Sikkim celebrates I-Day with recognition of meritorious service and preparation for future plans

GANGTOK, 16 Aug: The 66th Independence Day was celebrated with much grandeur here at the Paljor Stadium on 15 August. Present was the Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling along with his cabinet colleagues, senior bureaucrats and local gentry.
The Police Medal and State Award for Meritorious Service were conferred to 12 persons on the occasion. The Chief Minister also released a series of eight books and launched the website of the Animal Husbandry, Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services Department.
Indira Kumar Rai [Fire Service Officer, Namchi] and SD Lepcha [Fire Officer, Singtam] received the Police Medal, while Shyam Kumar Pradhan [Special Secretary, Home Department]; Purna Prasad Sharma [Senior Accounts Officer, Land Revenue & Disaster Management Department]; Binod Kumar Gurung [Deputy Registrar, Cooperation Department]; Sukpal Subba [Assistant Sub Inspector, SAP Pangthang]; Kalim Uddin [ASI (Mechanical Section), Sikkim Reserve Lines]; Lhamu Tshering Bhutia [Accountant, Ecclesiastical Affairs Department]; Sanjiv Kumar Tamang [Field Assistant, Animal Husbandry, Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services Department]; Madan Kumar Cintury [Driver, Raj Bhawan]; Gopal Pradhan [Peon, Office of the Chief Secretary, Home Department] and Nem Bahadur Rai [Peon, Rural Management & Development Department] were conferred the State Award for Meritorious Service.
Mass drill and various cultural programmes by school children were also performed during the occasion.
March-past was performed by ITBP, SSB, SAP, IRBn, Sikkim Police [male and female], Home Guards, NCC platoons from various schools, Scouts and Guides, Army Pipe band and Sikkim Police Brass and Pipe band. The best overall platoon in Forces was won by ITBP while PNGSS school won the best platoon among NCC. The consolation prize went to Sikkim Police band.
Earlier, the Chief Minister read out the Independence Day address to the gathering.
Greeting the people on the occasion, the CM highlighted that the struggle of the Freedom Fighters which culminated in Freedom had shouldered citizens of Free India with “immense responsibility to rule onto ourselves and to preside over the destiny of the new Nation”.
“Let us rededicate ourselves to carry forward the dreams and aspiration of thousands of freedom fighters to their logical conclusion so that freedom we gained more than sixty years ago is fully justified and reflected in the life of our countrymen to live full and contented life every day and every minute,” he said.
Updating the people of Sikkim on the achievements of his Government in the past 18 years, the CM highlighted that Sikkim has “made an impressive headway in every other sector and in all spheres of development and ahead of many other States in India”.
Governance, he said, has consciously adopted “scientific approach” to engage both short-term and long-term development strategies to bring about comprehensive development of the State. “This we have been able to do through fruitful engagement with central leadership as per spirit as enshrined under Article 371F of the Indian Constitution and secondly through judicious harnessing of our natural resources to consolidate our internal revenue base,” he added.
On the new projects on the anvil, the CM informed that the Multi Specialty Hospital being developed in Gangtok will provide highly specialized medical treatment to the people within the state and that the ongoing construction will be completed by 2013. The ambitious Buddha Park project at Ravangla, he informed, will be inaugurated within the current financial year even as the first phase of work for construction of the even more ambitious Sky-walk at Bhaleydhunga has been started.
Reiterating the State Government’s rural focus, the CM shared that the commitment to linking remote parts of the State with all-weather roads has led to the total road length of Sikkim increasing from 1,800 km in 1994 to 3,700 km now. “Our next effort will be upgradation and extension of existing roads to make them quality roads,” he added.
He also made mention of the Panchayat elections scheduled for later this year and expressed confidence that people of Sikkim, “like in the past will participate in this great democratic tradition to elect our grassroot functionaries”.
“We rightfully claim that the installation of SDF Government facilitated socio-cultural reawakening among our simple citizens. The customs, traditions and religious belief belonging to cross-sections of people have been protected and promoted through regular state patronage. The weaker and the disadvantaged section of people are being prioritised through different grants for their socio-economic upliftment,” he highlighted.
On the government’s plans for revenue generation for continued infrastructure development, the CM admitted that more than 65% of the State’s central plan allocation goes into salary payments of the over 50,000 government employees [including Muster Roll, Work-charged and adhoc employees], leaving the State exchequer with limited resources to invest in other development priorities.  Given this reality, the government has resolved to harness the State’s natural and cultural assets and identified hydropower generation, service industries, hospitality industries, small scale industrial units, on-line gaming as priorities for generation of additional employment and leverage local economy.
[refer NOW! issue dated 15 August 2012 for details of announcements made]