Month: April 2022

The Union Minister was accompanied by .Shri Vishal Chauhan, Joint Secretary (Policy) also nominated as Central Prabhari Officer to Aspirational District along with D.C (Geyzing) Karma R. Bonpo, K.C. Gyatso (Chief Education Officer/Education Department); Dr. N.M.Cintury (Additional Director/AH&VS); H.B. Shanker (CDPO Gyalshing); Dr. Patrika Rai (DRCHO/District Hospital); Kuntal Pal (Piramal Foundation) and other Departmental Officials.

During the visit, Mrs Annpurna Devi attended the interaction programm with Officer, NGOs,and SHGs of West District at Zilla Panchayat Bhawan, kyonghsa, Gyalshing West Sikkim.

Addressing the house Mrs.Annpurna Devi congratulated and appreciated all the District Officers of Geyzing district. She shared that West Sikkim has been included in the Aspirational Districts programme which aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country. She further shared that the aspirational district programme is being initiated by the central government in convergence the state government.

She expressed that the focus of the programme is to further dive into the progress at various level within each district. She maintained that the fast paced development of the underdeveloped districts in the country is aimed through aspirational district programme.

The Aspirational Districts Programme essentially is aimed at localizing Sustainable Development Goals, leading to the progress of the nation, she said.

Smt.Annapurna Devi further stressed on health sector and suggested to give due importance to Family Health Survey. She appealed for optimum use of health oriented services which is available and accessible.

In addition, she stressed for the need of different sort of training to uplift the society and stated that Skill Development training would be very useful to sort out the unemployment issue.

At the outset, the DC Karma R. Bonpo gave an overview of the progress and implementation of the Aspirational District Programme in the district through PowerPoint presentation. He deliberated on the topics such as

health and education sector, agricultural Sector and others.

During the presentation, the DC shared the improvement of the performance till date and put forth various issues and challenges confronting the pace of development.

Later, Annapurna Devi attended a short educational function held at Geyzing Sr. Senior Secondary School of Kyongsa.

Smt.Annapurna Devi in her brief address appreciated the well maintained educational system of the state. She also informed the central various educational schemes launched for development of education system in the country. She stressed that education is a key to a developed nation. Annapurna Devi further stated that though COVID – 19 crisis disrupted the educational activities for a long period of time but the central and state government worked in tandem to facilitate the online educational facilities for the students.

She shared that ministry of education is working for establisment of quality education system in the country through constructive initiativgovernment of sikkim

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, landed at Bagdogra airport today.

The Hon’ble Minister is on a day visit to Sikkim and will be attending a celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav (AKAM). Government of Sikkim in collaboration with Ministry of DoNER,Government of India, is organising a symposium on ” Urban Development of North Eastern States – Smart City Revolution.”

The MP and his entire team was accorded warm welcome by the Hon’ble Chairman Temi Tea board Mr. Tashi Tshering bhutia, BDO(Temi BAC)Mr. Prem K. Subba, Employees and Workers of Temi Tea Factory.

During his short visit , The MP interacted with workers and explained various issues faced by workers. He assured every possible help from the Central Government for their betterment & informed various policies of the Govt for the benefits of workers.

After that, the entire team visited

Temi Tea factory site and various important tourist points within Temi Tea garden, then he proceeded towards NHPC Baluwataar

He was accorded a warm welcome at Rangpo by the Municipal President from Rangpo Nagar Panchayat including Municipal President from Singtam Nagar Panchayat, Municipal councillors from Singtam and Rangpo,Municipal Executive officer, Rangpo Nagar Panchayat, SDM-Rangpo Sub-Division,SDPO Rangpo,

Ms.Sushma Pradhan A.D Tourism, Chetan Pradhan AGM (S.T.D.C), including other senior officers of the State Government

The Members of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj were MP, Lok Sabha-cum-Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (2021-22), Buldhana, Maharastra, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, MP, Lok Sabha, Shri A.K.P. Chinraj, MP, Lok Sabha, Hathras (SC), Uttar Pradesh, Shri Rajveer Diler, MP, Lok Sabha, Kishanganj, Bihar, Dr. Mohammad Jawed, MP, Lok Sabha, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, Shri Narendra Kumar, MP, Lok Sabha, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Janardan Mishra, MP, Lok Sabha, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Talari Rangaiah, MP, Lok Sabha, Chhota Udaipur (ST), Gujarat, Smt. Gitaben Vajesingbhai, MP, Lok Sabha, Gwailor, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Vivek Narayan, MP, Lok Sabha, Janpur, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Shyam Singh Yadav,

MP, Rajya Sabha, Smt. Shanta Chhetri, MP, Rajya Sabha, Shri Dineshchandra Jemalbhai Anavadiya, MP, Rajya Sabha, Shri Ajay Pratap Singh, MP, and Rajya Sabha, Shri Naranbhai Rathwa.

The members were accompanied by Principal Secretary, RDD, Shri C.S. Rao, District Collector, Gangtok, District officials, officials of State Bank of India and concerned govt officials during the visit

Hon’ble Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, graced the occasion as chief guest accompanied by Minister of Urban Development and Food & Civil Supplies Departments, Government of Sikkim, Shri Arun Kumar Upreti, as the guest of honour.

The event was attended by MLA, Tadong cum Advisor, Gangtok Smart City, Shri G.T. Dhungel, Mayor, GMC, Shri N.B. Chettri, Deputy Mayor, Smt Tshering Palden Bhutia, Director, Smart Cities Mission, Shri Lal Chandama, Director, DoNER, Shri Umesh Kumar, Director, NEC, Shri Satyam Lama, and Secretary, Urban Development, Shri M.T. Sherpa, along with delegates from North Eastern Smart Cities and officials from the Centre and State.

Minister of Urban Development and Food & Civil Supplies Departments, Government of Sikkim, Shri Arun Upreti, in his address, extended warm welcome to the Union Minister and the delegates from the North Eastern States and Government of India and conveyed his gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on behalf of the Sikkim and all other North Eastern States for implementing the smart city projects which has played a crucial role in reshaping the socio-economic conditions of cities in the North East Region. He further thanked the Government of India for selecting Gangtok as the venue for the symposium under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of Independence of the country.

Shri Upreti stated that the State Government under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri P.S. Tamang has been constantly working in close coordination with the GoI to ensure that pro-people flagship projects like Smart City could be implemented to its fullest extent for fulfilling the gap in infrastructural necessities in urban areas.

Underlining the major disruption caused in the state economy owing to the Covid-19 pandemic for the last two years, Shri Upreti asserted that the Gangtok and Namchi Smart Cities remain fully committed to the Mission in pursuing the completion of work in a safe, diligent and reasonable manner and that the work progress has reached to an advanced stage despite several bottlenecks such as connectivity, inclement weather and geographical disadvantages.

Shri Upreti informed that as per the direction of Government of India, the Urban Development Department has already completed the tendering process before 31/03/2022 for all the work and are awaiting further release of fund from Government of India.

He also put forth the long standing request of the State to the Government of India for considering changing of funding pattern from 50:50 to 90:10 ratio for Smart City as in the case of other CSS for North East and Himalayan States without decreasing the plan size of mission for the State of Sikkim. He added that the revised pattern of funding would smoothly allow the State Government to meet up the State share and would enable to complete the mission as per the revised schedule of date of June 2023.

On the occasion, the Union Minister launched the Online Building Permission System (OBPS). The Online Building Permission System (OBPS) under AMRUT scheme is a transparent and effective reform mainly focused on improving service delivery with lesser human interface and more accountability for getting building plans passed. The State of Sikkim is the first State in the NE Region to have implemented the system.

Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, recollected his first visit to the city of Gangtok in 1974 and expressed delight to have witnessed immense progress in the upgradation and development of the city over the years. He praised the State government’s efforts and added that Gangtok could notably become the lighthouse for other cities in the country.

The Union Minister announced that the GoI has agreed to amend the funding pattern to 90:10, thus ensuring that many projects in the region will reach completion. He commended the rapid progress exhibited by the Smart Cities of Gangtok and Namchi in implementing the Smart City projects worth Rs. 2,474 crores under the Smart City mission.

Reiterating the Central Government’s commitment towards connecting North East India through infrastructure and technology, he stated that the North Eastern States have become India’s areas of high growth that can fuel India’s push towards an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. He exhorted on the massive potential of the region to be the trade link between India and South East Asia in the years to come.He added that under the Modi-led government, more than 95% of the Rs. 18,849 crores budgeted have been fully utilised for development projects in the important sectors of power, water supply, health, connectivity, and education in the last eight years.

He further informed that in the Budget 2022, the Hon’ble Finance Minister announced a new scheme – Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East (PM-DevINE) to be implemented by the North East Council. The scheme will fund infrastructure guided by the PM Gati Shakti mission and social development projects based on the felt needs of the North East. The South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) road connectivity programme will also help in making the region more connected and accessible to the rest of the country, he added.

Shri Puri informed that in the Smart Cities Mission, 523 projects worth Rs. 13,563 crores are in various stages of development in the 10 cities of the North East region.121 projects worth Rs. 1,553 crores have already been completed with another 268 projects worth Rs. 8,507 crores under implementation. This impressive progress shows the scale of the infrastructure transformation under way in the urban areas of North Eastern India, he added.

Shri Puri also spoke about various flagship programmes of the GoI including AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) that are vital interventions in establishing a high level of basic civic infrastructure in North Eastern cities. He also congratulated the State and its Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for achieving ODF status on all the seven ULBs in Sikkim with three ULBs also meeting ODF+ requirements under Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban.

He stated that with the recent launch of AMRUT 2.0 and SBM-U 2.0, many more urban interventions will strengthen the quality of infrastructure and service delivery in the State as well as the North East region, as a whole. He added that the launch of the OBPS today is a significant milestone in the direction of planned and scientific urban development and expressed pleasure over the software being customised to suit the local needs of the North Eastern States and their building bye-laws.

He congratulated the State Government of Sikkim and the Gangtok Municipal Corporation for being the first State to implement OBPS and commended all the agencies of the State for successfully rolling out the OBPS and Online Municipal Services in the region. He also congratulated all the Smart Cities in the North East for their enthusiasm in working towards the common goal of Smart City Mission.

The event also had a technical session which was conducted by senior professors from IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Subroto Chattopadhyay, Prof. Haimanti Banerjee and Prof. Arkapal Goswami.

Earlier, the welcome address was delivered by Secretary, Urban Development, Shri M.T. Sherpa. The vote of thanks was proposed by Nodal Officer, Smart City, Shri Dipankar Lama

In his welcome address, Dr. T.D. Lama, Principal, Sikkim Government Law College welcomed the dignitaries and emphasised on the theme of the Seminar and the background of the Lecture. He also briefed about the history related to the College being the second oldest Institute of higher learning in the State.

Shri Indra Hang Subba, M.P. Lok Sabha graced the occassion as the Chief Guest. and in his address he congratulated the Institution for organising the event. He further encouraged them to have more academic discussions and conferences so as to influence the minds of the people in the right direction.

Prof. Gangotri Chakraborty, H.O.D., University of North Bengal in her keynote Address comprehensively explained the ancient Indian Jurisprudence in the present context. She spoke on the Indian context of ‘Law of Rita and Dharma.’

The Director, Higher and Technical Education, Ms. Yishey Yongda, S.C.S also congratulated the college for organising the event. She spoke about Lt. Justice A.M.Bhattacharjee who was the legal advisor of Sikkim during pre-merger who later became the Judge of Sikkim High Court. Further, she congratulated the Principal, faculty members and for attaining the 30th position in the All India ranking on the list if legal Institutions adjudged by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

Further, Dr. Satish Kumar, V.C. S.R.M. University addressed the dignitaries and the Participants with a congratulatory note and further invited the institution for a future collaborative work.

The vote of thanks was presented by Dr. Dilip Pandey, Dean of student Affairs who thanked the Hon’ble M.P. for his presence and encouragement, the Director, Technical and Higher Education for her constant support and all dignitaries and guests present.

The inaugural Session was followed by Technical Session where participants from various Colleges and Universities presented their paper. The Technical Session was chaired by Dr. Prof. Pravin Mishra, Associate Professor, Sikkim University.

The Second day of the Seminar started with a Welcome Adress from Dr. T.D.Lama, Principal, Sikkim Government Law College followed by a Special lecture from Prof. Gangotri Chakraborty, H.O.D., University of North who spoke eloquently on Yuga Dharma and Sanatan Dharma and ignited an array of admiration from the participating audience.

Dr. Prof.Yodida Bhuta H.O.D. Dept of Education, Sikkim University chaired the Technical session for the second day. The participating Paper presenters spoke on various aspects of Ancient jurisprudence in the context of status of Women, Uniform Civil Code and Ancient Rules of Interpretation.

This was followed by an interactive question and answer session where a lot of queries were answered to and clarifications made.

In the Valedictory Session, the participants were awarded certificates in the presence of Ms. Samita Sharma, Hon’ble Director, Judicial Academy.

The vote of thanks was presented by Dr. Shraddha Subedi, Asst. Prof., Sikkim Government Law College where she thanked the Education Dept for the opportunity, Dr. Yodida Bhutia for Chairing the Technical Session, Hon’ble Director, SJA for providing the Auditorium for the two days Seminar, the organisation Committee, faculty, students and members of the Press and Media

Press Release issued by:

Ms. Tshering Choden,

Assistant Professor,

Sikkim Government Law College