.
Mr Rai, in turn, informed that an online website will be set up where the public can participate in the process by sharing their views. He added that feedback from the CM’s Sikkim Bhraman will also form a part of the HDR.
“The HDR will try to capture all voices of the people,” he said.
Dr. Shiva Kumar has been in Sikkim for the last four days and has travelled to the North District and interacted with the district administration, Pipons and the public there. He also visited Tadong Senior Secondary School and met with the members of civil society and the scholars and resource persons in specialized fields.
He also recorded his appreciation for government programmes and policies and made special mention of the CATCH programme of the state government and the implementation of MGNREGA in the State.
Comparing Sikkim with other states of the country, Dr. Shiva Kumar added that scholars have been learning from the success story of Kerala for many years, “but here is another state which we can learn from”.
Concluding his remarks, he said that the impact of the report is not related with the report analysis or the content of the report but is related with the use of the report for the benefit of the society.
Dr. Shiva Kumar is a Development Economist and Advisor to UNICEF, India. He is also visiting Professor at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and teaches economics and public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of government.
He works on issues of poverty, health, nutrition, basic education, women’s and children’s rights and is closely involved with development evaluation and is a founding member of the international Development Evaluation Association. He has been a regular contributor to UNDP’s Human Development Reports and National Human Development Reports.
His areas of interest include human development, social sector analysis and the impact of development policies on children and women. He works closely with several non-governmental organizations engaged in the promotion of health, human rights and environment.
Earlier in the day, an interactive session was also held with the Additional Chief Secretary, Secretary, Forest Department and Secretary, Rural Management and Development Department.
During the interactive session, the Additional CS, who has been accompanying the CM on is village-to-village tour, remarked that this tour was a soul searching exercise for the entire administrative machinery of the State and added that the HDR should be prepared with a participatory approach of the stake holders.