RANGPO, September 18: A grand welcome was accorded to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling yesterday at Rangpo by a host of cabinet ministers, legislatures, SDF party officials, government officers and local people.
The Chief Minister was returning back to Sikkim after receiving four awards for Sikkim during the India Today conclave at New Delhi. The awards received by Sikkim were for E-governance, education, rural electrification and rural roads.
In his brief speech, Mr. Chamling dedicated the awards to the people of Sikkim. He said that the cooperation and support of the people of Sikkim has enabled a good reputation of Sikkim in national and international levels.
Highlighting the steps taken by his government in the field of education, the Chief Minister said that the State government has allocated twenty percent of the annual budget for education with an aim to provide quality education to the students here. He said that all teachers in the State will be provided training within the next four years as part of the State government’s efforts to institutionalize quality education in Sikkim.
Mr. Chamling also said that the State Government has done exemplary works in the field of rural electrification as 99 percent of the households in Sikkim have electricity supply. He said that Sikkim will be reaping huge dividends from the hydel power in coming years and hydel power will be the main source of revenue for Sikkim. He also informed about the State government’s effort to have Rs. 1 lakh crore investment in Sikkim in the next five years.
The Chief Minister said that the State government has special beautification plans for all the entry points into Sikkim from the tourism perspective. I am planning to tour Melli next month, he said.
Mr. Chamling further informed the target to make the entire administration in the State paperless in the next four years. He also expressed his anger over the recent clash of students at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) which he said has created a negative effect for Sikkim in the national level.
