26 January 2020, 3:13 am

First 71st Republic Day Message of New 6th Sikkim CM

By voiceofsikkim · Historical Archive

First 71st Republic Day Message of New Sikkim CM

26 Jan, Pakyong (IPR/Gtk) : On the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day, I convey my felicitation and good wishes to the people of Sikkim and my countrymen. My special greetings to the Armed Forces, Para-military and the Internal Security Forces. I pay tribute to the brave soldiers, the security personnel and their families who made the supreme sacrifice in defending the country?s territorial integrity and maintaining law and order.
It was on 26th January, 1950 that the people gave unto themselves a Constitution that established India as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic. On that day, we became the largest democracy of the world. It was with the framing and adoption of the Constitution and the birth of the Republic of India that we truly achieved the ethics of equality among all citizens, irrespective of religion, region or community.
Republic Day is very significant in our history as it marks the day the Constitution came into effect. We follow a parliamentary system of governance with both federal and unitary features further divided into three branches namely, Executive, Legislative and Judicial which is the essence of a democratic country. Almost 284 members signed the constitution on 24 January 1950. Our constitution is based on three prime points which are Democracy, Secularism and Sovereignty.
Let us today pay homage to the martyrs and bow our heads to those great visionaries who scripted a Constitution in which the principles of justice, equality and liberty have been enshrined. Let us pay our deepest respects to our forefathers, whose commitment has consistently safeguarded the interest, rights and liberty of every Indian citizen, irrespective of caste, class or gender. The country today has progressed tremendously in the social, economic, political, cultural and technological spheres.
I am happy to state that Sikkim has made great strides in the development process and fully integrated with the country. Our State has evolved as a progressive state with marked improvements in socio-economic indicators, despite facing disadvantages of inadequate connectivity, high cost of infrastructure building and maintenance with difficulties in delivering services to the dispersed population in hilly areas.
Important elements in the social sector like health, nutrition, poverty eradication, human resource development, upliftment of women and children have been adequately addressed. Infrastructure developments which generate employment and revenue have been put in place.
We are an eco-friendly state with its unique group of communities, rich in natural resources, scenic beauty and an oasis of peace and tranquility. We are arguably one of the best States in the Country today.
Sikkim is a model State for the rest of the country and the world to emulate. We have to our credit numerous National Awards in various categories conferred by the Government of India and other agencies in the field of tourism, education, rural management, health and environment protection.
Our Government?s manifesto has laid prime focus on the growth of tourism in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner. We have been recognized as the top 10 global tourist destination. Sikkim has ventured into village eco-tourism, home stay, adventure tourism like rafting, para gliding, and trekking. Various tourist spots and amenities have been created for the benefit of the tourists. Sikkim also has a range of tourist attractions, from pilgrimage to nature and adventure to historical trade routes.
More than fifteen lakh tourists visited Sikkim for various purposes last year. I advise the stakeholders to opt for responsible and sustainable tourism for the benefit of all concerned. I also urge everyone to participate in preserving the flora and fauna of Sikkim and contribute towards keeping the surroundings clean. It is upon us to educate the tourists and set an example for everyone who visits our state. A clean environment will lead to a healthy and prosperous Sikkim.

The State Government in its efforts to eradicate poverty has recognized the importance of providing quality education along with skill development of the youth. It has hence accorded topmost priority to the education sector. Smart classes, regular training of the teachers, improvement in the teacher pupil ratio to 1:10 at the primary level and 1:21 at the secondary level have made remarkable improvement in the overall education scenario. It is a matter of pride that a small state like Sikkim boasts of 8 Universities, 12 Colleges and 768 Schools. We are also providing Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) coaching to our aspiring youth/candidates.
In the health sector, our State has made rapid stride forward. The 1000 bedded Multi Specialty hospital has been setup and is easily accessible and affordable. It is well equipped with facilities such as Tertiary Cancer Care Centre with Linear accelerator and Brachytherapy and CT simulator machines facility and Cath Lab of Cardiology department (saving more than 200 lives suffering from heart ailments since its commencement, last year)
Our Government is also addressing the menace of other diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and kidney failure. The Government has increased the 5 dialysis machines of STNM Hospital to 10 Dialysis machines. Further, Namchi Hospital has been provided 5 such machines and Gyalshing District Hospital is soon to be equipped with the same. The Government has also installed a fully functional blood bank at STNM Hospital and Namchi District Hospital.
From the coming new financial year, a health plan will be implemented so that government employees, including retired employees, and senior citizens will have many benefits through which overall timely checkup and treatment related benefits will be initiated. Special care for women and child has already been started.
With the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the Government has already taken steps to make the entire state healthier by providing health check-ups, medicines and treatments free of cost.
The State Government is well aware of unemployment issue amongst the youth. To address this, our Government has adopted youth centric policies, and we have been encouraging our youths and younger generation to turn towards sports and games rather than indulging in unproductive activities. Financial assistance is also provided to specific projects for promotion of sports and games. We are also operating various schemes to achieve broad-basing of sports and excellence in sports. The scheme relating to talent search and training is one such endeavour.
Measures are also being taken to spread awareness amongst the youth about the harmful effect of drug abuse, suicide and other problems that plague the society.
Several national flagship schemes such as Make in India, Start-Up India, Stand-Up India and bank loan programme to assist Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and women borrowers have been set up.
Alleviating the conditions of the rural population and improving their standard of living is one of our Government?s focal point. In a first of its kind, my Government has empowered the Self-Help Groups by allotting stitching works of Government School uniforms from the current academic session.
We have also decided to provide incentives for people involved in agriculture and livestock. The incentives will be divided into sections and depending on the criteria one can avail of these facilities. In the upcoming budget session, we have decided to provide more facilities and concessions to the people involved in the field of milk production which will motivate and help them to move forward.
Our Government shall work towards supply of electricity and safe drinking water to every household. Adequate measures to ensure that every household in the State has access to safe, potable drinking water are being adopted. This has been possible by implementation of numerous rural drinking water schemes in the villages.
Our Government has also proposed to construct of 3050 pucca houses under the Sikkim Garib Aawas Yojana (SGAY) in phase wise manner to provide a dignified shelter for our people.
Environmental conservation is a top priority of our Government. Recently, the State Government has come up with a unique idea and launched ?A Day for Mother Earth? (a unique initiative to spread awareness about climate change) at Kitchu Dumra, Kamrang, South Sikkim, with an aim to work towards contributing to the national target of carbon sequestration of 3 billion tonnes from forest by 2030. As a part of this initiative, all vehicular movements in the State were stopped to reduce carbon emissions for seven minutes from 11: 00 am to 11:07 AM on July 7, 2019 as one of the State?s affirmative action for ameliorating the detrimental effects of global climate change.
To curb the menace of traffic congestion, especially in Gangtok, our Government has held high level meetings with all stakeholders. One new road has been built from Adampool to Banjhakri falls. Another small road from Shyari will connect Jalipool/ Ranipool. These two new roads should reduce traffic chaos to some extent this year. The rise in tourist inflow and the rural to urban population exodus has put pressure on the public transport system with most commuters relying on taxis or on private vehicles. This establishes the need for a planned public transport system for the city of Gangtok. The State Government is also mulling over several options for long term solution.
We have also been able to provide a safe and healthy living space for our women. The State has set up the One Stop Centre and 181 Women Helpline to provide service to women affected by violence in private and public space. It also provides assistance to girls below 18 years of age in consultation with District Child Protection Units. All legal framework and adequate safeguards have been put in place. The crime and violence rate against women in the State is minimal. In every sphere, women are given job reservation and seat reservation in the professional avenues.
After securing the mandate of the people our Government has announced many pro-people and progressive policies which aim at uplifting the society and increasing the happiness index of the people. Let me briefly state some of the major achievements so far:
1. Enhanced the salary of MGNREGA from Rs. 177 to Rs. 320 for semi-skilled workers and Rs. 335 for skilled workers.
2. Approval of the government for the appointment of 170 numbers of Sanskrit Graduate Teachers in all Secondary and Senior Secondary schools in the state under Rastriya Sanskrit Sansthan.
3. Removed pilot vehicles which were assigned to the Ministers except Dy. Speaker, Speaker and the Chief Minister.
4. Replaced expensive vehicle with Scorpio for the use of Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers.
5. 100% arrear to all the State Government employees.
6. 100% arrear to all the State Government Pensioners.
7. Declaration of A Day to Mother Earth on the first week of July of every year.
8. Regularization of Service of 382 employees of National Health Mission for all categories.
9. Weekly permit is introduced for taxi on payment of Rs 100/- instead of one day.
10. Launched the online tax payment system under the Motor Vehicle Division, Transport Department.
The dream of my Government is to make Sikkim into a conscious, well informed, robust and capable entity where the people can live with dignity and happiness. Let us, on this happy occasion, resolve to maintain and enrich the good tradition of peace, brotherhood and communal harmony. Let us also be responsible citizens and pledge to re-dedicate ourselves to the service of our State and contribute in the process of Nation Building.
JAI SIKKIM?
JAI HIND !!!

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