Sikkim (Limbu: Sikkim (help·info), Tibetan: འབྲས་ལྗོངས་, 'bras ljongs; Denzong[1]) is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest in area after Goa.[2] The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and the east and Bhutan in the southeast. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south.[3] Despite its small area of 7,096 km2 (2,740 sq mi), Sikkim is geographically diverse due to its location in the Himalayas. The climate ranges from subtropical to high alpine. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, is located on the border of Sikkim with Nepal.[4] Sikkim is a popular tourist destination owing to its culture, scenic beauty and biodiversity.

New building of Sikkim HC inaugurated

GANGTOK, Feb 16 – The outgoing Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court A H Saikia today inaugurated a new High Court building equipped with various facilities for the members of the bench and the Bar.
The outgoing Chief Justice, who has been transferred in the same capacity to Jammu and Kashmir High Court, said that he was privileged to get the opportunity to inaugurate the new building before his departure.

The new building of the Sikkim High Court has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 6.5 crore and has five court rooms, a library and chambers of the advocates, besides other facilities.

http://www.in.com/news/current-affairs/fullstory-new-building-of-sikkim-hc-inaugurated-12834373-bc9c890180ee2529088dbe01f1417fd945d3faa8-1.html

Foundation of Rs 400 cr Sikkim hospital laid

GANGTOK, Feb 16 – Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling laid the foundation stone of a new 575-bedded multi specialty STNM Hospital at Suchakgang (Sichey) in the city outskirts here recently. The Hospital will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crores with a plinth area of 6 lakh square feet, housing 18 departments and will be completed by March 2013.
The Chief Minister described the occasion as a historic one and appealed to the personnel from the Health department and doctors to make the hospital people friendly.

The Chief Minister said, taking into consideration the growing number of patients in the OPD the government is thinking of starting evening OPD from 3 pm to 5pm especially for the people coming from rural areas.He also appealed to the medical professionals working outside the State to come back. “We want our medical specialists to come back and serve the people of Sikkim”.

The Chief Minister also spoke of the remarkable milestones achieved by Sikkim in the health. “The parameter of State’s development is not calculated by its economic and infrastructure development but by its health standards”, he said.

“The effort of the State Government is to ensure that no one is deprived of quality health care on equitable basis at affordable costs”, Chamling added. Expressing concern over the high mortality rate and malnutrition in the State, Chamling said there is a need to give serious thoughts on the issue.

The Health Minister DN Thakarpa said that the government will soon start GNM and ANM training centers at Sabji Mandi with fifty students in each batch.He also informed of constructing 20-bedded trauma centre at present STNM complex.

Over 21,600 people categorised as BPLs in Sikkim will get health insurance coverage along with other benefits from CM’s Health scheme which provides hearing aid and spectacles, the Minister informed.

You don't consider Sikkim a part of the North East.

You don't consider Sikkim a part of the North East.

Dear friend..Many thanx for pointing out that sikkim has gone out of NorthEastern region to somewhere else as u wish.My only intention was to highlight projects and developments from that region.It would be good a idea if the current NorthEast MP FORUM SUMMIT going on in GANGTOK should be notified of your findings.thank you.

http://www.sikkimexpress.com/

http://www.sentinelassam.com/northeast.php?sec=2&subsec=9&ppr=1&dtP=2010-02-13

Orthographic CAD View - NEW Pakyong Airport

http://voiceofsikkim.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/pakyong-airport-prespective-view-250x163.png

Chief Justice inaugurates Mediation Centre at Pentok

MANGAN, February 18: Chief Justice of High Court of Sikkim Dr. Aftab H. Saikia today inaugurated Mediation Centre of High Court of Sikkim here at Pentok. This third mediation centre in Sikkim is constructed at the cost of Rs.54.60 lakhs.

The Chief Justice was accompanied by Justice SP Wangdi, Justice AP Subba, Judge High Court of Sikkim, Registrar General, Meenakshi M Rai, High Court of Sikkim, ADC (N), S Targain, SDPO Mangan other government officials and staff of High Court.

In his address, Justice Saikia said, the fourth Mediation Centre will be started at Gyalshing. The mediation centre, he said was nothing serious but an easier way of settling the disputes in short period, which otherwise may take up to 30 years to settle the case in the Court.Justice, SP Wangdi, in his address informed that the Centre is there for public convenience. “Supreme Court has passed a law to settle social and personal disputes in an easy way and within a short period. This led to the idea of the starting the Mediation Centre, under which cases should be solved within 90 days in public interest,” he said.Justice AP Subba also spoke on the occasion.

http://www.sikkimexpress.com/crime.html

Well if you insist we have a Sikkim thread here's a cross post from the North East Thread

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http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/indrajal/Construction/skywalk-gangtok.jpg

Skywalk, Gangtok, Sikkim
Skywalk is an ambitious, Rs 500 Crore project of the Department of Tourism, Government of Sikkim (India). Based on the lines of Skywalk in Grand Canyon, USA, this project involves construction of glass cantilever at Rawangla – a major tourist destination of Sikkim. This is a joint venture project of VKA, Grant Thornton India and Grant Thornton South Africa.

Project Brief
A glass cantilever is under design using several layers of Dupont glass laminated to provide appropriate structural strength. To achieve financial viability, development of infrastructure, connectivity and additional accommodation for tourists is also proposed.

http://www.vkassociates.co.in/current-projects.html

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling will flag off six new City Runner buses at the SNT Bus Station in Gangtok

Gangtok, February 21: Heralding a new revolution in the city transport system of the capital, the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling will flag off six new City Runner buses at the SNT Bus Station in Gangtok tomorrow. These Buses are a part of twenty five buses sanctioned for Sikkim Sikkim under the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.
The SNT sources said in Gangtok today that the new Bus services will also cover places like Bhusuk, Penengala, Luing, Lingdok and Ranka. With all the twenty five new Buses, costing around three crore Rupees, getting operational the interval between the two bus services, about two hours at present, will get reduced to a great extent. Besides, all the important places in the periphery of Gangtok will get connected by City Bus Runner service, it is said.
http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/02/22/cm-to-flag-off-six-new-city-runner-today/

CM inaugurates IRB headquarters at Pipaley

GYALSHING, February 23: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today inaugurated the Indian Reserve Battalion Headquarters at Pipaley, near JNV Rothak in West Sikkim.
The new IRB headquarters spread in 3.211 hectare land was built at a cost of Rs. 8, 53, 44, 000. The construction work had started in 2008.The programme was also attended by Deputy Speaker, Sikkim Legislative Assembly MB Dahal, State PWD Minister RB Subba, State Agriculture Minister Dawcho Lepcha, vice chairman State Planning Commission, former Chief Minister Sanchaman Limboo, IRB officials, Police officers, Panchayats and the common people.
Addressing the programme, the Chief Minister said that he has also been performing his duties just like any other police personnel for the public so that there would be peace and security among the citizens. “I am like a police, but guarding people against injustice, prejudice and exploitation,” he said.

He further sought cooperation from all citizens to support the police and work in unity for enhanced peace and security in the State. “It is the responsibility of all citizens to keep up the peace and tranquillity of the State and work towards prosperity and development,” he added

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/02/24/cm-inaugurates-irb-headquarters-at-pipaley/

Work starts on Sikkim link

Calcutta, Feb. 24: The construction of a new railway link connecting north Bengal to Sikkim has begun with Ircon International Limited, a public sector undertaking incorporated with the Indian Railways, starting work on the 44km stretch between Sevoke and Rangpo two years after the plan was mooted.

The general manager of the Northeast Frontier Railway, Shiv Kumar, and senior officials of the railways and Ircon, attended the ground-breaking ceremony at Rangpo on the Bengal-Sikkim border on Saturday.

Ircon sources said the estimated project cost is around Rs 3,300 crore.

Ircon’s general manager, eastern region, Anil Kumar Gupta, said engineers were already working on the access roads to reach the proposed track alignment. “The terrain is a challenging one and we have to first reach the areas through which the railway line will pass. After that, we will be able to conduct a survey and arrive at the final estimate,” Gupta said.

He said Ircon had experience in constructing railway lines in Jammu and Kashmir.

“An estimated 70 per cent of the total stretch to Sikkim will have to be either through tunnels or viaducts in order to make progress through one hill to the other, spanning deep gorges. The viaducts will have to be constructed on high pillars,” the general manager said.

The project will take five years to complete once the funds are sanctioned. The first railway link to the Himalayan state will help boost the state’s economy as well as its economic mainstay, tourism.

Senior officials of the NFR said after the Sevoke-Rangpo track laying is completed by 2015, there are plans to take the link up to Gangtok.

“The railway connectivity to Sikkim is important as the India army has deployment along the border with China in the state. The railway line will vastly improve troop movement as they will not have to rely solely on the state’s only road link with the rest of India, NH31A,” an official said.

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http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/02/24/work-starts-on-sikkim-link/

Good work "sanjusky", keep updating the thread.


We want to know more about progress and development in Sikkim and Arunancal Pradesh, specially after the Chinese eying them.

IMO funds are not problem for north east areas, there is systematic corruption like bihar that is responsible for NE's underdevelopment. Also, China have involve in destablishing the reason from around independence.

Thnx anidel for support.

Rs. 1,114 crore provided for rural roads in northeastern region/sikkim

New Delhi:Union Finance Minister announced Rs. 1,114 crore budgetary support for development of rural roads in North-Eastern region and Sikkim.Mukherjee said a total budgetary support of Rs.12,000 crore has been made for development of rural roads including bridges. Out of which a provision of Rs.1,114 crore has been earmarked for North-Eastern region and Sikkim.This provision has been made under the Department of Rural Development for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).It is expected that about 1.67 lakh habitations will be covered under this programme which would involved construction of 3,65,279 kilometers of roads for new connectivity and 3,68,000 kilometers under upgradation at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,32,000 crore at 2004-05 prices.To achieve the targets of Bharat Nirman, 1,46,185 kilometers of road length is proposed to be constructed by 2012 to benefit 54648 unconnected eligible habitations in the country.To ensure complete farm to market connectivity, it has also been proposed to upgrade 1,94,130 kilometers of the existing associated through routes. (ANI)

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/02/26/rs-1114-crore-provided-for-rural-roads-in-northeastern-region/

13th Finance Commission recommends Rs 400 Cr for Sikkim projects

Gangtok: Sikkim grabs yet another mega budget inspiring Tourism project funding from the centre for upliftment of Sikkim in global tourism sector. The 13th Finance Commission FC reveals in its report about recommending projects for Sikkim worth Rs 400 Crore grant-in-aid package within the next five year s, this includes most waited project of Bhaley Dunga where government had placed a proposal for construction of Sky Walk on 2007.

For the said project of Bhaley Dhunga Rs 200 Crore has been proposed by the 13th FC, as told in the report. The Commission in its report was tabled by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on Feb 25, indicating that Sikkim had made a strong pitch for the proposed project and fortunately the project like Sky Walk will be the first of its kind in the India, said in the report. Commission in its report makes it clear to avoid any damage to eco-system during the construction and all possible conservation measure should be ensured towards the flora & fauna of Himalayan region also. The Sky Walk project will be a mega attraction since this could be a country’s first ever monument built for attracting tourists worldwide said in the report. The proposed Sky Walk project would be elevated 5000 ft in a hill, fabricated by a transparent glass to enable the visitors see wide panoramic view of surrounding eco-system.
Chief Minister Dr Pawan Kumar Chamling had first mooted on 2007 for constructing iconic Sky Walk project in Bhaley Dhunga, due to its geographical topology the Sky Walk project in the place would be a great innovation for boosting Sikkim Tourism.
While the 13th Finance Commission’s grant of Rs 200 crores for this project is welcome, the fund is very well short of estimated cost of the Bhaley Dhunga Sky Walk project.
It may be recalled that an international consultancy firm in its pre-feasibility report in the month of August 2008 had pegged the estimated cost of the proposed iconic Sky Walk at Bhaley Dhunga peak as an integrated tourism destination to around Rs 1200 crores. The lump sum cost had involved construction of three finger shaped glass SkyWalks connected through a tunnel in the rocky spur of Bhaley Dhunga cliff standing an elevation of 10,102 feet.
Mean while rural tourism in Sikkim has much to cheer from 13th Finance Commission.
The commission has also states developing Village Tourism scope within the state for which a an grant-in-aid amounting of Rs 80 Crores is being recommended, said in the report. The fund would be utilized for boosting village surrounding, beautifying, rural connectivity etc.It is estimated that on completion of the said project unto commissioning will gear Sikkim’s economy to greater height.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/02/13th-finance-commission-recommends-rs-400-cr-for-sikkim-projects/

13th Finance Commission recommends Rs 400 Cr for Sikkim projects


01 March, Gangtok: Sikkim grabs yet another mega budget inspiring Tourism project funding from the centre for upliftment of Sikkim in global tourism sector. The 13th Finance Commission FC reveals in its report about recommending projects for Sikkim worth Rs 400 Crore grant-in-aid package within the next five year s, this includes most waited project of Bhaley Dunga where government had placed a proposal for construction of Sky Walk on 2007. For the said project of Bhaley Dhunga Rs 200 Crore has been proposed by the 13th FC, as told in the report.

The Commission in its report was tabled by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on Feb 25, indicating that Sikkim had made a strong pitch for the proposed project and fortunately the project like Sky Walk will be the first of its kind in the India, said in the report. Commission in its report makes it clear to avoid any damage to eco-system during the construction and all possible conservation measure should be ensured towards the flora & fauna of Himalayan region also.

The Sky Walk project will be a mega attraction since this could be a country’s first ever monument built for attracting tourists worldwide said in the report. The proposed Sky Walk project would be elevated 5000 ft in a hill, fabricated by a transparent glass to enable the visitors see wide panoramic view of surrounding eco-system.

Chief Minister Dr Pawan Kumar Chamling had first mooted on 2007 for constructing iconic Sky Walk project in Bhaley Dhunga, due to its geographical topology the Sky Walk project in the place would be a great innovation for boosting Sikkim Tourism.

While the 13th Finance Commission’s grant of Rs 200 crores for this project is welcome, the fund is very well short of estimated cost of the Bhaley Dhunga Sky Walk project.

It may be recalled that an international consultancy firm in its pre-feasibility report in the month of August 2008 had pegged the estimated cost of the proposed iconic Sky Walk at Bhaley Dhunga peak as an integrated tourism destination to around Rs 1200 crores. The lump sum cost had involved construction of three finger shaped glass SkyWalks connected through a tunnel in the rocky spur of Bhaley Dhunga cliff standing an elevation of 10,102 feet.

Mean while rural tourism in Sikkim has much to cheer from 13th Finance Commission.

The commission has also states developing Village Tourism scope within the state for which a an grant-in-aid amounting of Rs 80 Crores is being recommended, said in the report. The fund would be utilized for boosting village surrounding, beautifying, rural connectivity etc.

It is estimated that on completion of the said project unto commissioning will gear Sikkim’s economy to greater height.

http://www.sikkimtimes.com/News/Time-to-Walk-the-Bhaley-Dhunga-Talk.html

Demand for separate Time Zone for North East including Sikkim

Gangtok; Congress legislator Bhupen Bora raised the demand for a separate time zone for the north-east in the Assam Assembly on Friday (Mar 05). On its part the government has decided to take up the matter with concerned quarters before taking a decision. The demand for a separate time zone for the north-east including sikkim has once again come to the forefront. As the sun rises much earlier in the north-east than in the rest of the country, the demand has been on since long for a separate time zone for the north-east. On Friday this demand was raised in the Assam Assembly by Congress legislator Bhupen Bora. On the other hand, the government has informed that the matter would be taken up with concerned quarters and only thereafter a decision would be taken. Since long the demand has been to advance the time in the north-east by one-and-a-half hours under a separate time zone for the region.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/06/demand-for-separate-time-zone-for-north-east-including-sikkim/

Sikkim tops tourism funds utilization

GANGTOK, March 7: Sikkim has emerged as a topper in utilizing maximum funds in tourism related projects in the 11th Five Year Plan, the Tourism Ministry has said.The State has spent Rs. 163.44 crores, which is a maximum utilization of funds by any State in tourism projects upto September 2009, a national news agency has quoted the Ministry.

Sikkim is followed by Jammu and Kashmir which has spent Rs 141.70 crores for the development of tourism in the state.Beside Sikkim and Kashmir, according to the statistics prepared by the Tourism Ministry, Andhra Pradesh (Rs 129.82 crores), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 113.77 crores) and Karnataka (Rs 90.67 crores) also figure in the top ten States in terms of utilising funds in tourism projects.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/09/sikkim-tops-tourism-funds-utilization/

NEW Pakyong Airport-Developments

14 March, Pakyong: The day is not so far when the people will begin boasting about state’s own airport. The proposed Pakyong Greenfield airport will be commissioned within next two years in 2012, said the official source of Airport Authority of India to media. All possible works are being carried out perpetually to give a fast completion of the project. Embankment for the landing site for aircraft will be raised above 40-75 meters to maintain steady path for flights and entire process of ground clearance is undergoing day and night with help of recruited workers. The Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel along with the concerned area MLA Beg Bahadur Rai made an official visit to the construction site at Pakyong, where the officials briefed entire episode of constructions. Estimating that a test landing and takeoff will be carried out on 2011, said airport authority.During the interaction MLA Beg Bahadur Rai appealed authority for involving the local youths in the module contractual works and also emphasis on local employment prospects.



http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/15/an-%e2%80%98airport%e2%80%99-or-a-%e2%80%98water%e2%80%99-decide/

Sikkim pharmaceutical plant facility to start in FY 2011: IPCA Labs

Ajit Kumar Jain, ED-finance of IPCA Labs, says the company's Sikkim facility would be a formulations pharmacuetical plant mainly for oral doses. "The overall investment in this facility would be Rs 80 cr and hopefully it would start from FY 2011," he adds.

PHARMACEUTICALS
Ipca Laboratories Ltd is setting up a new formulation facility in Sikkim at an investment of Rs 60 crore. The company has acquired five acres of land for this plant that is expected to start commercial operations by the end of 2010.

When contacted, a company official was reluctant to disclose the plant capacity or products to be manufactured, but said that civil work would begin within a month's time.

Ipca has six formulation units and three active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) plants, including the 100-acre API facility in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh. The company's major formulation manufacturing unit, with a capacity of 8 billion tablets per year, is located at Athal in Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/video/show/nn1208990

Zydus Wellness plans Sikkim facility

AHMEDABAD: Zydus Wellness Ltd, the listed consumer arm of the Rs 2,900-crore Zydus group will set up a manufacturing unit at the excise free zone in Sikkim to manufacture two of its flagship products — Sugar Free and Everyuth. Currently, both the brands are produced through contract manufacturing.

Cadila Healthcare Ltd, another listed entity of Zydus Cadila Group, which is into drug making, already has a formulations manufacturing facility at Sikkim. The premises of the new facility would come up close to its existing facility.

The move comes at a time when players like Mankind and Wipro are getting aggressive in the artificial sweetener segment, which is led by Sugar Free with more than 80% share.

Says Zydus CMD Pankaj Patel, "We are investing close to Rs 30 crore in this new facility which is expected to commence operations in September."

It is imperative for the market leader to increase its production capabilities, hence the move, sources say. "With surge in competition, you need to raise production and reach out to untapped markets before the competitor does," says a pharma analyst. The company’s decision to have its own facility comes despite the fact that the contract manufacturers have the capability to produce 50% more.

While Zydus gets both the products contract manufactured from an excise-free zone based in North, the shift to Sikkim will make eligible for a 10-year tax holiday.

The company’s another brand, Nutralite — a healthier alternative to butter with turnover of Rs 67 crore — will continue to be produced at its existing facility near Changodar, Ahmedabad.

The cumulative growth for Zydus Wellness in the last three quarters of 2009-10 was 36%. However, sources say that the company expects growth of about 30% for next 4 to 5 years after its moves to Sikkim.

In 2008, the consumer business of Cadila Healthcare Ltd, was integrated into Carnation Nutra Analogue Ltd and was renamed as Zydus Wellness Ltd. Carnation was acquired by Cadila Healthcare in 2006.

The company’s product kitty consists of Sugar Free Gold, Sugar Free Natura, Sugar Free D’lite and Nutralite. It also caters to the skincare segment with its Everyuth and Dermacare brands.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/healthcare/biotech/healthcare/Zydus-Wellness-plans-Sikkim-facility/articleshow/5726714.cms

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has finally cleared the Army’s long-pending proposal to construct a strategic road near the trijunction of Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim. The clearance comes with certain conditions including a payment of 5% of the estimated project cost to the Sikkim government, which would use the money for compensatory afforestation.
The Army will construct two roads in the sensitive international border area in Sikkim, facilitating a strategic access route virtually overlooking China, a demand which had been pending clearance from the SC since 2005.

A Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the SC, went into the proposal as it involved Border Road Organization (BRO) constructing a new road between Flag Hill and Dokala passing through Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary. The Army said ‘‘the road is required for operational purposes and to meet strategic requirement of the nation’’.

After a site inspection by CEC members M K Jiwrajika and Mahendra Vyas, and amicus curiae A D N Rao, a report was submitted to a bench comprising CJI K G Balakrishnan and Justices S H Kapadia and Aftab Alam.

The report said: ‘‘The entire alignment of the proposed road passes through the high altitude alpine areas of the sanctuary [Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary] and would involve felling of 3,042 trees, 9,769 shrubs, 14,018 herbs and about 5,000 bamboos.’’

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-OKs-building-border-road-overlooking-China/articleshow/5733617.cms

Japan to provide ODA of Rs 10,500 crore to India in FY 2009

Japan today agreed to provide an Official DevelopmentAssistance (ODA) package to India in the form of soft loans amounting to more than Rs 10,500 crore (Yen 215.611 billion) for the financial year 2009.



An official press release said the notes in this regard were exchanged between Dr Alok Sheel, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Mr Hideki Domichi, Japanese Ambassador to India here this morning.



The release said the loan would fund six major projects, including Rs 4422.84 crore (Y 90.62 billion) for Phase I of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project. The total cost of the project appraised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is Y 498.565 billion and the Government of Japan has committed Y 92.868 billion for Phase I.



The project is aimed at coping with the increasing demand for freight transport in India by constructing a new dedicated freight railway system, thereby promoting comprehensive regional economic development along the freight corridor, through improvement and modernization of inter-modal logistic system handling considerable freight traffic and poised for massive growth.



The package also includes a loan of R 2932.70 crore (Y 58.851 billion) for the Chennai Metro Project, which has been appraised by JICA at Y 378.138 billion. The Government of Japan has committed Y 21.751 billion for Phase I and Y 59.851 billion for Phase II of the project.



The project is designed to cope with the increasing traffic in Chennai metropolitan area by extending the mass rapid transportation system. It is expected to promote regional economic development and improve the urban environment through mitigation of traffic jamps and decrease of pollution caused by the increasing number of motor vehicles.



The assistance package includes a loan of Rs 1648.36 crore (Y 33.640 billion) for the Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project (Phase II). The total cost of Phase I of the project was appraised by JICA at Y 274.612 billion and the Japanese government has committed Y 162.751 billion. The total cost of Phase II of the project has been appraised at Y 388.670 billion and the Japanese Government has committed Y 211.976 billion. The first phase has been completed and the second phase is being implemented.



There is a Rs 1146.75 crore (Y 23.403 billion) loan for the Kolkata East-West Project Phase II. The total cost of the project has been appraised by JICA at Y 140.199 billion. The Japanese government has committed Y 6.437 billion for Phase I and Y 23.403 billion for Phase II.



The package also includes Rs 263.82 crore for the Sikkim Biodiversity Conservation and Forest Management Project and Rs 150.53 crore for the Rengali Irrigation Project.



With today's Exchange of Notes, the cumulative commitment of ODA from Japan has reached Rs 155840 crore (Yen 3116.81 billion). India continues to be the highest recipient of ODA from Japan.

http://netindian.in/news/2010/03/29/0005940/japan-provide-oda-rs-10500-crore-india-fy-2009

Project executive committee for new 575 bedded multi-specialty hospital

GANGTOK, March 27: A ten member project execution committee has been set up by the State Government to oversee the construction of the new 575 bedded multi-specialty STNM hospital at Sichey.
Chief Minster Pawan Chamling has already laid the foundation stone for this project.
The Buildings & Housing secretary is the chairperson of this project execution committee while Health Services director general is the co-chairperson.
The committee has given the responsibility to evaluate and vet tender documents and to give recommendations on the stability of tender bids. The committee has also been tasked to oversee the execution of the project from the pre-project stage and adhere to strict quality control and time line as prescribed and maintain the highest standards of execution.
The committee has been directed to ensure that drawing specifications and services conform to NABH accreditation and adhere to WHO and BIS standards besides ensuring that the payment is released to the executing agency on pro-rata basis. It would also be ensuring timely submission of quality appraisal report (QAR) to the State government.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/28/project-executive-committee-for-new-575-bedded-multi-specialty-hospital/

Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa in Sikkim

The Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa cum socio-cultural amusement park at Ranka, East Sikkim was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil 2 days back. According to a report in voiceofsikkim.com, this first-of-its-kind mega tourism project in Sikkim, conceived by Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister, Sikkim, is set to be added to the growing tourism itinerary of Sikkim.

Anil Ganeriwala, Secretary, Rural Management and Development, Sikkim mentioned that the concept behind the Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa Park is to provide wholesome entertainment to tourists with a blend of depiction of rich cultural heritage and modern amusement amenities. Locals from the Ranka Circuit which also hosts the famous Lingdum Monastery and Banjhakri Falls will be vastly benefited from the new mega tourism project which is expected to fetch a rich haul of tourists presently visiting Gangtok.
Ganeriwala added, “The Tourist Villa Park which is built at estimated cost of around Rs 50 crore and spread over an area of 17 acres boasts of a variety of cultural tourism attractions including the dome shaped Sikkim Panaroma along with bowling alleys, swimming pools and other modern amusement amenities like laser shows and colourful musical fountains. The Park also has a rain forest café, a unique food joint with glass floors over a natural stream. The Park will be a new feature in the tourism attractions in and around Gangtok and we hope to extend the visit of tourists by one more day with this new attraction.”

Ganeriwala mentioned that the project was conceived by the Chief Minister in 2005 and works started from June 2006. Billed as the major cultural tourism attraction in the park, the dome shaped Sikkim Panorama houses relief features of important places of Sikkim starting from low lying areas to Mt Khangchendzonga. The relief features are made from fiber glass. There are also murals of the ethnic communities of Sikkim in the Sikkim Panorama along with traditional huts. Around Rs 30 crore is expected to be pumped into local economy with this new tourism attraction.

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/khangchendzonga-tourist-villa-in-sikkim-to-be-inaugurated-by-president-pratibha-patil-tomorrow-10081

Rs 1569.2 Cr projected as Sikkim’s Annual Plan

Officials from the State Development Planning, Economic Reforms and North Eastern Council Affairs department will be proceeding to New Delhi on April 27 and 28 as the date for finalization of Annual Plan 2010-2011 for Sikkim nears.The plan outlay for Sikkim is scheduled to be finalised on May 6.The Development Planning Department informed that the group discussions with the respective sector advisers relating to the finalization of the Annaul Plan 2010-20111 are being held with the Union Planning Commission on April 29.
The most crucial and important sectors have been invited for the April 29 meeting and the discussions in the Planning Commission is being facilitated by the State Development Planning , Economic reforms and North Eastern Council Affairs department, it is informed.
The wrap up meeting is on April 30, it is informed. Sikkim had received Rs 1045 crores as the plan outlay for 2009-2010. The projection for the Annual Plan 2010-2011 is Rs 1569.2 crores, it is informed.However, the actual allocation of Plan funds for Sikkim will be finalised during the meeting of Chief Minister and Deputy Chairman, Union Planning Commission on May 6, the department informed.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/04/23/rs-1569-2-cr-projected-as-sikkim%e2%80%99s-annual-plan/

SC clears construction of road near tri-junction Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim

Supreme Court has given clearance of Army’s long pending proposal to construct a strategic road near tri-junction of Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been entrusted with the construction of two strategic roads namely track junction – Bheem Base – Dokala for a length of 13.48 km and flag Hill-dokala for a length of 33.80 km near tri-junction of Tibet – Bhutan and Sikkim. The Court has put certain conditions including payment of five per cent of the estimated project cost to the Sikkim Government for compensatory afforestation.

Cost of work on Track Junction – Bheem Base – Dokala road is approx Rs. 15.12 crore. Work has commenced and probable date of completion is 2012. Cost of work on Flag Hill – Dokala is approx Rs. 81.81 crore. Hon’be Supreme Court has cleared the alignment in March 2010. The work on this road will start after getting clearance of National Board of World Life and Forest clearance. Completion of work will take five years after commencement of work.

Road construction in remote mountain areas has unique problems such as regular landslides, extreme environments, snow/water logging etc. A hill 8ak visited in Solang Nala, H.P. gave the impression that it is 'live' (see image (c) 8ak). This means that not only is the construction of these roads difficult and expensive but it is doubtful if adequate resources have been allocated for their regular maintenance.
A report stating that more than 40% of road projects in India faced cost escalations up to 50% points to poor project management, training and corruption. Compared to China the report stated that while India has "110,000 highway engineers, which is in sharp contrast with China where over 500,000 trained highway engineers".

http://www.8ak.in/8ak_india_defence_news/2010/04/sc-clears-construction-of-road-near-trijunction-tibet-bhutan-sikkim.html

BSNL Wireless Broadband coverage by 2011 in Sikkim

Gangtok: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Gangtok, will introduce wireless broadband services in Sikkim this fiscal and enhance its connectivity for broadband, landlines and 2G and 3G networks.
Informing this, BSNL General Manager (Gangtok) S K Mahato told newspersons today that the company would come up with 15 new broadband BTS to cover all schools, colleges, BAC and headquarters of gram panchayat.
Besides, the work for laying optical fibre cable (OFC) was under progress and a route connecting Gangtok to Siliguri via Darjeeling had been established.
Mr Mahato informed that in addition to the existing OFC network, another OFC network was being set up to Gangtok from Siliguri via Kalimpong, which would be completed by November.Moreover, 35 BTS covering 95-99 per cent of the area in Sikkim would be set up for ensuring better connectivity, he added.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/04/27/bsnl-wireless-broadband-coverage-by-2011-in-sikkim/

Sikkim Annual Plan outlay agreed at Rs 1175 crores


06 May, New Delhi: The Annual Plan for Sikkim for the year 2010-11 was finalized here today at a meeting between Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Pawan Chamling. The Plan outlay was agreed at Rs.1175 crores. This includes special Plan assistance of Rs. 225 crores for projects of special importance to the State.In his comments on the plan performance of the State, Mr Ahluwalia said the plan realization of the State is good. He said the human development indicators indicate balanced growth. He said the State has immense tourism potential but care should be taken to ensure that the growth is more in quality tourism. He said the State must give priority to improving connectivity.

He said that focus on self employment and capacity building initiatives are steps in the right direction. He also appreciated the efforts of the Government to ensure that growth is inclusive and in this regard specially lauded the efforts in empowering women and Panchayati raj institutions. Efforts to improve forest cover were appreciated but the State Government was advised to intensify efforts.

The State Minister Mr R.B. Subba drew attention of the Commission to efforts being made by the State Government to improve infrastructure and improve pace of growth with no compromise on inclusiveness of the development strategy. He said the green field airport at Pakyong will be operational by January 2012. He thanked the Union Government for agreeing to give rail-link to the State. He said in the first phase Rangpo will be linked to Sevok station.

He said the Government has taken up the programme to provide comprehensive annual/periodical check up for all citizens for appropriate intervention individually and collectively. He said out of 450 village blocks, so far 425 have been electrified under ongoing RGGVY scheme and 100 per cent electrification would be reached by the end of this year.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/05/06/sikkim-annual-plan-outlay-agreed-at-rs-1175-crores/

Cipla clocks Rs 275 cr profit in Q4; to acquire two plants

NEW DELHI: Drug firm Cipla today said its net profit rose by 8.93 per cent to Rs 275.53 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010.


Net sales of the company increased to Rs 1,317.49 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, compared to Rs 1,235.17 crore in the same period last fiscal, the company said in a statement.

The company also said that its board, which met today, has approved the acquisition of two manufacturing facilities located in Sikkim and Kurkumbh (District Pune) at an aggregate consideration of Rs 82.02 crore. The drug firm will acquire the Sikkim facility for Rs 51.38 crore and the Pune plant for Rs 30.64 crore. Till now, both the facilities were manufacturing drugs exclusively for Cipla, it said.

The Sikkim facility has capabilities to manufacture tablets, capsules, oral liquids, injections and is eligible for a 10-year tax holiday under the Income Tax Act, 1961, commencing from the financial year 2009-10.

Besides, the plant located at Kurkumbh has US FDA & WHO approved manufacturing facility for bulk drugs and has been acquired by way of slump sale arrangement.

For the year ended March 31, 2010, the company posted a net profit of Rs 1,082.01 crore, compared to Rs 776.81 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company reported net sales of Rs 6,368.09 crore for the year ended March 31, 2010 compared to Rs 4,960.60 crore in the corresponding fiscal.

During the fourth quarter, the firm sold its intellectual property rights and technical knowhow of 'i-pill', an emergency contraceptive brand, to Piramal Healthcare at an aggregate consideration of Rs 95 crore.

Shares of Cipla today closed at Rs 341.80 on BSE, down 1.26 per cent from its previous close.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/earnings/earnings-news/Cipla-clocks-Rs-275-cr-profit-in-Q4-to-acquire-two-plants/articleshow/5903652.cms

Indian State of Sikkim's Farms to be Entirely Organic by 2015

Nestled in between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan the small Indian state of Sikkim is probably best known for its mountainous beauty and as being home to the red panda, but by 2015 it's going to have another notable distinction: Converting all its farms to certified organic agriculture.

The Economic Times reports that the state has been slowing use of chemical fertilizer since 2003 and has currently converted 6,000 of its 70,000 hectares of farm land.

Human Health, Environment, Tourism All Hoped to Benefit
Initially the chemical phase-out was done because of the effects on soil, water and human health, but the state also hopes going organic will boost its tourist economy. "Village tourism in Sikkim will obviously improve. Homestays will become more popular," according to the general secretary of the the state travel agents association.

From a policy angle, the phase-out began with the ending of a government subsidy on chemical fertilizers, then three years later retail commission subsidies were also withdrawn and a seven-year plan adopted for entirely ending their use.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/sikkim-farms-entirely-organic-2015.php

NFR signs MoU for BG line in Sikkim

GUWAHATI, May 9 – An MoU was signed between the IRCON and the NF Railway Construction Organisation on Friday at GM/Con headquarters, Maligaon regarding construction of 44.39 km long Sivok-Rangpo new BG line project in Sikkim. Foundation stone for this Rs 1339.48 crore project was laid by the Hon’ble Vice President of India, Md Hamid Ansari and Hon’ble Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on October 30, 2009 at Rangpo and Sivok respectively.

On behalf of the NF Railway Construction Organisation, Radhey Shyam, Chief Administrative Officer, in presence of Shiv Kumar, General Manager, signed the MoU. On behalf of IRCON, the MoU was signed by Deepak Sabhlok, Director, Project in presence of Mohan Tiwari, Managing Director and KK Gupta, General Manager. This was informed in a press release.


http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may1010/oth07

Annual plan size of Sikkim set at Rs 1,175 crore

Gangtok, May 9 (PTI) The annual plan size of Sikkim was finalised at Rs 1,175 crore, a 12.5 per cent increase over the last allocation, at a meeting between the Planning Commission and a state delegation, a press communique said today.

The Sikkim delegation, led by Minister for Roads and Bridges R B Subba on behalf of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling who is away on medical treatment, had initially made a projection for the draft annual plan of Rs. 1,569.20 crore, but the plan panel finally settled for Rs 1,175 crore.

Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, lauded the initiative of Chamling towards the "comprehensive" development of Sikkim while maintaining peace and tranquillity in the region, the communique said here.

Gangtok was "by far the only capital among the North Eastern States having progressed so well," Ahluwalia said at the meeting.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/646166_Annual-plan-size-of-Sikkim-set-at-Rs-1-175-crore

Concurrent to set up 40 MW hydropower project in Sikkim

Concurrent (India) Infrastructure Ltd said on Monday it has entered in a pact with Sikkim Power Development Corp to set up a 40 MW hydropower station at an estimated cost of Rs 111 crore.

Concurrent will put in 51% equity as well as debt in the project while Sikkim Power would put in the rest, it said.

The project has already incurred expenses of Rs 30 crore on preparation of detailed project report, land procurement, construction of approach road, bridge and other civil works, it added

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/concurrent-to-set40-mw-hydropower-projectsikkim_456877.html

IRCON to construct Sikkim rail link

New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) In a step towards linking Sikkim to the rest of the country through rail, IRCON has signed an MoU with North-east Frontier Railway for execution of the project.

The project, to be completed at a cost of Rs 3,380 crore, is expected to be completed in the next five years, said a senior railway official.

The 45-km long broad gauge railway link will connect Sevok in North Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim.

The rail link will pass through the foothills of Kanchenjunga mountain range and Teesta river valley. It will have more than 32 km length in tunnels, 28 bridges spanning deep gorges/valleys with likely bridge pier height equivalent to the Qutub Minar.

The project is being billed as an engineering challenge for the Railways, the official said.

IRCON, the Railway PSU, is credited for its work on the prestigious Kashmir Rail Link project and taking up several international assignments

http://www.ptinews.com/news/653462_IRCON-to-construct-Sikkim-rail-link

Alstom to build 96 MW hydropower plant in India's Sikkim region

14 May 2010 - Alstom has snagged a contract worth EUR18m ($22.5m) from Dans Energy for the 96 MW Jorethang Loop Electric Project in Sikkim, India.

The order entails end-to-end manufacturing of equipments at Alstom Projects India's Vadodara facility in Gujarat state. The contract includes supply, installation, testing & commissioning of electro-mechanical equipments for the plant's two 48 MW units.

The 96 MW Jorethang Loop hydropower project will be based at the city of Jorethang on the bank of the river Rangeet, a tributary of the river Teesta, the state's largest river.

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/power/renewable-generation/display/2079216476/articles/powergenworldwide/renewables/hydro/2010/05/alstom-to_build_96.html

IRCON to construct Sikkim rail link

New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) In a step towards linking Sikkim to the rest of the country through rail, IRCON has signed an MoU with North-east Frontier Railway for execution of the project.

The project, to be completed at a cost of Rs 3,380 crore, is expected to be completed in the next five years, said a senior railway official.

The 45-km long broad gauge railway link will connect Sevok in North Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim.

The rail link will pass through the foothills of Kanchenjunga mountain range and Teesta river valley. It will have more than 32 km length in tunnels, 28 bridges spanning deep gorges/valleys with likely bridge pier height equivalent to the Qutub Minar.

The project is being billed as an engineering challenge for the Railways, the official said.

IRCON, the Railway PSU, is credited for its work on the prestigious Kashmir Rail Link project and taking up several international assignments

http://www.ptinews.com/news/653462_IRCON-to-construct-Sikkim-rail-link


the rail link is much needed as chinese are building infrastructure near the border we have to act fast.

railway never maintain its time lines.

Also, why they are building broad gauge??

Army plans to raise Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts for China border

NEW DELHI: Already in the process of raising two new mountain infantry divisions for Arunachal Pradesh, the Army is now also moving ahead with its long-standing plan to raise "home and hearth'' battalions for the unresolved border with China.

The Army commanders' conference, chaired by General V K Singh, on Monday discussed raising of battalions of "Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts'' on the lines of the Ladakh Scouts, which played a stellar role in dislodging Pakistani intruders during the 1999 Kargil conflict.

The proposal for the new Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts' battalions, which could have 5,000 soldiers each, will soon be sent for final approval to the government. "Like the experience with the Ladakh Scouts has shown, people hailing from high-altitude areas are better adapted for being deployed at such heights,'' said a senior officer.

"They are hardy, know the terrain and acclimatise better. Moreover, they can help other Army units in understanding the local language, culture and area better,'' he added.

This comes even as the two new infantry mountain divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in June 2009, are expected to be fully operational by 2012.

The two divisions form part of the several measures being taken, like the basing of Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets in the North-East as well as upgrading of airfields and helipads, to counter the massive build-up of military infrastructure by China all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control.

Incidentally, the Ladakh Scouts were raised in June 1963, after the debacle in the 1962 war with China, with just eight companies. It gained the status of a full-fledged infantry regiment after it became one of the first units to take part in the Kargil conflict with Pakistan.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Army-plans-to-raise-Arunachal-and-Sikkim-Scouts-for-China-border/articleshow/5941569.cms

Alstom bags contract worth Rs 124 cr in Sikkim MUMBAI:

Alstom on Monday said it has bagged an order worth Rs 124 crore to set up a hydropower plant in Sikkim. The company would develop the plant along with Dans Energy, Alstom said in a statement.

The scope of work includes supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electro-mechanical equipment for the plant’s two 48 MW units.

“Being a hydroelectric project, it is environmentally friendly and represents another reliable, clean energy option for our customers,” Alstom Projects India Ltd (APIL) MD & Vice Chairman, Mr Francois Carpentier said.

APIL is a majority owned subsidiary company of France based Alstom SA. -

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02171809.htm

PGCIL plans Rs64,000 cr of transmission tenders

New Delhi: State-owned electricity transmission company Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd (PGCIL) plans to float tenders valued at around Rs64,000 crore in 2010-11 for nine high-capacity corridors that will transmit power from new projects in Orissa, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

“The Rs8,000 crore transmission link from Orissa has already received approval from Central Electricity Authority. The notice inviting tenders (NITs) are under preparation and we expect to float it by August,” chairman and managing director S.K. Chaturvedi said. “All the nine transmission corridors that will evacuate power from independent power producers require an investment of around Rs64,000 crore.”

“We plan to float the NITs for all transmission links in this financial year and it will take around one year for awarding them,” he added.

The tenders will bring cheer to transmission engineering procurement and construction firms such as Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, Jyoti Structures Ltd, KEC International, Gammon India Ltd and Crompton Greaves, among others.

The bid award process involves pre-investment project preparation activities such as survey, land identification, preparation of detailed project report (DPR) and issuance of NIT resulting in the final award.

http://www.livemint.com/2010/05/20000313/PGCIL-plans-Rs64000-cr-of-tra.html

Major airports may see Rs 2,635-cr capex in FY 11’

NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission on Monday said the major airports being modernised and developed through the PPP route are likely to see an expenditure of Rs 2,635 crore in the current fiscal.

Among these, the Mumbai Airport, which is being developed by the GVK Group, has plans to invest Rs 2,280 crore in 2010-11 as against 1,306 crore spent last year.

Indicating that the other three major airports -- New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore -- which are being developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, are nearing completion, the Commission said together these airports would see an investmen t of Rs 355 crore in the current fiscal.

The construction of new terminal buildings at several airports, including Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi and Varanasi, are likely to be completed this year, the Commission, adding 75 per cent of the greenfield airport in Sikkim is likely to be completed in this
fiscal.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/09171791.htm

Sikkim to set up three helipads

According to a UNI report, detailed project reports for constructing three helipads, submitted by the Department of Tourism, Government of Sikkim, have been recently sanctioned, while two more proposals are under consideration. SBS Bhadauria, Tourism Secretary, Sikkim said that the proposed sites for construction of helipads are: Chemchey, Hilley, Uttaray, Rangpo and Mangan. He also mentioned that the state tourism department is planning to come up with more helipads in the state at Ranipool and Kaluk-Ringchenpong area for which the planning is underway.

When asked about the construction of helipads in a small state, Bhaduria said that the areas have huge potential in tourism and accordingly the helipad sites will serve the needs of tourists and even of the local inhabitants where business and revenue can be generated.

In case of Ranipool, he said often the weather does not permit landing of helicopter at Gangtok, therefore, the site is being considered and in the long run it could even be upgraded into an airport. Besides, the helicopter service and helipads were being developed not only for tourism purpose but also as the common mode of transportation in time of crisis or disasters like landslides and earthquakes.

When asked about the up gradation of helipads in the state, Bhaduria said initially it is being done by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the approximate cost as per the availability of land and other requirements is projected at about Rs 75 lakh per helipad.

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/sikkim-to-set-up-three-helipads-10266

Power Grid Corporation approves new investment of Rs 250.03 crore

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on May 25, 2010, have approved the following investment approval for "Transmission System for Transfer of Power from Generation Projects in Sikkim to NR/WR - Part-A" at an estimated cost of Rs. 250.03 Crore, with commissioning schedule of within 32 months from the date of investment approval.

http://www.equitybulls.com/admin/news2006/news_det.asp?id=74601

Chamling announces establishment of Kisaan Bazaars
GANGTOK, June 1: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has announced to set up four world class Kisaan Bazaars (Farmers’ Markets) in all the four District headquarters of the State where the farmers can sell their produce unhindered.
The Chief Minister made the announcement during a meeting of the SDF legislature and other high ranking political advisors yesterday evening at his official residence, Mitokgang, informs a press release issued by MP and party spokesperson PD Rai.
The process of the State’s budget exercise would be completed in the next few weeks leading to the Budget Session in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, said Rai.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister discussed the major issues of every Assembly segment turn wise with the MLAs and the ministers concerned.
This is a consultative process the Chief Minister does before every State Budget formation and this is to flag all the major issues facing the people of Sikkim and those that need to be taken up the meeting of the departmental heads in the budgetary exercise that is to follow, the release informs.
All projects that are concerned directly with the welfare of the people of Sikkim especially in the rural areas like community centres and playgrounds will be given top priority, the release states. Furthermore, concerned efforts are to be put in place to complete all ongoing projects, the release adds.
The Chief Minister advised all the MLAs and other functionaries to go the project areas and see that the work is being carried out is of high standard and quality. He reiterated that these should be, above all, timely in terms of implementation.
During the meeting, Chamling congratulated all the elected members to the urban bodies on their splendid victories in the recently concluded polls. He directed the concerned department to provide the necessary facilities for smooth working especially related to the transfer and posting of senior functionaries and officials.
The Chief Minister also discussed in details about his trip to the United States and communicated to all about what he learned about the hospitals there. He said that it was important to learn about all the positive aspects of the work of doctors, nurses and other medical assistants.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/02/chamling-announces-establishment-of-kisaan-bazaars/

CERC clears nine transmission corridors worth Rs 58,061 cr

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved the state-run PowerGrid Corporation’s plan to set up nine High Capacity Power Transmission Corridors (HCPTC) costing Rs 58,061 crore. These transmission systems will evacuate power from various projects planned by independent power producers (IPPs).

The transmission corridors will evacuate power from IPPs in Orissa (to cost Rs 8,752 crore), Jharkhand (Rs 5,709 crore), Sikkim (Rs 1,304 crore), Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Rs 1,243 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 28,824 crore), Krishnapatnam area in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 2,065 crore), Srikakulam area in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 2,986 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 2,357 crore) and southern region (Rs 4,821 crore).CERC, in its order, observed that development of the corridors was considered necessary for evacuation of power from the projects envisaged during the 11th Plan.

The power shortage in the country in 2009-10, according to a Central Electricity Authority report, is 10.1 per cent in energy terms and 12.7 per cent in peak demand terms.

“The Commission, based on the report furnished by PowerGrid Corporation, which is a central transmission utility (CTU) on physical progress of Generating Units of IPPs, is satisfied that these High Capacity Transmission corridors are required for evacuation of the power from these IPPs and any delay in implementation of these transmission schemes may result in bottling up of the power,” the power regulator said.

The power projects are located either in the coal belt, or in coastal areas (which would use imported coal) or in the hydro power potential areas of the North-East. “Power from these projects has to be brought to the load centres in the northern and western regions, which requires development of transmission systems,” the power regulator added.

CERC has directed PowerGrid Corporation to ensure that the proposed transmission projects for which regulatory approval has been granted are executed within the time frames matching the commissioning schedules of the IPPs so that the beneficiaries are not burdened with higher interest during construction.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/cerc-clears-nine-transmission-corridors-worth-rs-58061-cr/396905/

Project ‘Stairway to Heaven’

Gangtok, Jun 3 : The Department of Cultural Affairs and Heritage, along with the Building and Housing department, Sikkim, have taken up the initiative to reconstruct an ancient ‘stairway to heaven’ in Daramdin and Gammon India Ltd has been asked to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed project.
A high-level team comprising the concerned departmental officials, executive members of the Sikkim Lepcha Association, local MLA Tenzi Sherpa, Cultural Affairs Minister Sonam Gyatso Lepcha and Agriculture Minister Dawcho Lepcha are scheduled to visit the proposed site on June 5, to do a feasibility study and restart the project with a reduced cost at the earliest.
Gammon India Ltd, had prepared the DPR and submitted the same to the state government but the estimated cost was projected at a whopping Rs 300 crore and subsequently the project got inordinately delayed due to other technical snags. The foundation stone for the site was however laid in 1995 by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.
The new proposal includes setting up of a museum of Lepcha history, traditional Lepcha houses along with the model of the stairway to heaven. The new proposal has taken into consideration the long term sustainability and the tourism potentiality for generating revenue into consideration.
The reduced project cost was pegged at Rs 3.35 crore and the association submitted the proposal a few years back already, along with the geo-technical report by the department of mines and geology.
According to traditional Lepcha tribe folklore, in ancient times the Lepcha people, who were the original inhabitants of what is now Sikkim (Myal Lyang in Lepcha dialect), had attempted to construct a ‘stairway to heaven’ somewhere near the west district town of Daramdin of today.
The legend describes that the Lepchas started construction of the stairway using earthen pottery at which they were very good.
However, after a while, due to mis-communication amongst the people involved in the construction, the entire earthen structure collapsed, never to be put up again.
There were remains of earthen pottery discovered near present day Daramdin, dating back to a thousand years or so, substantiating the claims of ancient Lepcha folklore of the stairway to heaven.


http://voiceofsikkim.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ladder-to-sky21-300x292.jpg

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/03/project-stairway-to-heaven/

Sikkim IT Data Centre to be functional from August

GANGTOK, May 28: The department of Information and Technology in Sikkim is coming up with a state data centre at its office premises, which would be functional from August this year.
The principal director of IT department Rajesh Verma said that the centre would be a server firm which would be environmentally controlled and would have a good connectivity.
The said centre is being initiated so that all websites are hosted at one location whereby departments would not need to maintain their own server.
The major advantage of the center is that it will help in easy updating and accessing of information of the entire department in the State.
Verma added that the said project is divided into two components as far as construction and expenditure is concerned— one is capital expenditure (CAPEX) and the other is operational expenditure (OPEX)—the cost involved in both are Rs 6.4 crore respectively but with regard to operation it was learnt that the same had been tendered at a national level and Sify had been allocated with regard to operation of the said project under BOOT system (build, own, operate and transfer system).
With regard to OPEX cost it even includes the auditing cost and the company would be paid on a quarterly basis.
Further more, with regard to smooth flow of the project, a third party auditing had been deployed whereas continuous monitoring would also be made critically and if any problem occurs in functioning of the said center in regard to server penalty are as well going to be made to the company.
Verma further informed that the project is the central scheme whereby all the states across the country are working on preparing the said center and added that four to five states have already begun their center.
When asked about the paper less work in the government offices, Verma said that as a pilot project four department works are under process.
Almost all the gazettes of various departments are now printed in websites only where the use of paper is less.
The department is even working on skills development for the disabled as well and various initiatives are being taken by using IT tool in making them employable. (Agencies)

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/05/30/sikkim-it-data-centre-to-be-functional-from-august/

micro hydroelectric project-sikkim

June 7: Consistent agitation by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and global warming are the two stumbling blocks for micro hydroelectric projects in the hills, power officials have alleged.The much-delayed Teesta Low Dam Projects (TLDP) of the NHPC are also likely to miss their deadlines yet again because of the Morcha-enforced strike at the project sites in Rambi and Kalijhora.The micro hydel projects planned by the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (Webreda), which in total will generate 15mw power or so, are yet to be executed.

“We had identified a number of sites and sought expression of interests from private parties. At least 10-12 projects had been finalised but the entrepreneurs could not start the work because of the political agitation and violence in the hills,” S. Bhattacharya, the director of Webreda, told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta today. “It seems that unless the political turmoil ends, there is little chance of commencing the projects.”

The director said six micro hydel projects, set up in association with the state power department at Neora and Nippon near Kalimpong of 3mw each are running in an unpredictable manner. “Given the present state of political affairs in the hills, there is no certainty of their operation and they may close down any day,” he said. “This has further discouraged the entrepreneurs.”

The range of output of the pending projects, to be developed by the private parties, is from 800kw to 3mw. Its sites are on the upstreams of the Chel, Neora and the Jaldhaka rivers and the hilly streams like the Pechangkhola and the Rishikhola.

Bhattacharya said the change in the flow of water in rivers was posing a problem. “There is asymmetry in flow of water in the rivers because of global warming. Usually, we engage experts from IIT Roorkie to find out the trend of water flow for the past three years so that before a micro hydel project is set up, one can have an idea of water flow in the lean and peak seasons which directly affects the scale of power generation,” he said. “We had conducted such study earlier but in the past couple of years, the flow of water is not matching with those trends. We need to carry out another study to update the trend. But given the present situation, it is improbable to send teams to remote areas where they need to stay for three years to conduct the study.”

The Morcha denied the charges of obstructing the work. “There has been no resistance from our side in any of the micro hydel project sites,” said Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the media secretary of the party. “It is a false allegation by the state government.”

The 132mw TLDP Stage III project at Rambi, about 30km from Kalimpong, is slated to be commissioned in February 2011, while the 160mw TLDP Stage IV, 15km downstream at Kalijhora, is due for commissioning in August 2011.

“The nearly month-long strike this time round will push back the projects by a year. The twin projects have already been hit by delays because of the political turmoil in the hills,” said an NHPC official.

Last week, the Morcha decided to continue with its strike at the two NHPC project sites while calling off similar programmes in other central and state government offices.

The party said it had called the strike to protest the NHPC’s failure to honour its promise of establishing an engineering college and setting up an MRI scan facility in the hills.

The protracted delay has inflated the project cost. “We have recently submitted a revised estimate of Rs 1,300 crore for the TLDP Stage IV project. The cost of the other project will also go up similarly,” said a source. Both the projects were originally estimated to cost less than Rs 1,000
http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/08/morcha-blocks-hydel-plant/

Green signal for Teesta I & II, Lachung projects survey

GANGTOK, June 6: The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has given permission for continuation of survey and investigations for the three mega power projects out of six such projects in North Sikkim that had been put on hold following adverse reports submitted by Centre of Inter-Disciplinary Studies of Mountains and Hill Environment (CISME) last year.

The MoEF has communicated its decision to private developers and Sikkim government for continuation of survey and investigations for Teesta stage I (280 MW), Teesta stage II (330 MW) and Lachung (99 MW) projects. The nod had been given after the reports submitted by the Expert Appraisal Committee who had inspected the proposed power sites above Chungthang in North Sikkim, officials here inform.

While according permission for Teesta Stage I power project for continuation of survey and investigation on May 31, the MoEF stated that the permission is only to facilitate geological investigations and hydrological studies and that the project authorities should revert back to the Ministry before they undertake preparation of Environment Impact Assessment/Environment Management Plans reports.

Similar permission has been given to the Teesta Stage II and Lachung project, it is informed. Survey and investigation is important for preparing DPRs which needs to be approved by Central Electricity Authority and then to MoEF for environmental clearance.

The State government and project developers are also yet to receive similar clearance from the MoEF for the remaining projects of Bhimkyong (99 MW), Bop (99 MW) and Lachen (120 MW).

It may be recalled that various formalities like land acquisition and survey works by the developers at the above six projects had been stopped after the MoEF wrote a terse letter in June last year suggesting that these projects were unviable citing a study report by CISME which effectively derailed the projects.

The CISME report on the carrying capacity of Teesta basin in Sikkim had recommended that projects above Chungthang area should not be considered for any developmental activity due to ecological sensitivity in North Sikkim.

Following this setback, the State government had set up its own study and took up the case with the MoEF which led to a visit by the Expert Appraisal Committee to the proposed project sites in March earlier this year and its subsequent observations paved way for clearance to take up survey and investigations by the project developers.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/08/green-signal-for-teesta-i-ii-lachung-projects-survey/

ADB grants $20 m for Sikkim tourism

GANGTOK, June 7 – Sikkim Tourism Department has received a tourism infrastructure development grant of $20 million from the Asian Development bank (ADB) for development of tourism in the State.
BS Gautam, Additional Project Director of Tourism Department said that the Government of India chose Sikkim since the State has already undertaken a lot of tourism-related development work within the State. He further said that the Tourism department had projected a total 28 million dollars as its developmental requirement but the ADB has provided 20 million dollars and the balance amount will be borne by the State Government.

Survey to identify the development areas would be undertaken after some days and after the survey, the department will issue a tender notice for the purpose. Gautam further added that five agencies from Sikkim, Delhi and Mumbai have already filed their applications with the department expressing their desire to participate in the tender process, but the department is yet to give confirmation to the agencies, it was informed.

The department has plans to construct a training institute under the department at Chemchey to impart basic tourism training. It also plans to develop the Rumtek circuit where the department will construct stalls, restaurants, roads and foot paths, and overall tourism infrastructure in the State, informed Gautam.

Work is scheduled to start from September this year , this being the first time Sikkim Tourism is getting a tourism development fund from the ADB. It may be added here that the ADB has provided funds similar in nature to Bangladesh, Nepal and other States in India.

It was further informed that the department has already formed a committee in this regard and the committee will look after the development work. There would be two types of committees – State level and District level with government officers as committee members.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun0810/oth05

Survey nod for three Teesta projects – Clearance after changes in barrage height

Gangtok, June 13: The Centre has given permission for the resumption of survey and investigations for three power projects with a combined potential of 709MW on the Teesta and its tributaries in North Sikkim.
The projects had been put on hold following an adverse report submitted by the University of Delhi’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment (CISMHE) last year.
The CISMHE, in the report on the carrying capacity of the Teesta in Sikkim, had recommended that six power projects proposed above Chungthang in North Sikkim should not be considered because of ecological sensitivity of the area. Based on the recommendation, the ministry of environment and forests had ordered the state government to stop all activities at the six sites.
The projects were Teesta Stage I (280MW), Teesta Stage II (330MW), Lachen (120MW), Bop (99MW), Bimkyong (99MW) and Lachung (99MW).
However, the Sikkim government and the developers approached the ministry with their own reports and got permission to resume the survey and the investigations for Teesta Stage I, Teesta Stage II and Lachung, said state power department officials here.
The ministry gave the go-ahead for the survey after some modifications had been made in the technical requirements for the project. The modifications mainly related to the height of the barrages and the area that the reservoirs would cover, the officials said.
The nod was given after reports had been submitted by experts from the ministry who had inspected the power sites in March.
In its order on May 31, the ministry told the developers of Teesta Stage I that the nod was only to facilitate geological investigations and hydrological studies and the project authorities should get back to it before they prepared the Environment Impact Assessment/Environment Management Plans.
Similar permission has been given to the Teesta Stage II and the project on the Lachung, a tributary of the Teesta, said state power secretary Pema Wangchen. “Survey and investigation are important for preparing detailed project reports which need to be approved by the Central Electricity Authority and then sent to the ministry for environmental clearance,” he said.
The state government and developers are yet to receive similar clearances from the ministry for the projects on the Bhimkyong, Bop and Lachen — other tributaries of the Teesta.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/14/survey-nod-for-three-teesta-projects-%e2%80%93-clearance-after-changes-in-barrage-height/

Rs 19 Cr for Sikkim Rural Roads under PMGSY

Gangtok 14th June, 2010: The Ministry of Rural Development has released grant in aid worth Rs. 19,00,00,000/- (Rs. Nineteen Crore only) as part payment of Ist installment of Phase VII for construction of rural roads in Sikkim under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The sum is from the special window created in NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development) under RIDF as grants in aid to the Sikkim Rural Roads Development Agency (SRRDA). SRRDA is the agency executing the works taken up under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the state.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme to provide road connectivity in the rural areas of the country. PMGSY envisages connectivity to all habitations with a population of 500 persons and above in the rural areas and about 250 persons and above in respect of the hilly states, tribal areas and desert areas through good and all weather roads. (PIB

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/15/rs-19-cr-for-sikkim-rural-roads-under-pmgsy/

Sikkim will have the highest ratio of tourists by 2012: Dhungel

GANGTOK, June 14: With more than 100 tourism related projects scheduled to be completed by the next two years, State tourism minister Bhim Dhungel today said that Sikkim will be boasting by 2012 the nation’s highest ratio of tourism footfalls in comparison with the existing population of the State.

“More than 100 tourism related projects, small and big including the Solophok Chaar Dham project and Lord Buddha statue project in South Sikkim will be completed by 2012 while the Pakyong airport is scheduled to be completed by 2011. Around 60 wayside tourism amenities will also be completed by this time. All these projects will see an increase in the tourism inflow in Sikkim”, said Dhungel in a felicitation function organized by Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS) here at Gangtok.
When such tourism related projects and infrastructure are completed by 2012, Sikkim will have the highest ratio in the nation of tourists arrivals compared with the existing population of the State, said the tourism minister. He also called up the tourism stakeholders to prepare for the tourism boom by 2012.
The tour operators should try to build capacity of their staff for the expansion in tourism by 2012, said Dhungel. He attributed to the tourism growth in Sikkim to the ‘peace and tranquility’ that the State offers to the tourists.
“The greatest asset of Sikkim is peace and tranquility. Tourists visiting Sikkim enjoys peace and security as compared to other tourism destinations of the country. We all have to strive to maintain peaceful environment of our State”, said Dhungel to all the tourism stakeholders.
The minister urged upon lay focus on giving quality services to the tourists especially in the transport sector. He called up all the stakeholders to sensitize the drivers on tourism ethics.
State tourism secretary SBS Bhaduria said that the tourism growth in Sikkim for this year was 20 percent. He also complimented the TAAS for the effective promotion of Sikkim tourism and assured full support to the organization from the department side.
DIG (Range) Shreedar Rao said that the Sikkim Police is always a partner the tourism stakeholders for promoting the tourism of Sikkim. We have always taken TAAS as our partner in our efforts for tourism activities and our support will continue, he said.
Rao also took the occasion to highlight a pertinent tourism related issue. There is a scope for improving tourism services and there is a need to bring a change in the system to protect tourists from getting overcharge for transport services, he said. We are looking into measures to streamline a new system so that the tourists do not feel cheated, he said.
Outgoing TAAS president Paljor Lachungpa said peace and tranquility remains the biggest asset of Sikkim for promotion of tourism. “Peace is our unique selling point for promoting Sikkim as the premier tourism destination”, he said. He also highlighted the steps taken by the organization in promoting various destinations in Sikkim.
The TAAS felicitated the State tourism department, forest department, Sikkim Police, STNM hospital, BRO, Army and Press Club of Sikkim (PCS) in recognition for their services in promotion of tourism.State tourism secretary SBS Bhaduria, forest secretary ST Lachungpa, DIG (Range) Shreedar Rao and PCS president Parasmani Dangal received the mementos and certificates on behalf of their respective departments

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/15/sikkim-will-have-the-highest-ratio-of-tourists-by-2012-dhungel/

Electrification, drinking water facilities improve in Sikkim

Gangtok: The Himalayan state of Sikkim has made excellent progress in providing electricity and drinking water to citizens, according to the latest National Family Health Survey for Sikkim.A total of 92% of the 1,11,830 households in the state have electricity and 78% have drinking water.

The 92% households having electricity, include 90% in rural areas and 100% in urban areas.

During the last survey, electrification stood at 82%.

Though 78% of households had drinking water, only a little over one third had piped water.

In rural households only 20% had piped drinking water, while in urban areas it was 90%, according to the 2005-06 survey, the third and latest in the Himalayan state released last year.

88% of households treated water to make it potable with 86% boiling it and 10% using ceramic, sand, or other water filters.

Toilet facilities in households had also improved. There were only 11% households without toilets, which was an improvement from the last survey when it was 27%.

More than half of the families in the state used solid fuel for cooking, with wood being the most commonly used.

The statistics also revealed that, of the total households, just over half of them, that is 51%, lived in pucca houses, most of them in urban areas.

Sikkim is primarily rural with only 20% of the households located in urban areas.

On an average, households comprised 4-5 members. One-seventh (14%) of households were headed by women.

Nearly three-fifths of households in Sikkim had household heads who are Hindu (58%), followed by Buddhists/Neo-Buddhist (30%) and Muslims (2%).

9% of household heads belonged to Scheduled Castes, 36% to Scheduled Tribes, and 41% to Other Backward Classes (OBC).

In Sikkim, 31% of the population was under the age of 15 and only 5% was aged 65 and above.

In all, 75% were below 18 years and lived with both parents, 12% with one parent, and 14% with neither parent.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_electrification-drinking-water-facilities-improve-in-sikkim_1398010

Sikkim Cabinet approved various schemes

Gangtok, June 18: The Cabinet of Sikkim state approved and sanctioned of Rs. fifty five lakhs eighty two thousand nine hundred ninety seven and Rs fifty two lakhs fifty two thousand eight hundred and fifteen under TSP and SCSP, for implementation of various schemes by RMD Department during the year 2009-10 today.
The Cabinet also accorded approval and sanctioned of Rs. seventy six lakhs and Rs. thirty two lakhs and fifty thousand under TSP and SCSP for implementation of various schemes by RMD Department during the year 2009-10.
The third sanction of today’s cabinet is Rs. one hundred fifteen lakhs ninety two thousand
and Rs. sixty nine lakhs seventy four thousand under TSP and SCSP, for implementation of various schemes by RMD Department during the year 2009-10.
Including this, Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare Department accorded post facto approval and sanctioned of Rs. thirty lakhs fifty thousand for construction of six unit public toilet at Sangachoeling Monastery under Tribal Sub Plan.10

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/18/sikkim-cabinet-approved-various-schemes/

‘Plug & Play’, Sikkim will have surplus power by 2012

Gangtok: According to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data, around eight States are expected to generate surplus power by the end of the XI Five Year Plan (2007-2012). However, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand are States with greater probability of benefiting from a surplus. But these states too have their own share of glitches.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has listed eight States which will have surplus power by 2012. Out of these, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are most likely to generate significant surpluses

A CEA report dated April 2010 (‘Power Scenario at a Glance’) says that Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Delhi, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are the eight states likely to have surplus power at the end of the XI Five Year Plan.
At the end of 2012, Delhi (peak surplus: 2,023 megawatts (MW), energy surplus: 23,344 million units (MUs); Sikkim (peak surplus: 1,214MW, energy surplus: 3,137 MUs); Uttarakhand (peak surplus: 772MW, energy surplus: 4,344 MUs) and Himachal Pradesh (peak surplus: 1,472MW, energy surplus: 4,609 MUs) are the States which will have significant surplus power.

Sikkim, surprisingly, has added no capacity during the X Five Year Plan. Its current capacity is around 195.48MW (as on March 2010). During the XI Plan, it expects to add 775MW. The State is expected to have a surplus of 1,214MW against the current deficit of 1.2% or 1MW.

“Sikkim has 600MW share from the Teesta Stage III project (1,200MW) which eventually would result in surplus power. By the progress of the project it appears that Teesta would be commissioned in time, making Sikkim a surplus state,” said Mr Kumar. Teesta III is under construction and is expected to be commissioned in the year 2011-12.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/06/23/plug-play-sikkim-will-have-surplus-power-by-2012/

Gangtok to have a 'Fashion Street'

GANGTOK, July 4 (PTI) - A half a kilometre stretch will be developed into a state-of-the-art 'Fashion Street' in Sikkim on the NH-31A here at a cost of nearly Rs 17 crore.
The Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) will transform the stretch between Sisha-Golai, Pani House and the tri-junction towards Nam-Nang into a combination of branded showrooms, extravagant restaurants, beauty parlours, saloons and high-end shops, Additional Chief Engineer, UDHD, C Zangpo told PTI.

"We plan to develop the area as a congregation point for all to meet, shop, relax and enjoy," he said.

The department has started consultancy for developing the stretch of NH-31A as a trendy shopping destination for visitors to Gangtok, which would also decongest the MG Mall, he said.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/...=jul0410/oth04

Sikkim to Have EVM Monitoring by CCTV

Sikkim would be the first state to have round-the-clock CCTV (close-circuit TV) monitoring of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the strong rooms after polls.

"This will be possible with a system being put in place by the end of July to have a month-long video recording facility of the EVMs using CCTV," Chief Electoral Officer V B Pathak told reporters yesterday.

It will ensure protection against tampering of EVMs and bring more transparency of the electoral system, he said.

Pathak said that EVMs have now been kept at the strong rooms of State Election Office and district headquarters at Namchi, Geyzing and Mangan in Sikkim

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?686917

Union Minister asks NHAI to give special priority to road aesthetics, horticulture & landscaping

GANGTOK, July 8: The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath has asked the National Highways Authority of India to give special priority to road aesthetics, horticulture and landscaping as part pf the Government of India’s commitment to building world class National Highways. He also insisted on removal of debris on regular basis along the highways.
Under the National Highways Development Programme, 13,800 km of National Highways have been completed.
In this regard, the Union Minister had written to Sikkim MP, Lok Sabha PD Rai Member to include a horticulture specialist in the team of the Independent Engineer for both BOT and OMT projects. For the public funded projects, NHAI will shortly be appointing horticulture specialists for each State, and the Project Directors have been directed to closely monitor the implementation of this programme.
An IPR release adds that Mr. Rai has also been requested by the Union Minister to monitor the progress of this programme as he travel on the National Highways and provide valuable suggestions on steps to be taken to further improve the aesthetics of the National Highway

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/07/09/union-minister-asks-nhai-to-give-special-priority-to-road-aesthetics-horticulture-landscaping/

Land acquisition process for Sikkim University to complete soon

NAMCHI, July 7: The land acquisition process for Sikkim University is underway and is at the last stage of acquisition.
Informing this, District Collector (South) AK Singh said the compensation was disbursed a month ago and that the land is free of incumbencies. “Only eight out of 100 have not taken compensation but have instead demanded for resettlement as they have become completely landless,” the DC said adding that the compensation is decided as per the legal formula and format.
At the same time, the DC said that the precondition placed by these eight people is genuine and that the administration would do their best to solve their grievances.
“The resettlement plan is being worked out and will be completed within a week. As for the resettlement issue the area has also been identified and marked for the purpose and before the allotment the matter would be sorted out in the presence of the area MLA, people and the administration,” he detailed.
He added that if no new and genuine problems arise related with the land acquisition within the stipulated period then the handing and taking over process will be completed soon. The handing and taking over, it is informed is slated for July 23.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/07/08/land-acquisition-process-for-sikkim-university-to-complete-soon/

Hi all!! what happened to that skywalk project discussed in the 1st page here??? It looked fabulous!! is it still on??

Hi all!! what happened to that skywalk project discussed in the 1st page here??? It looked fabulous!! is it still on??

Not sure what happened to it muralee.Our fellow honorary members may be following it:)

India : Panan hydel project likely to start by September 2010



Himagiri Hydro Energy a subsidiary of NCC Infrastructure Holdings has initiated the bidding process for selecting developer for execution of its 300 MW Panan hydel power project in Sikkim and is to be awarded by September 2010.

The reports said that the scope of work for the civil package envisages the turnkey execution of the diversion tunnel, coffer dam, concrete gravity dam, intake structure, de silting chambers, silt flushing tunnels, access tunnels, head race tunnel and construction adits, surge shaft, valve chamber, penstock assembly chamber, pressure shafts, power house, tail race channel, etc. The company also plans to award the electro mechanical package for the project in November 2010 though the bidding process for the same is still to start. The reports said that the project being developed on the Tolung Chu River a tributary of Teesta is likely to be commissioned during fiscal 2014 to 2015.Ltd.
http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/news_display.1234547947.html

Project Swastik preparing DPR for alternative highway from Chalsa to Aritar

http://voiceofsikkim.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/20zzroutebig.jpg
GANGTOK, August 19: In a bid to end Sikkim’s total dependence on National Highway 31 A for its connectivity with the rest of India through Siliguri, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working on an alternative route connecting the State to Siliguri.
The proposed route passes along the Indo-China border starting from Aritar in East Sikkim and entering Rachela and dropping down to Kunia More and then to Sevoke and Siliguri.
Starting from Kumrek-Aritar and ending up Kunai More, the alternative route stretches around 126 kms.
The route had been proposed by the State government two years ago as an alternative to the NH 31A to lessen the hardships of the people here during bandhs and natural disruptions.
At the moment, the intensity of bandhs along the highway has cooled down and the NH 31A had been relatively stable during this monsoon till today when a slide at Teesta area of Kalimpong subdivision cut off the Himalayan State.
Meanwhile, the Sikkim government has been maintaining the need for an alternative highway to give the landlocked State another access route whenever disruptions occur along the existing national highway.
In his Independence Day message, Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh had informed the Sikkimese people that that work on survey of alternative highway from Siliguri-via-Chalsa to Gangtok would be soon taken up as soon the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared.
Chief Minister Pawan Chamling in his Independence Day message said that the alternative route from Gangtok to Siliguri in West Bengal via Chalsa must also be taken up expeditiously. He also called for early completion of the NH 31A double laning project by the BRO.
“Once these projects are completed, the people of Sikkim will get immense relief from prolonged monsoon in the hills and the continuous disruption of the national highway by rains, landslides and other natural calamities”, Chamling said.
At the same time, the Project Swastik of BRO which looks after the road connectivity issues of Sikkim and parts of North Bengal has started its preliminary exercises on the alternative route connecting Sikkim with Siliguri in North Bengal.
Project Swastik Chief Engineer Brig. Rajiv Sawhney said that the proposed alternative highway passes through Sevoke, Damdin, Chalsa, Khunia More, Jaldhaka, Tode, Tangta and Rachela in North Bengal side and connects to Aritar, Kumrek and Rangpo in the Sikkim.
According to the tentative road map of the BRO for the proposed highway, there is already a road around 25 kms up to Jaldaka power house from Kunia More in North Bengal side.
This road has to be upgraded and new road of around 50-56 kms has to be constructed from beyond the power house up to Rachela while the existing road from Aritar to Kumerk have to be upgraded, the BRO explained.
The 126 kms road stretch includes 74.6 kms from Khunia More to Rachela in West Bengal and 51.4 kms from Rachela to Kumrek in Sikkim via Aritar.
It was pointed that said that the necessary forest and land acquisition clearances on both States may take a year which will be followed by submission of the detailed project report to Ministry of Roads & Surface Transport.
After the clearances of the detailed project report, completion of route may take four years, it was further informed. The report will be prepared in five phases serially.
Five forest clearances and land acquisition clearances will be required from the Bengal side while two forest clearances and land acquisition clearances will be required from the Sikkim government.

As per the preliminary studies, a sum of Rs. 3 crores will be required for construction of one km of road in the plain areas while the amount will be double for the hill side.
A joint survey along with the governments of Sikkim and West Bengal is going on, said Brig Sawhney. However, dense forest and heavy rainfalls at the moment are affecting the pace of survey in the Aritar-Rachela area in the Sikkim-West Bengal border he said.
The Project Swastik chief engineer further said that the proposed highway from Kuniamore to Aritar can be extended by 53 kms up to Menla near the Nathu La border via Rongli and Rolep for facilitating an alternative route for the army up to the Nathu La border.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/08/20/project-swastik-preparing-dpr-for-alternative-highway-from-chalsa-to-aritar/

Gangtok to get ‘Fashion Street’ by 6 months time

GANGTOK, September 7: The beautification and creation of Fashion Street in Gangtok is proposed to be completed within six months time.This was spelt out during a meeting convened by the Commissioner cum Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Tobjor Dorji with the stakeholders of Pani House area here at his office chamber.
During a meeting held for the creation of Fashion Street proposed from Lower Secretariat (Below Lall Bazaar Super Market) up to Elephant Mansion (Hotel Sonam Palgey), the proposal for beautification of the area was shown by the Joint Chief Architect, Rajesh Pradhan.
The up-gradation of footpath, etc. would be taken up on priority and is proposed to be completed within six months time, the meeting said. The stakeholders interacted with the officers of UD&HD and extended their whole hearted support to make the Government’s proposal a success.

ADB to provide $20 million for tourism development in Sikkim

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of $20 million for the development of tourism infrastructure in Sikkim, the tourism ministry said here Thursday.

'A loan assistance of $20.0 million from ADB has been negotiated for South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project for Sikkim,' the ministry said in statement.

For the past three years and the current year, the multilateral lender has provided $23.5 million for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country.

Under the Projects Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA), the bank has provided $0.5 million in the last three years for a nation-wide project processing and capacity development study.

It has provided another PPTA of $1 million as grant for Inclusive Tourism Infrastructure Development Project (ITIDP) for Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The bank has provided $2 million under the Regional Economic Technical Assistance (RETA) for improving connectivity to the natural and cultural tourist attractions in the Northeastern state of Sikkim.

http://sify.com/finance/adb-to-provide-20-million-for-tourism-development-in-sikkim-news-default-kjjoudeicea.html

Zuri Group Global opens first property in Sikkim

To be named as “The Retreat by Zuri, Baiguney, Sikkim”, the property will be operational from October 1, 2010 and will be Zuri’s first adventure sports destination resort to offer options like Paragliding

Zuri Group Global, the multinational conglomerate having business interests spread across India, Kenya, UK, has announced the launch of Zuri’s first property in Sikkim, under the Management Contract Model.

To be named as “The Retreat by Zuri, Baiguney, Sikkim”, the property will be operational from October 1, 2010 and will be Zuri’s first adventure sports destination resort to offer options like Paragliding, River Rafting, River Camping, Mountain Camping, Jungle Hiking, Village Trekking, etc all under one roof and under expert supervision.

Unveiling the new property, Mr. Bobby Kamani, Managing Director, Zuri Group Global said, “A couple of years ago, we took a giant leap towards our vision of being an international hospitality major of choice with the launch of our brand of luxury hospitality – The Zuri. Today, with the launch of The Retreat by Zuri, Sikkim, I am proud of being able to steadily realise this vision and we do hope to make a significant presence felt across the nation.”

The Retreat by Zuri, Baiguney, Sikkim is currently a 21-key resort with single, double rooms and suites with an average size of 250 square feet each and aims to expand to over 50-keys spread across stand-alone cottages and independent suites. Architecturally designed to blend into the natural surroundings and terrain across multiple levels, the property also houses Zuri’s signature Spa-brand ‘MAYA’.

“Reports have shown that the north-eastern region is an unexplored terrain with vast tourism potential, with individual state governments backing up the region to develop adventure activities. As a young brand, we feel this was the opportune time for us to enter this market and capitalise on the growing opportunities here,” added Mr. Bobby Kamani.

The group recently took a bold step of restructuring their hospitality business at an initial stage of their operations, thereby building a clear brand identity in the minds of their customers. The business is now categorised into three luxury collections – The Platinum, Lifestyle and Comfort.

The Platinum Collection now incorporates the luxurious Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa, Kenya and The Zuri Kumarakom Resort & Spa, Kerala to offer world-class comfort and convenience. The Lifestyle Collection houses The Zuri Whitefield Bengaluru, The Zuri Whitesands Resort & Casino, Varca, Goa and The Liner, UK to emulate the lifestyle of clients who are patrons of certain brands and Zuri will fit as their preferred brand of hotels and resorts. The Comfort Collection offers comfortable rooms and amenities that are comfortable on the guests’ wallets as well. The Retreat by Zuri, Benaulim, Goa and the now-launched The Retreat by Zuri, Sikkim are a part of this collection.

In a bid to further gain foothold in the Indian hospitality market, the group now plans to adopt a multi-dimensional strategy for growth.

Commenting on this development, Mr. Abhishek Kamani, Managing Director, Zuri Group Global said, “As a young brand, it is imperative for Zuri to make its presence felt across key markets in India and internationally, in a short span of time. In order to increase our footprint, we are focused on organic and inorganic growth, management contract route and are open to looking at private equity partnerships in the next 5 years. We are already in advanced stages of talks with a few private owners in the eastern and southern markets.”

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Zuri-Group-Global-opens-first-property-in-Sikkim/4937096241

Loan agreement with ADB signed for utilisation in Sikkim

Gangtok, Oct 5 :PTI: The Government of India, the Government of Sikkim and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a loan agreement for US $ 20 million for a South Asia Infrastructure Development Project, an official press release here said.Under the Indian component of the Project, the Asian Development Bank will provide a loan of US$ 20 million to India to be utilised in Sikkim.It was meant for development of Sikkim�s circuits of nature and culture-based tourism destinations with improved connectivity, better quality environment and visitor services, enhanced natural and cultural heritage and capacities for sustainable heritage management and greater engagement of communities in heritage management and tourism benefits, the release said.The project aims to contribute towards sustainable and inclusive development in South Asia by tapping the potential of complementary and contiguous tourism assets of India, Nepal and Bangladesh, the release added.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/loan-agreement-with-adb-signed-for-utilisation-in-sikkim/379654.html

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=oct1410/oth05


Sikkim gets Rs 120 cr from ADB

GANGTOK, Oct 13 – The department of Tourism has received Rs120 crores from the Asian Development Bank for development of Sikkim’s tourism infrastructure. The fund will be used in development of infrastructure in tourism sector, said Bhim Dhungel, Minister for Tourism and Forest department.

Speaking to media today, Dhungel said that plans are in place to construct double lane road from Ranka to Rumtek Phatak, and the Chemchey to Damthang road near Namchi.

He further added that the department has plans to renovate the old monastery at Pelling and also to clean the monastery premises, and a multipurpose car parking lot will be constructed at Rumtek.

All the plans will be completed within the next 4 years, said Dhungel. He further mentioned that efforts are on to develop the Singalila trekking route. There are plans of constructing a trekkers hut at Singalila.

The Minister further informed that the State Government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore for development of tourism infrastructure at Samdruptse, where a car parking and eight eco huts would be constructed.

The Minister further stated that the department has changed its style of functioning and would be soliciting cooperation of local people in all its efforts of development of infrastructure, without which, development is not possible.

Workers strike halts construction of greenfield airport in Sikkim

The construction of a greenfield airport has come to a standstill here after the workers went on a strike on Thursday over their demands for better wage package and medical facilities.

At least 800 workers belonging to the construction contractor have been demanding better wage package and medical facilities.The workers are demanding a hike in their basic salary, transparency in the salary disbursal facilities and the facility for taking leave of absence.

"Strike is because there is no payment. There is no work on Sundays, there have been no payments made from last three to four months," said Subhojeet, a worker.

Another striking worker alleged that the employer did not pay them their due wages.

"If they pay they make us sign on a paper on which amount is not mentioned. So, there is no record of the amount being paid," said Mrinal De, another worker.

The project is slated to be completed by 2012.The Pakyong airport after its completion will have a 1,700-metre-long runway, two parking bays and a capacity to handle 100 passengers - 50 arriving and 50 departing - at a time. (ANI)

http://sify.com/news/workers-strike-halts-construction-of-greenfield-airport-in-sikkim-news-national-kkvuOcgjdai.html

Sikkim HC asks BRO to submit updates on ''Project Sawstik''

Gangtok, Oct 24 (PTI) The Sikkim High Court has directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Chief Engineer of BRO's 'Project Swastik' involving three highways to submit a progress report of the work after every three months.A Division Bench of Chief Justice P D Dinakaran and Justice S P Wangdi directed BRO Director General and Project Swastik engineer to submit the first progress report on or before January 11 next year which shall be taken up on re-opening of the court after the winter vacation.While disposing of the suo motu case, initiated on the basis of media reports, the court acknowledged the major reasons for the delay in execution of works by the BRO as lack of timely grant of necessary forest and environment clearances, as well as delay in the approval of the detailed project reports.The bench in its directive on Monday observed that with monsoon having receded, the period hereafter till May 2011 was generally condusive for uninterrupted work of the Project Swastik, for which the necessary clearances had been obtained and funds had been provided.The suo motu case had been initiated by the court against the Union Ministry of Surface Transport, the BRO and others including the Sikkim government over poor conditions of the National Highway 31A, the Gangtok-Nathula JN Road and the Gangtok-Chungthang North Sikkim Highway.But while disposing off the case the court appreciated the constraints being faced by BRO in the execution of works caused by the extreme weather conditions and hostile terrain of the region.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/sikkim-hc-asks-bro-to-submit-updates-on-project-sawstik/442600.html

Pakyong Airport should be able to handle Boeings, CM requests Centre

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/10/30/pakyong-airport-should-be-able-to-handle-boeings-cm-requests-centre/

New Greenfield Airport, Pakyong, Sikkim-Rendering

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs505.snc3/26539_114883671869043_114597605230983_190487_2459417_n.jpg

AAI gifts Pakyong with Health Centre & Rural Water Supply Scheme


29 Oct,Pakyong: New Health Centre at Pakyong & Rural Water Supply scheme for Lossing & Dikling villages, executed by AAI under its Corporate Social Responsibility Program through “Kalyanmayee, All India Women Welfare Association”, was inaugurated here Friday by Mr. Madhavan M. Nambiar, Secretary, Civil Aviation, Govt. of India & Mrs. Krishnambika Nambiar.

Minister for Tourism, Forest & Environment, Govt. of Sikkim, Mr. Bhim Dhungel was chief guest for the function which was attended by Chairman, Airport Authority of India, Mr. VP Agarwal, Commissioner cum secretary (Health), Govt. of Sikkim, Mr. VB Pathak, AAI General Manager Mr. G. D. Gupta, All India President, Kalyanmayee, Mrs. Archana Agarwal and SDM Pakyong Mrs. Roshni Rai, among others.

The rural water supply scheme was inaugurated by Mr. Nambiar, Secretary Civil Aviation, and chief guest Mr. Dhungel and rural water supply at Dikling village was inaugurated by Chairman, Airport Authority of India Mr. VP Agarwal.

The water supply work includes construction of 3 nos. water tanks of 10,000 Liters, 5 nos. of tanks of 5000 Liters & 2 nos. of tanks of 2000 liters which will immensely help in solving water supply problem of Lossing & Dikling Villages situated t the Airport Boundary.
The health centre is equipped with requisite medical equipment like ultrasound, pulse oscimetry, multi parameter monitors, laryngoscope, infusion pump and other emergency equipment complementing facilities available in existing PHC. The Health Centre shall be run in joint venture with the Govt. of Sikkim. While all medical and para medical staff will be provided by state government, the consumables and free medicines to deserving patients shall be provided by AAI through its Women Welfare Association (Kalyanmayee).
After inauguration of New PHC, free health check-up camp was inaugurated by Mrs. Nambiar. Around 600 patients did their free medical checkup and free medicines were given to them. The free health camp is being held by AAI under its Corporative Social Responsibility Programme. Doctors from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical science, Ayurvedic Research Centre and Clinical Research Centre Homeopathy were present to do the checkup. Free transport facility was provided to the nearby villagers. In a program held on the occasion at Community Hall, the JNV School Pakyong and members of Kalyanmayee sang welcome song followed by welcome speech by General Manager. Former Zilla Panchayat President East Mr. PN Kazi thanked AAI and Kalyanmayee for bringing up two projects in Pakyong surrounding for the benefits of local people. All India President of Kalyanmayee Mrs. Agarwal promised to provide one mobile van for medical treatment.
Chairman, Airport Authority of India, Mr. Agarwal said “wherever we go we also provide facilities to local people”. Secretary Civil Aviation promised to bring new projects like building of two rooms of Dikling School and footpath adjoining Dikling senior Secondary School.
Mr. Dhungel, chief guest, told people to help AAI to build the airport in Pakyong. He said those who are still occupying land in Airport Construction site should immediately vacant the land otherwise the government would takeover the land.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/10/30/aai-gifts-pakyong-with-health-centre-rural-water-supply-scheme/

Adventure Tourism is new mantra for tourism development in Sikkim: Chamling

Nov, Gangtok: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today said adventure tourism would be the new mantra for tourism development in Sikkim. He was addressing the concluding ceremony of three-day long Youth Adventure Festival 2010 at Yangang, South Sikkim.

He said the construction of ambitious Skywalk at Bhaleydhunga and Sikkim University will make Yangang must visit tourist destination. The Chief Minister also announced that IRB third battalion head quarter would be set up at Mangley.At the same time he lamented saying that the people of Yangang have still not accepted him whole-heartedly.

“This is the place where I was born and brought up. This is where I started my political career and this is the place where I was literally criticised by my close political associates,” he said with eyes filled with tears.Driven by the emotion, Mr Chamling said that by being the son of Yangang he was never appreciated by the people.
Expressing his deep worry on the rise of narcotic abuse in Sikkim, the Chief Minister urged the students to remain aloof from such aspects at it leads to mental depression and suicides.

He further announced that special incentives for X and XII passed girl child would be given. “We want every girl in Sikkim to be empowered with knowledge and wisdom, “he said.
The Chief Minister further stated that the house worth Rs 6 lakhs would be constructed for the homeless people within three years and a land for the landless people of Sikkim.
On the occasion, he informed the gatherings about several other developmental projects initiated by the State Government such as Chief Minister’s Total Health Check Up, free distribution of medicines, distribution of spectacles and many more. Appreciating the work of Yangang Cultural Village Tourism Co-operative Society formed by a group of young people, he said that other youths should follow their footstep.
The Chief Minister also launched the website of the Society and released the cassette of Darap Village Tourism. The function also witnessed the felicitation to former MLAs of Yangang constituency. Those felicitated were late Khusu Das, DB Thatal, Gopal lamichaney and BM Ramu Damu.Earlier, the Chief Minister inspected the lake helipad and rock climbing site and also inaugurated the new gate built by State Tourism Department

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/11/05/adventure-tourism-is-new-mantra-for-tourism-development-in-sikkim-chamling/

Bhaichung urged to choose Pakyong for his Football Academy project

25 Oct,Pakyong: A 6-member team from Pakyong, comprised of Tika Gurung, BB Subba, Palden Bhutia, SP Bhutia, Anil Moktan and Sanjay Subba, met Indian Football Captain Bhaichung Bhutia at Gangtok on 24th October 2010 to discuss establishment of Football Academy in Sikkim. The team urged the soccer star Mr. Bhutia to establish his project in Pakyong saying that they will approach the State Government for the required project land as the government has recently acquired around 1000 acre of land in this sub-division. The soccer star gave full assurance to the team and said that if the government provides land for the said project, he along with his partner, Bollyhood star John Abraham, is ready to start the project in the sub-division. The duo is expected to visit next year in the month of June for the said project, the team members informed. According to them, if the Football Academy comes up in the sub-division it will be a central attraction for the aspiring football lovers not only in Sikkim but also in the country.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/10/26/bhaichung-urged-to-choose-pakyong-for-his-football-academy-project/

Rabongla’s world famous Sakyamuni Project will complete within 2011

Gangtok: Sakyamuni project would be completed by next year. His Holiness the Dalai Lama would also visit the site of the project at Rabangla in December 2010.

Sikkim has already been included in the International Buddhist circuit but formal announcement from the Government of India is still awaited. The project is expected to bring more tourists to Sikkim as informed by Secretary, Tourism Department, Mr S. B. S. Bhaduria. The statue will be an additional religious site to visit for the pilgrims coming to the state. Special care is being taken to protect the environment and eco-friendly construction policy is being followed informed the Secretary.

Lord Buddha’s statue which is 127.38/72 meters including the throne will be installed at Rabangla, South Sikkim. The statue will be in sitting position. The whole project is spread over 20.363 acres. According to the Secretary plantation on a large scale is expected to done there.

The monastery would have a prayer hall, Lakhang interpretation hall, preaching hall and a number of other rooms. It was informed that the statue of Lord Buddha would be in copper with steel support with 98/29.88 meters. Some part of the statue would gild approximately with +5kgs gold. It will have five statues of disciples in sitting position built in r.c.c/fibre glass/metal. A special care has been taken while designing the structure to counter earthquake and pressure of strong wind added the Secretary.

The Sakyamuni project has a number of objectives, priority being to boost tourism and develop Rabangla as a pilgrimage tourist destination. Rabangla already has infrastructural facilities for tourists to portray best of Sikkim’s floral wealth and hospitality concluded Mr Bhaduria.


http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/11/11/rabonglas-world-famous-sakyamuni-project-will-complete-within-2011/

Indians want upgrade on trade with China on Silk Route

Nathu La (Sikkim), Nov 16 (IANS) Indian traders have urged the government to review the list of items tradable with China to boost business through the fabled Silk Route.

'The present list of import-export should be amended and widened to meet the need of the present age. The list of goods notified for transaction is a list prepared decades ago and has to be upgraded if we are to increase the volume of trade between the two nations,' T. Bhutia, a trader in the northeastern state of Sikkim, told IANS.

India and China in 2006 reopened trade across the 15,000-ft Nathu La Pass, 52 km east of Sikkim's capital Gangtok, as part of a broader rapprochement. The move marked the first direct trade link between the nuclear-armed neighbours since a bitter border war in 1962.

The two-way trade was sluggish with Indian traders doing business worth about Rs.10.35 million ($230,000) in 2009, while traders from the Tibet Autonomous Region did business worth Rs.300,000 ($6,000).

Under the agreement, trade takes place four days a week - Monday to Thursday - beginning in May each year and lasting until Nov 30 when snow makes the area impassable.

'We are yet to compile figures relating to the volume of trade between the two countries this year, but rough estimates indicate the trading has not shown much improvement compared to 2009,' a senior Sikkim trade and industry official said requesting anonymity.

Although the trade was slow this year, about 1,000 Chinese traders crossed the border separated by a rusty barbed wire marker to the bazaar of Sherathang, five kilometres below the pass on the Indian side.

Trade bodies and local businesspeople in Sikkim want New Delhi to include iron and steel, cement, paints, hardware materials, readymade garments, cosmetics, perfumes, processed food, medicines, medicinal herbs, flowers, fruits and a host of other things in the list of exportable items.

Under the deal to open the pass, 15 items were approved for import from China such as silk and yak pelts and horses, while India could export 29 items from textiles to tea, rice, vegetables and herbs.

'The inclusion of new exportable items would make trade points more vibrant and robust and would greatly increase the volume of business from next year,' said S.K. Sarda of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce.

The Sikkim government is taking up the matter with New Delhi to push up hopes for booming trade across the roof of the world.

'The government of India is seriously reviewing the request,' the Sikkim government official said.

'We have given a list of about 100 items to New Delhi for inclusion in the list of exportable items

http://sify.com/finance/indians-want-upgrade-on-trade-with-china-on-silk-route-news-default-klqqHuhfccg.html

RS 3000 Crores for sikkim and Northeast

http://isikkim.com/rs-3000-crore-for-north-east-and-sikkim/

Stream Power for Sikkim – Swiss help for mini hydel projects

Gangtok, Nov. 26: The government of Sikkim has taken an initiative to set up mini hydel projects on countless streams in the Himalayan state. The Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation will give technical assistance to harness the hydel power potential of the streams, which is roughly estimated to be between 400MW and 600MW.
The projects will be implemented by the Sikkim Renewable Energy Development Agency (SREDA). The projects aim at the electrification of villages and the empowerment of rural populace.
“We have tied up with the SDC to develop mini hydel power projects on the streams found in abundance here. The SDC will provide technical expertise for the projects,” said SREDA director L.B. Chhetri. “Four SREDA engineers were trained by the SDC in Nepal last year to execute the projects.”

The director has said the rough estimate of the hydel power potential of streams in Sikkim is between 400 MW and 600 MW. “The concept is to tap the hydel power potential of streams for rural empowerment. Ninety per cent of our streams are in villages. We will set up mini power stations on the streams and will hand them over to village development committees after completion. The committees will be entrusted with collecting revenue and maintaining the stations under the supervision of the SREDA. The revenue can be used for local area development — to maintain village roads and school buildings or to put in place other infrastructure,” said Chhetri.
The thrust on the mini hydel projects stems from the notion that they can play a vital role in the electrification of far-flung hilly areas of Sikkim where power supply through existing grid is difficult and transmission loss is high.

“Right now, we are working in the Upper Hee Khola (stream) in West Sikkim to develop a power station as a pilot project. We don’t know how much power can be generated from the stream. Presently, our engineers are studying the flow of the stream. When the station will be over by 2012-13, we will understand the technology and other aspects required to set up mini hydel projects,” said the SREDA director.

Chhetri said after preparing a detailed project report, the SREDA will approach the ministry of new and renewable energy, the state government, the North East Council and the DoNER for funds.

“The development of mini hydel power stations in the hilly terrain of Sikkim is a strenuous and long-term exercise. Cost of the projects will differ from one area to another,” he said.

http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/11/27/stream-power-for-sikkim-swiss-help-for-mini-hydel-projects/

Five new heliports coming up in the State

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24 Nov, Gangtok: Considering the good business done by the helicopter service in a state where there is no airplane connectivity, the flying hours for the helicopter in the state has been increased from 600 hr to 1200 hour by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

It has been learnt that apart from the daily flights as scheduled form Gangtok to Bagdogra and back, some more additional flights are being operated like charter flights to any destination along with a host of other service flights mountaineering flights, sightseeing and medical flights are also entertained.

Tejpal Pradhan Manager Operation heli- service, said that the helicopter service has been operational in the state since the year 1999 and since then the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) has been handling the said services. While speaking about the increase in fare he said that in the beginning the fare charged per person was Rs.1200/- and slowly it was increased and now it has reached to Rs.22, 00/- per passenger. The increase has been made because of the increase in the price of fuel, fixed monthly charges and other charges.

As per the last year’s data the helicopter actually operated 323 days out of 365days, and the number of flight connecting Gangtok to Bagdogra- Gangtok was about 427. Apart from the regular scheduled flights sightseeing flights in Gangtok has been recorded to about 241, likewise mountain flight 20, chartered flight 22 and medical flight 16. The total number of passenger carried form Gangtok to Bagdogra last year was about 1731 in total and back to Gangtok about 1530 and the total hours utilized for flying was around 648.15hours.
Mr. Pradhan added that the number of passengers and hour of flying has increasing this year especially in the month of October and November, reaching to about 7 hours a day too. He also added that the 90% of the passengers boarding in helicopter service are domestic tourist and 10% international. Furthermore when asked about the local passengers Mr. Pradhan said that about 15% of the total 90% are local. When asked about the increase in the heliports in various destinations across the state Mr. Pradhan said that it is good and this will increase the connectivity.

Similarly while speaking to the Secretary, Tourism Department Mr. SBS Bhaduria, he said that the helicopter service is doing well and the state is performing the best in this service compared to other states in the Nation. He went on to add that five more heliports are in the row of construction at Chemchey, Geetang Khola at Okharay, Mangan, Rangpo and Lingi. It has also been learnt that only two booking counters are available one in Gangtok and the other in Bagdogra but Gangtok booking counter functions as the major one.



http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/11/24/five-new-heliports-coming-up-in-the-state/

Sikkim tour dreams ride on rail plan- Hope for pilgrims & trekkers: four stations in hill state

Gangtok, Dec. 8: An ambitious plan to link tourist destinations in Darjeeling district and Sikkim through train service has been drawn up by the Northeast Frontier Railway.

The 163km-long broad gauge track linking Mirik and Gangtok will pass through the hills and valleys of the eastern Himalayas. The report was submitted to the Sikkim government last month.

Apart from Gangtok, which is a popular destination for visitors from all over the world, the NFR has proposed three more stations in Sikkim. They are Namchi in South Sikkim, Daramdin in West district and Ranipul near the state capital.

Namchi is the headquarters of South Sikkim and boasts the massive statue of Guru Padmasambhava, the patron saint of the state. The government is also working on the Char Dham project in Namchi, where the replicas of four famous Hindu temples are being built.

Tourism stakeholders pointed out that Daramdin was also an important choice for the travellers as it is the gateway to the popular trekking trails of Singalila and Barsey.

Lukendra Rasaily, the president of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim, said the rail project was of paramount importance as far as the development of tourism — the primary industry of Sikkim — was concerned.

“This is a very important project from the point of view of tourism. This will develop regional tourism in a big way as tourism in Sikkim and Darjeeling cannot be separated. We will have a bigger reason to promote tourism,” he said.

The project will also boost the pilgrimage tourism of Namchi, said Rasaily. “The pilgrimage tourism potential of Namchi in South Sikkim will be fully complemented by the rail project. The project will develop tourism potential of Daramdin and nearby areas of West Sikkim. Basically, it will be a nice ride across the hills from Mirik to Gangtok through Daramdin and Namchi,” said the TAAS president.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee announced the project in 2009 and the NFR took up the survey in September the same year.

The survey has estimated that Rs 11,684 crore will be needed to lay tracks in the hills and valleys. The railways have said because of the topography of the area through which the tracks will pass, 26 tunnels will have to be constructed with the longest one being 12.25km. The total length of the tunnels will be 84km, more than half of the route.

The project also envisages the construction of 124 bridges, the largest one spanning 625 metres. According to the report, 58km of the tracks will fall in Bengal and the rest in West, South and East districts of Sikkim.

“Highly sophisticated technology for the design and construction is required for the project and prior to finalisation, there is a need for meticulous investigation and geographical mapping along the proposed alignment,” reads the report.

The state transport department has started reviewing the report. “We are studying the report. The review will be completed by the end of this month and we will send our observation to the NFR headquarters in Malegaon, Assam,” said Uttam Pradhan, the chief engineer of the state transport department.

Work has already begun last year on the 52km rail between Sevoke in Darjeeling district and Rangpo, the gateway to Sikkim.

The foundation stone for this project was laid by Vice-President, M. Hamid Ansari, on October 30, 2009. The project is estimated to cost the railways Rs 1,339 crore.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101209/jsp/siliguri/story_13276370.jsp

Big Bazaar inaugurated

The long awaited shopping mall “Big Bazaar” in Gangtok was inaugurated on 12th January by the area MLA, Mr Dorjee Namgyal Bhutia who was accompanied by Gangtok Municipal Corporation Mayor Mr KN Topgay and Deputy Mayor Mr Shakti Singh.

Addressing the media Mr. Bhutia informed that the coming of Big Bazaar in Sikkim was late but added that it has come which needs to be admired. Adding further stated that Big Bazaar will definitely create competition in the market which will be beneficial for the people at large and referring to the size of the complex he said that though it is not as big compared to metros but hope that it will get expanded in years to come and fulfill the needs of the people of Sikkim to the fullest.

Similarly the Mayor informed that the coming of Big Bazaar in Gangtok is great in terms of market but apart form that the local youths have got the employment opportunity which is a good thing.

Big Bazaar will provide the cheapest rates for the necessary items which the people will accept at large. Finally, MLA along with Mayor and Deputy Mayor congratulated the youths serving the Bazaar from state and urged them to work sincerely and honestly.

http://isikkim.com/big-bazaar-inaugurated/

65,000 MW power by 2017; Teesta on fast track

India’s rising electricity consumption will get addressed to a large extent in 2-3 years after commissioning of various thermal and hydro-electric power plants.

Agartala: India will add 65,000 MW of power during the 12th five year plan (2012-17) as various power projects will be commissioned by then, union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.



“India’s electricity needs will be solved to a large extent in two-three years after the commissioning of various thermal and hydro-electric power plants now under various stages of construction,” Shinde said here after the opening ceremony of a power project.

“This is for the first time in 60 years (after India’s independence) that 9,500 MW power was added in a single year (April 2009-March 2010),” he said.

The minister said the 65,000 MW would augment India’s growth rate in all areas.

The Tripura state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corp (NEEPCO) would set up a 52 MW power plant in western Tripura. The Rs. 292 crore plant would be run by water and the heat emitted from its existing 84 MW thermal power project.

The proposed combined cycle extension power plant is to be commissioned at Ramchandranagar, 25 km from here. It is the second of its kind after the Kathalguri gas-based combined cycle project in eastern Assam.

“The new power plant will be commissioned within 30 months from the starting of the work,” NEEPCO chairman and managing director IP Barooah told.

“The existing 84 MW natural gas-based Ramchandranagar power project, commissioned in 1997, has been discharging on an average 420 degrees Celsius heat following the burning of the gas. The emitted heat involving water will run additional turbines to generate electricity,” he said.

Teesta Urja Limited in Sikkim is also said to be on track to achieve the accelerated commissioning of schedule of March 2012 for commissioning all the six 200 MW units of the 1,200 MW Teesta Hydro Electric Project (HEP) Stage-III, in the North Sikkim district of Sikkim.

Around 11.3 KM of head race tunnel (HRT) excavation work has already been wrapped up, out of the total of 13.816 KM. Besides, 94% tail race tunnel (TRT) excavation is completed, while excavation of diversion tunnel, flushing tunnel heading and all the access tunnels have also been completed.

As per the original schedule, only the first three units were slated to be commissioned in the 2011-12 fiscal, leaving the remaining units for 2012-13, the optimistic project developer is entertaining high hopes of putting the entire project on the bus bas withing the 11th plan.

http://isikkim.com/65000-mw-power-by-2017-teesta-on-fast-track/

Thank's snajusky!!!!

Rs100 crore sanctioned for Namchi drinking water supply: Pawan Chamling

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling announced that Rs100 crore has been sanctioned to establish a proper and dependable drinking water supply line for Namchi, the district headquarters town of South Sikkim.

"A sum of Rs100 crore has been sanctioned to establish a water supply line for Namchi and the concerned departments has been directed to do the needful," Chamling said yesterday while inaugurating a multi-level car parking cum shopping plaza and a District Libray cum Museum at Upper Singithang in Namchi.

Chamling also announced that plans were underway to set up Kisan Bazaars in all the four districts of the state and rural marketing centers, waste management, open theaters at the bigger bazaars and roadside amenities every 15km.

Speaking on the occassion state urban development minister DB Thapa said the parking cum shopping plaza was constructed at a cost of Rs18.3 crore while Rs14 crore was spend in the construction of the District Libray cum Museum.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_rs100-crore-sanctioned-for-namchi-drinking-water-supply-pawan-chamling_1497677

Projects Investment

According to the 40 Quarterly Survey of Projects Investment conducted by ProjectsToday, as of 30 September 2010, the state had 66 projects worth Rs 18,672 crore in various stages of planning and implementation. The project implementation ratio is 59.99 per cent, higher than the national average of 44.79 per cent.
The government had more stake as compared to the private sector in the state’s projects investment.

The top ten projects currently underway are:

Promoter Projects industry
Teesta Urja Ltd. >>Teesta Hydel Power>> Project Stage III Hydel Based Power

NHPC Ltd.>>> Teesta Hydel Power Project Stage IV >> Hydel Based Power

Lanco Energy Pvt. Ltd. >>> Teesta Hydel Power Project Stage VI >>Hydel Based Power

Jal Power Corporation Ltd. >> >Rangit-IV Hydel Power (Sikkim) Project >> Hydel Based Power

Teestavalley Power Transmission Ltd. >>> Transmission Lines (North Sikkim) Project >>> Power Distribution

Sikkim Industrial Devp. & Investment Corpn. Ltd. >>>>Sevoke-Gangtok-Nathula Road Project >>>Roadways

Madhya Bharat Power Corpn. Ltd.>>>Hydel Based Power (Sikkim) Project >>>Hydel Based Power

Sikkim Power Development Corpn. Ltd.>>>Chuzachen Hydroelectric Project >>>Hydel Based Power

Government of Sikkim >>>Rangit-II Hydel Power (Sikkim) Project >>>Hydel Based Power

Sikkim Power Development Corpn. Ltd. >>>Bhamsey Hydroelectric Power (Sikkim) Project >>>>Hydel Based Power

http://www.projectstoday.com/Sitemap/States/Sikkim.aspx

Nice work man :cheers:

Torrent to kick-start its Sikkim facility soon

Bullish on its formulations business, Ahmedabad based pharma major Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd is all set commission its Rs125 crore Sikkim facility within the first quarter of next fiscal.

The formulations facility would produce 3 billion tablets and capsules per annum. Torrent’s manufacturing plant at Chhatral has a capacity to manufacture approximately 3 billion tablets, capsules and vials and 15,000 kg of Bulk Drugs or API (active pharmaceutical ingredients), while its Baddi facility can manufacture 3.6 billion tablets, 150 million capsules, 10 million oral liquid bottles and 12 million sachets per annum.

With the Sikkim facility coming onstream, the company's formulation capacity will touch close to 10 billion tablets and capsules. The Rs1900 crore pharmaceutical company is bullish on its formulations business, both domestic and international. While its domestic formulations business grew by 17 per cent last quarter, sales outside India jumped 19 per cent. Torrent now plans to enter the UK and Romania markets shortly.

Meanwhile, it has also started work on the Dahej facility which will manufacture 8.5 billion formulations and 40 million tonnes per annum of API. Torrent's Dahej facility is coming up at the Dahej special economic zone (SEZ) with an investment of around Rs350 crore.

The Dahej SEZ is a 50:50 joint venture between the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and ONGC.

It is likely to come onstream in 2012. Torrent is eying to sell products to the regulated markets like the US from its Dahej unit.

The company has nine discovery projects in the pipeline. It has filed 338 patents for new chemical entities (NCEs) in all major markets across the world, of which 159 patents have been granted so far.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/torrent-to-kick-start-its-sikkim-facility-soon/422847/

DoNER nod for road project across N-E-crossposting from NE



DoNER nod for road project across N-E


The ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has approved road projects of Rs 434 crore across the five states of Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Manipur and Mizoram.

The road projects have been approved as part of the ongoing 11th plan projects of the North Eastern Council (NEC), an official press release stated.Quoting DoNER minister Bijoy Krishna Handique, the release said that the road projects would boost connectivity between the states as well as connectivity within the states.

“The NEC is committed towards channelising similar quantum of funds for improving the road sector in the region,” said Handique.

The projects include improvement of Jowai-Nartiang-Khanduli-Biathanlangsu road at an estimated cost of Rs 138.36 crore which will link Assam and Meghalaya.

The Assam portion is of 59.55 km and would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 71 crore. The Meghalaya portion, which is of 54.80 km, would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 67.36 crore. The date of completion for the project has been fixed as March, 2014.

Construction and improvement of Simchuthang-Pabong-Yangyang road, in Sikkim, at an estimated cost of Rs 62.84 crore too has been sanctioned by the ministry. The project, which is of 23 km in length, will be completed by March 2013.

The ministry has also sanctioned the improvement of Kangokpi-Tamei road, which is 70.25 kms in length and in Manipur, at an estimated cost of Rs 87 crore.The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2013.Among others, upgradation of 115.20 km Sherkhan-Bhagabazar road, at an estimated cost of Rs 146.03 crore, too has been sanctioned by the DoNER ministry.

The expenditure for the various road projects would be met from the plan funds of NEC to the extent of 90 per cent of the approved cost and the remaining 10 per cent would be borne by respective state governments. The projects will be implemented by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the respective state governments

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/doner-nod-for-road-project-across-n-e/424005/

Many to Indian pharma cos moving to Sikkim to take advantage of NEIIPP
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore
Monday, February 28, 2011, 08:00 Hrs [IST]

Indian pharma companies are now viewing the concept of multi-locational facilities which come with a 10 year tax exemption allowing companies to get Return On Investment (ROI) in the shortest possible time. This is where over a dozen leading pharma majors have taken a decision to set base at Sikkim to maximize the benefits of the new North-East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007.

The government of India’s Income tax waiver for 10-years allows companies to get their return on investment in a shortest stipulated period.

Today, Sikkim is home to as many as 14 major pharma companies, which have significant investments in the state. These include the who’s who of Indian pharma sector such as Cipla, Sun, Zydus Cadila, Alembic, IPCA, Alkem, Intas, Torrent, Unichem and Micro Labs among others who have taken a decision to set up a facility at Sikkim to maximize the monetary benefits. These companies have multi location plants preventing over dependence on one site.

“The new North-East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, 2007 is highly beneficial for pharma Investments in Sikkim. The State is not known for issues like labour unrest. The pollution free atmosphere is absolutely conducive to pharma investment. There could not have been a better situation,” said Prof. Prakash V Mallya, director, Centre for Pharmaceutical Professional Advancement, Krupanidhi Institutions, Bangalore.

The big advantage that companies are viewing in Sikkim is the ability to be able to invest in a Greenfield project complying to Good Manufacturing Practice(GMP). The design concepts for GMP can be incorporated the latest technology and equipment in the beginning itself, thus avoiding the problem of trying to change the traditional plant design.

According Kaushik Desai, chairman, Industrial Pharmacy Division, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, although the logistics and access to trained manpower are an issue, pharma majors have opted to invest in Sikkim. This is because of financial gains, they can garner from these investments at a faster pace from tax savings.

“What we are seeing now in Sikkim is that pharma companies are shifting the production of lucrative products to this region. In the long run they will be able to take full advantage of profits earned out of tax saving, stated a senior pharma consultant. Pharma manufacture needs the support of ancillary units like packaging, access to raw materials, components, machinery etc. In a few months from now, ancillary industries are also bound to set their base here.

Right now, the picturesque mountainous state is known for its tourism industry which is the key revenue generator for the state exchequer. A challenge for pharma companies here is to locate a flat land to set up a production unit. There is only one pharmacy college which companies will need to approach for candidates and invest in training. Despite these hiccups, the pharma sector has thought of investing here as an attempt to gain as much profit from a mature market, stated the consultant.

Source (http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=61599&sid=1)

Ahluwalia finalises Rs 1,400 cr annul plan for Sikkim

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) The Planning Commission today approved Sikkim�s annual plan of Rs 1,400 crore for 2011-12.
The annual plan was finalised here at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Sikkim Pawan Chamling.
Commenting on the performance of the state, Ahluwalia said that the performance of the state is quite satisfactory and appreciated its efforts to improve horticulture and ginger production.
He said continued focus on physical and social infrastructure development together with urbanisation would catalyse tourism and other income generating activities.
He also appreciated the initiatives taken to make Sikkim first organic and green state in the country. Priorities in the sector need to work out accordingly.
Ahluwalia said the state should embark upon a path of sustainable economic development by concentrating upon its abundant natural resources.
He asked the state to pay attention to the existing educational infrastructure and higher education.
In the health sector, the state was asked to emphasise on the achievement of the health indicators as envisaged in the Plan document. Thrust will also be given to provision of clean drinking water and proper sanitation facilities in both rural and urban areas.
The Chief Minister said the thrust of Plan was upon the inclusion of the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA and inclusion of various Flagship Programmes, with particular emphasis on Human Development.

http://news.in.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5012116

Flyover to link Sikkim & Bengal

GANGTOK: The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is considering the construction of a 1-km flyover from Rangpo Mining to the Rangpo border at Mansoong, that connects West Bengal, at a cost of Rs100 crore.

Major landslides are a common occurrence on the 100-km National Highway 31 A that links Siliguri with Gangtok. Restoration of traffic takes two to 10 days.

The BRO technician has earmarked 75 spots, 28 of which lie on on Sikkim`s 40 km stretch. The remaining 47 spots lie on the West Bengal`s 60-km stretch from Sevoke Coronation Bridge to Ranipool, near Gangtok. A superintendent of BRO 764 Task force commandant based at Kalimpong, Manav Prasad, has informed.

The BRO is also constructing another flyover and one-km tunnel from Kumrek to Mining ground at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Another 200-mt tunnel will also replace the existing tunnel at Chisopani ahead of Singtam at a cost of Rs 8 crore.

Referring to the incomplete repairing and double-lane road extending work, Prasad has laid the onus on Darjeeling bandhs called in January and February. Moreover, they are yet to receive clearance from the departments concerned in Sevoke to Teesta, where some stretches passed through the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and Baikuntapur forest.

Prasad adds, "We hope to complete the restoration works of main thoroughfare of only connecting roads with mainline via Siliguri by May. Over 500 labourers have been equipped with seven large excavators and other machines for road widening and landslide spots mitigation

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Flyover-to-link-Sikkim-Bengal/articleshow/7977563.cms

Flyover to link Sikkim & Bengal

GANGTOK: The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is considering the construction of a 1-km flyover from Rangpo Mining to the Rangpo border at Mansoong, that connects West Bengal, at a cost of Rs100 crore.

Major landslides are a common occurrence on the 100-km National Highway 31 A that links Siliguri with Gangtok. Restoration of traffic takes two to 10 days.

The BRO technician has earmarked 75 spots, 28 of which lie on on Sikkim`s 40 km stretch. The remaining 47 spots lie on the West Bengal`s 60-km stretch from Sevoke Coronation Bridge to Ranipool, near Gangtok. A superintendent of BRO 764 Task force commandant based at Kalimpong, Manav Prasad, has informed.

The BRO is also constructing another flyover and one-km tunnel from Kumrek to Mining ground at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Another 200-mt tunnel will also replace the existing tunnel at Chisopani ahead of Singtam at a cost of Rs 8 crore.

Referring to the incomplete repairing and double-lane road extending work, Prasad has laid the onus on Darjeeling bandhs called in January and February. Moreover, they are yet to receive clearance from the departments concerned in Sevoke to Teesta, where some stretches passed through the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and Baikuntapur forest.

Prasad adds, "We hope to complete the restoration works of main thoroughfare of only connecting roads with mainline via Siliguri by May. Over 500 labourers have been equipped with seven large excavators and other machines for road widening and landslide spots mitigation

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Flyover-to-link-Sikkim-Bengal/articleshow/7977563.cms

double-lane road :bash::bash::bash: this is the most vital link with north east and with the danger of china coming near day by day we are stuck with 2 lanes.

It should be 8 lane.

Sikkim Nationalised Transport to launch new buses

The Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) will soon introduce buses services from Rangpo to Kakarivitta (Nepal), Kolkata, Jaigaon and Bodhgaya.

"We want to increase our mileage and want to keep up with being the best transport service providers in the region. We want to make Rangpo our base and augment our fleet on a war footing," general manager of SNT N D Rai told PTI.

They will also be initiating a new direct bus service from Gangtok to Kalimpong after the elections in West Bengal and also add six new buses for the 'Gangtok-Darshan' circuit which will prove helpful for the tourists.

In addition, the SNT, in collaboration with the state department of tourism, will also add direct deluxe bus services to tourist destinations in North Sikkim like Lachung and Lachen during peak tourist season.

Keeping pace with the modernised mode of transportation, SNT has now increased its fleet of service
buses to 107 which includes 2 air-conditioned, another 2 super-deluxe and 25 semi-deluxe buses under the JNNURM scheme which is being used basically for the urban populace.

The SNT deploys the maximum number of buses from the North-East wing of the SNT division with 75 buses reaching out to the remotest of areas in these districts.

Similarly, the south-west wing has a fleet of 27 buses followed by another 12 buses from the special Rangpo wing.

"We will also upgrade the existing fleet of buses to raise the comfort standards to be provided to the locals," added Rai.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sikkim-nationalised-transport-to-launch-new-buses_1538699

Railway Board team to inspect Sikkim rail link

GANGTOK, May 27 – The long-awaited survey for rail link to Sikkim is in advanced stages of completion. Last year, a preliminary survey was carried out to connect Sikkim with New Jalpaiguri station in North Bengal.

The company conducting the survey in its first report had mentioned that the stretch will be of 52 kms. However, in the final survey the route was decreased to 44.3 km which included 32km under tunnels.

The Ministry of Railways after going through the report sanctioned Rs 3,380 crores for the rail project for Sikkim.

Considering the rail connectivity in Sikkim, the Chairman of Railway Board Vivek Sahai along with seniou Railway officials will be visiting the State today to carry out the inspection along with a meeting with the State Chief Secretary and the nodal department.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may2811/oth07

Civil aviation sec. inspects airport construction in Sikkim


The new secretary of tourism and civil aviation department Mrs. Nim Ethenpa along with joint secretary, assistant engineer, Junior Engineer (Tourism Department), chief engineer, department of Transport Mr. Uttam Pradhan, officer from Irrigation Department and Sub Divisional Magistrate Mrs. Roshni Rai today visited the upcoming green field airport at Pakyong, East District in Sikkim.

The green field Airport, Pakyong project effectively commenced from 1st of October 2009 and is expected to be completed by May 2012. The total area covering the project stretches about 200 acres where the run way is prepared measuring about 1700*30m, taxi way is of 116m*15m and Apron is 106m*76m. It has a capacity to allow the standing of 2 airplanes at a time. The retaining wall measures about 1480meters long up to 74meter high.
The airport consists of four box culvert as cross draining system where as the terminal building of the airport will be build to a capacity of 100persons in an area measuring 2380square meter.

The airport even avails the facility of car parking with a capacity of 80 vehicles and will also have a fire station cum ATC tower, CNC facilities like (VHF, HF, NDB and DVOR) is proposed and the high intensity runway light (HIRL), Airport beacon, PAPI will also be facilitated.

The total construction cost of the airport totals to an amount of Rs. 309 crores where the works like construction of wall, leveling of ground, runway, and drainage system is carried out by Punj Lloyd totaling to a cost about 265 crores where as the remaining amount will be utilized for construction of terminal building, fire station cum ATC center and many more by Airport authority of India (AAI).

The General Manager AAI Mr. GD Gupta today in a short meet informed the secretary Tourism and Civil aviation that there are few issues affecting the progress of the work like handing over the land occupied by private houses in acquired area and relocation of 16 number of houses adjacent to AAI boundary. The ICAR Land was handed over on March 2011 along with four structures which needs to be demolished before handing over the site to construction agency for execution of work in the airport area. These issues are blocking the construction of box culvert and Reinforced Wall (RE).

Adding more Mr. Gupta stated that the people of the 16 houses residing nearby to the construction of RE wall towards Bhanu turning protest the use of heavy machineries and complains due to which construction works after 5-6pm halts. Such issues are hindering the progress of the work and delaying the project. He requested the Secretary to look into the matter seriously in mitigating the existing problem shortly considering the project to be completed within the scheduled tenure.

Mr. Gupta also demanded the widening of road starting from Ranipool to Pakyong considering the future of airport too along with Jhora training at the downstream of AAI box culvert to match the discharge capacity as well.
Adding more Mr. Gupta informed that if all the problems initially face are solved within the month of September then the project will definitely be completed within the scheduled time that is by 2012.

The secretary in her address state that the problems, hurdles placed will be seriously taken up soon and every concern department will be asked to support for availing apt solution in mitigating the raised issue. Adding more Secretaries even informed that apart from the issues pointed out by the AAI the power supply, water supply and other relating issue will also be taken care off.

Furthermore the construction of Airport has been learnt to be completed to about 50% but is on halt since 25th of March because of heavy rainfall. The construction work of Airport is now moved under the department of Civil Aviation since May 2011 and further construction work will be carried out under the department of Tourism and Civil aviation, Government of Sikkim. Earlier the project was under the department of transport.

http://isikkim.com/2011-06-civil-aviation-sec-inspects-airport-construction-site-096/

^^

Really, Great updates sanjusky! :)

The 1000 bedded multi specialty hospital to be completed in 3 to 4 years

The construction of 575 bedded multi specialty Hospital in capital as earlier proposed has recently been upgraded to 1000 bedded and the construction work has already started at lower Sichey site.

While speaking to the Director General cum Secretary, Health Care, Health Services and Family welfare Department Dr. Kumar Bhandari informed that the change in construction of 1000 bedded instead of 575 bedded hospitals in capital is the Chief Minister’s vision considering the future development of state and the population growth too.

Adding more Dr. Bhandari said that within 3 – 4 years from now the construction of the hospital along with the equipments required will be completed and there are plans of introducing as much specialists as possible in the multi specialty hospital along with maximum man power to benefit the people of the state in regards to availing medical facilities at par with modern demands.

Furthermore Dr. Bhandari added that the approval for tying up with the multi specialty hospital from across the nation in operating the super specialty part of the hospital has already been accorded by the State Government. The construction of the hospital will be carried out in a phased manner and soon after the completion of the infrastructure building the equipment and additional facilities required by the hospital will be met. The construction of multi specialty hospital is a big project and the approximate cost of construction proposed is to about Rs. 400 Crores but it is expected to increase in days ahead added Dr. Bhandari.

Adding more when inquired about the tour with CM to distant areas especially in south and west district which are completed Dr. Bhandari said that “I am quite impressed with the staff members of primary health centers and especially with the primary health sub centers staffs who are working dedicatedly and serving the people to their best of ability in such far-flung areas like Lhabdang, Karzi, Phamtam areas and many more such difficult areas in stat. The tour has given the insight and the first hand impression of the problems faced by the people and those delivering the services” informed Dr. Bhandari. Adding more Dr. Bhandari said that we are grateful to the CM as this tour have been a great eye opener for all who have been walking together with the CM in the 40days long village to village tour.

Furthermore when asked about the procurement of medicines for the state Dr. Bhandari said that the procurement of medicines directly from the company system was very good but the system was not appreciated by the people at large and numerous criticism were off and on. Considering the criticism faced by the government or the department in regards to procurement of medicines a proposal was put forward by the department to the government whether to continue the new system introduced or to follow the Sikkim Financial rule and go for national tender.

In connection to the proposal made by the Department we received direction from the government to opt for the second option and on the basis of the direction met a national advertisement for inviting tender has been met informed Dr. Bhandari. Both the decision on procurement of medicine for state were carried out only after receiving the cabinet approval and the medicine procured hence forth for state will be amounting to the same amount of Rs. 5 crores as earlier.

http://isikkim.com/the-1000-bedded-multi-specialty-hospital-to-be-completed-in-3-to-4-years/

^^^^^^^^ Good to hear that. :cheers: Best of luck to the Sikkim.

INDIA : Alstom Projects India signs Rs. 2.7 billion deals

July 22, 2011

Alstom Projects India Ltd. signed 3 major deals of more than Rs. 2.7 billion worth. As pert these deals, Alstom Projects will build hydroelectric projects in India.

According to Alstom Projects India, the company has signed first deal with Shiga Energy Pvt. Ltd. for 97MW Tabshiding hydroelectric project, which is situated in West Sikkim district on Rathang Chu river. Alstom Projects India signed second deal with NSL Tidong Power Generation Pvt. Ltd., for Tidong 1 hydroelectric project in Kinnaur District in Himachal Pradesh, with two 50MW units. Alstom Projects India added that, the company signed third deal with Haridwar Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., to construct a 96MW plant for Dikchu hydroelectric project on the river Dikchu, a tributary of Teesta River in East Sikkim.

double-lane road :bash::bash::bash: this is the most vital link with north east and with the danger of china coming near day by day we are stuck with 2 lanes.

It should be 8 lane.

Hope you are neither living in Minnesotta nor have you visited sikkim. The road in the above post links Gangtok with Siliguri. In it's present state, the whole stretch is prone to Landslides. So before posting such cynical comments you should have got acquinted with the terrain. A two lane all weather and smooth road is more than sufficient to cater the Border State, yes if the Traffic is more, then a 4 lane road wud be a better option but still an engineering challenge. A 6 or 8 lane road is not necessery and even it is not economically & physically viable option for Sikkim & NHAI given a projection for next 25 years. So enlighten the members with your rational thinking, not just posting for the sake of posting. :ohno:. Enjoy..

Hope you are neither living in Minnesotta nor have you visited sikkim. The road in the above post links Gangtok with Siliguri. In it's present state, the whole stretch is prone to Landslides. So before posting such cynical comments you should have got acquinted with the terrain. A two lane all weather and smooth road is more than sufficient to cater the Border State, yes if the Traffic is more, then a 4 lane road wud be a better option but still an engineering challenge. A 6 or 8 lane road is not necessery and even it is not economically & physically viable option for Sikkim & NHAI given a projection for next 25 years. So enlighten the members with your rational thinking, not just posting for the sake of posting. :ohno:. Enjoy..

yeah you are right and what you say is absolutely true. but he was only giving an opinion, even if its misinformed, it was meant out of goodwill. the guy just wanted better infra for your state, he wasn't trying to sound contempt. unlike you. just wanted to enlighten you, and not be rude, for the sake of being rude. like you. :ohno: Enjoy..

Sikkim plan for 2012-13 finalised (http://www.constructionweekonline.in/article-7819-sikkim_plan_for_2012_13_finalised/)

The annual plan for the year 2012-13 for the state of Sikkim was finalised at a meeting between deputy chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling. The plan size has been agreed at Rs1877 crore. This includes Rs377 crore as part of the Prime Minister’s package for reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in recent earthquake.

http://www.constructionweekonline.in/pictures/300x200/Sikkim-annual-plan.jpg
Deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia with chief minister of Sikkim Pawan Chamling.


Briefing the Commission, the chief Minister said that over the past two decades, the state has adopted the path of sustainable development. It is the policy of the government to develop rural areas of Sikkim at par with towns and cities by providing all basic and modern amenities and sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas with a vision to develop Sikkim as an eco-city State.

He said the recent earthquake has caused massive damage to the infrastructure and the development process of Sikkim has suffered a major setback and programmes can only be successful with liberal financial assistance from the government of India in the 12th Five Year Plan and particularly in the Annual Plan 2012-13.

Sikkim airport wins International Project of the Year Award

Earlier the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had bagged the Greentech Corporate Social Responsibility Award for its greenfield airport at Pakyong in Sikkim. Now Belfast-based geotechnical company Maccaferri has won an international award for its challenging work to construct reinforced soil walls and slopes at the new airport at Pakyong in Sikkim.

The company, which completed the project with partners Mott MacDonald and Punj Lloyd, was given the ‘International Project of the Year’ award at the Ground Engineering Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel here on Friday.

Attended by nearly 400 leaders in consultancy and contracting in the geotechnical engineering industry, the awards brought together the key players in the industry, a press release on the event said. Maccaferri worked on the 31 million pounds project that featured a 550m wide, 1.7 km long corridor in which the runway and airport buildings are constructed for the Airports Authority of India.

The corridor was to be carved from the mountainous topography using massive geotechnical ‘cut and fill’ engineering works. Traditional retaining structures of the height required (74 m) would be prohibitively expensive and may not adequately cope with the seismic conditions. Conversely, shallow earthwork embankments would consume too much area. Therefore, extensive use of geogrid soil reinforcement and slope stabilisation was used to maximize the development area, the press release added.

Main designer Mott Macdonald India and Delhi-based main contractor, Punj Lloyd, worked with Maccaferri’s Indian subsidiary, Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt Ltd to carry out the soil reinforcement and slope stabilisation works.

Matt Showan, International Marketing Manager for Maccaferri, said: “It is a testament to our teams in India and our project partners Mott MacDonald and Punj Lloyd that we have won today. At more than 70 m high, we believe this project to be amongst the tallest reinforced soil structures in the world and it’s a symbol of Maccaferri’s intent and rapid growth into this sector.” PTI


http://isikkim.com/2012-05-sikkim-airport-wins-international-project-of-the-year-award-15-10/

Sikkim to be nation’s hub of organic cultivation by 2015


Gangtok, August 21, 2012:

Going organic is the new mantra in Sikkim as State promoted organic farming has picked up in a big way among 50,000 farming families of hill State which is set to become hub of organic cultivation in the country by the year 2015 when the entire state will be converted into a certified organic state.

Sikkim became the first state of India to start organic farming around a decade ago when state Chief Minister Pawan Chamling brought the resolution to convert the entire state into organic state in the state assembly in the year 2003 and constituted Sikkim State Organic Board. More than 8000 hectare land was covered under organic certifications in the state during first 6 years period till 2009 due to strong road map worked out by various government agencies under which sale of chemical fertilizers and pesticides was completely banned and subsidy on chemical fertilizers and pesticides was completely withdrawn in the state in May 2003. The state government completely stopped the lifting of Government of India quota of chemical fertilizers since 2006-2007 and all sales points for chemical fertilizers in public and private sector were completely closed down. Alternatively, the state government introduced organic farming and promoted a large scale use of bio fertilizers and provided certified manufactured organic manure to farmers as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. In order to provide alternatives to farmers, 24,536 rural compost units and 14,487 vermi compost units were constructed in farmer’s field till 2009.

The bio village programme was adopted in the year 2003 and around 400 villages were adopted by the state government till 2009 which benefited 14,000 farmers and 14,000 acre of land in 4 districts of the state. The state government farms at Nazitam and Mellidara were converted to Centre of Excellence for Organic Farming for conducting organic research said Vishal Chauhan, Secretary Agriculture Sikkim Government. The State Government launched comprehensive Sikkim Organic Mission in 2010 as a nodal agency at state level to implement and monitor the programme in time bound manner. A State Level Apex Committee (SLAC) with the CM as the Chairman and other Ministers of concerned Departments as its members was constituted under the Sikkim Organic Mission in 2010 to implement the programme in time bound manner.

Under the Mission, state government made a time bound programme to convert the remaining 50,000 Ha areas fully organic by the year 2015. Organic farming have caught on in a big way in the State as around 8,000 Ha of farmers land is fully certified organic and besides this another 30,000 farmers are registered under the process development of ICS system and Certification and are in the different stages of conversion. The remaining 11,000 Ha of farmers land will also be brought under certification system.

According to latest figures, the state has recorded around 80,000 MT farm production in the state out of which 45,890 MT ginger, 3,510 MT large cardamom, 2,790 MT turmeric, 4,100 MT, buckwheat, 3,210 MT urad, 20,110 MT mandarin oranges farm production has been recorded. Out of this production figure, a significant portion is organic as the state already has over 8000 Ha area is certified organic. Once the entire state is converted into fully certified organic then the entire 80,000 MT of farm produce will be organic. Channelizing this farm produce to the market is another challenge for the state. At present Ginger is being sold in Delhi Market and Large Cardamom is being exported to Middle East through Delhi and Mandarin oranges are in big demand in Kolkata and Bangladesh. A Ginger Processing unit has been set up at Birdang in West Sikkim for processing and value addition of organic ginger for marketing. The state government has created separate marketing cell to coordinate marketing of organic products and an organic retail shop has been opened in the national capital of New Delhi. Besides this, 10 Apni Mandis/ Kisan Bazars has been set up at important tourist destinations in the state for marketing of organic products directly by the producers to tourists as well local customers on remunerative prices eliminating the role of middle men and commission agents said Secretary Chauhan. The total requirement of organic manure in Sikkim is 10 lakh MT and most of it has been prepared by farmers on their own by adopting on-farm vermi-compost and rural compost units. Since the launch of organic policy in the year 2003, government is providing Rs 15,000 per unit subsidies on vermi compost unit and Rs 20,000 per unit on rural compost unit to the farmers every year for construction of their on-farm vermi-compost and rural compost units. However since the launch of Sikkim Organic Mission in 2010, another 10,000 units have been granted to progressive organic farmers.

The Agriculture Department has set up a bio-fertilizer unit at Rangpo, East Sikkim with an annual production capacity of 150 MT bio fertilizers to meet the manure demand of the farmers. The department has formed around 150 Farmers’ Interest Groups having total membership of around 1750 farmers who are working actively for marketing of organic products. Besides this, several Organic Grower Groups have been set up at cluster levels for production and marketing of organic products.

The State Government has empanelled reputed APEDA accredited certification agencies like OneCert Asia, IMO Control, LACON Agri Certification, SGS and EcoCert Agri Care for certification process in the state who are regularly inspecting the fields to ensure quality of the certification. The state government has set up its own static and mobile soil testing labs to check the effectiveness of manures/bio-fertilizer. Internal Pest Control Lab and mobile units are also engaged in research work for pest and diseases and supporting farmers in scientific manner. A target of collection and analysis of 25,000 samples has been set to cover the entire ICS clusters of the state for the current financial year.

Sikkim has another advantage that its 15,000 Ha of Cardamom fields are by default organic as no chemical fertilizers/ pesticides are ever applied in these cardamom fields as cardamom has been grown as wild crop.

No doubt on the entire Sikkim State is declared fully certified, organic farmers are going to reap good benefits by sale of products at a premium price. Organic Agro-tourism will also be an added advantage for the State.

REC to give additional Rs 995-cr loan for Teesta III hydro project
Tags:Teesta Urja Ltd|Teesta III hydro project|Teesta III|Sikkim|Rural Electrification Corporation|RECNEW DELHI: Rural Electrification Corporation will extend an additional loan of Rs 995 crore to the 1,200-MW Teesta III hydro project in Sikkim whose overall cost has escalated to more than Rs 8,500 crore.

With the additional amount, state-run REC's total lending to the project would be Rs 3,095 crore, sources said.

Teesta III project has seen substantial cost overruns due to delays on account of natural calamities as well as legal hurdles.

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Location
Pakyong, Sikkim, India
Owner
Airports Authority of India
Description

* Punj Lloyd is proud to be associated with the building of Sikkim’s first greenfield airport project in Pakyong which will provide air connectivity to this land locked state
* The airport being built at the Percheda top, 30 km south of Gangtok. It is being built at an altitude of 4,700 ft with deep valleys at both ends of the runway
* The completion of Pakyong airport will make it one of the five highest airports in India
* Difficult topography and hostile weather conditions make this project extremely challenging and exciting
* Expected completion of the project : December 2012

Achievements

* The reinforcement wall on the project is in 80.38 m height, one of the tallest reinforcement walls in the world.

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OIII Architects and Architecture BRIO have been appointed via an international tender to design the Himalayan Biodiversity Training Institute of Sikkim. :okay:This is a major move of the government of Sikkim to strengthen its approach towards environmental friendly strategies.

This building will include educational and residential facilities and will be characterised by green features that derive from re-using and reinterpretation of local techniques and knowledge. Sikkim is known for its rich and diverse flora and fauna. The landscape varies from dense green forests to the high snow covered mountains in the North.

The state introduced a green mission to emphasize and cherish the magnificent nature. The Sikkimese respect their environment and are developing and studying strategies how to keep economic growth and increase of tourism in a harmonic relation with nature.

The Sikkim Biodiversity Forest Department (SBFP) initiated a series of architectural projects to set an example of how to deal with urban planning and buildings that blend with nature. One of the projects is the Biodiversity Training Institute.

The site for this project is located near Sikkim’s capital Gangtok, placed on a slope it faces highest mountain, the Kanchenjunga. The building space will include training halls, workshop space, conference auditorium, library, research labs and residential facilities. The research center will have a place for education on Himalayan flora and fauna and will be an example of environmental friendly building design.

OIII and BRIO plan to development strategies by using local techniques and knowledge. The design of the building will be compact with a small footprint and makes use of solar energy, local vegetation and wind. Thermal mass of the walls will be used to create moderate fluctuations in temperature. Local material like rammed earth and natural stone are chosen to create accumulating qualities of walls and floors. The diver’s vegetation of Sikkim will become an integral part of the building such as the vegetated roof with local plants.

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Sikkim's Greenfield Airport

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Sikkim 1200 MW Hydro Power Project Teesta-III to go on stream from June 2013



The Sikkim Government and Teesta Urja Limited's 1200 MW Hydo Power Project - 'Teesta-III' is all set to on stream from June 2013.

Men and machines are racing against time to ensure that project work is completed as per current schedule and provide virtually free power to Sikkim and supply to four northern States – Delhi, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan - which reel under chronic power shortages.

The Sikkim Government, through Sikkim Power Investment Corporation Limited, obtained 26% share holding in the SPV that is executing the 1200 MW Teesta-III hydro power project – the largest in the six cascade projects on the Teesta river run, a person associated with the development said.

Teesta Urja’s Board of Directors has already approved the transfer of 29,64,00,000 partly paid shares held by Athena Projects Private Limited in favour of SPICL.

The first unit will begin to produce power by June. As much as 99.2% of Tunneling Works was already completed (around 34.4 Km out of total 34.6 Km). The Excavation of 13.824 Km of Head Race Tunnel is also complete.

REC and PTC are among the big lenders to the project while a consortium of six PE players led by Morgan Stanley have pumped in Rs 750 crores signaling the FDI into country’s hydro power projects.

This was considered to be the largest PE transaction in the country’s power sector. Besides Morgan Stanley, the group of investors includes Everstone Capital, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs Investment Management and Norwest Venture Partners.

Experts say Sikkim sets the new trend for developing hydro-power projects as the country is blessed with bounty of rivers flowing from Himalayan glaciers during summer when the power consumption is at its peak. Development of hydro power projects along the Himalayan river course, thus, could be a win-win situation for the people and the governments.

Leading analyst Mr. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, MD and CEO of Destimony Securities, said: “With potential FDI availability, including possible World Bank support, many similar projects can be successfully established along the Himalayan rivers.”

Mr. Nilesh H Karani, Head of Research at Magnum Equity Broking, pointed out: “Himalayan glaciers melt in summer and the rivers supply adequate water for hydel projects in the region. Teesta stands out as good example of harnessing the hydro power.”

Mr Bandyopadhyay explained that “Hydro-electricity is one of the leading sources of clean energy. For an energy starved nation like India which has been blessed with enough rivers, the potential of generating hydro-electricity in a cost effective manner is significant.

“At present with only 40% of Hydro power potential being tapped, India as a country has a huge scope of exponentially increasing hydel power capacity and reducing pollution through this clean and green power,” he pointed out. Power produced to be transmitted till Kishenganj through 400 KV DC line to be constructed by Teesta valley Power Transmission, a JV between Teesta Urja Ltd and Power grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). PGCIL is to wheel the power to the beneficiary states in the northern region beyond Kishenganj.

A World Bank report notes that severe power shortage is one of the greatest obstacles to India’s development. Over 40 percent of the people -- most living in the rural areas -- do not have access to electricity and one-third of Indian businesses cite expensive and unreliable power as one of their main business constraints, it says.

Poor electricity supply thus stifles economic growth by increasing the costs of doing business in India, reducing productivity, and hampering the development of industry and commerce which are the major creators of employment in the country, it says.

Power sector analysts say hydro power projects are zero pollutant, as compared to thermal projects which reportedly contribute to half of global carbon emissions and India relies on thermal power to the extent of 60% of its consumption today. Even the cost of raw material – water – is nil.

The government admits India’s failure to tap hydel power. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Power Mr K.C. Venugopal said out of the identified capacity, 33320.8 MW i.e. 22.93% has so far been developed and another 15130 MW i.e.10.41% of is under development. He said that about 66.66% of the identified potential is yet to be developed.

Experts say increasing hydro power generation capacity would help in strengthening India's energy security. "Given India's tight domestic coal supply and increasing reliance on imported coal, hydro capacity provides the country with greater energy security.”

As per a recent HSBC Global Research Paper, the hydro power situation of the country can be termed as Water Gold !


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1010238#ixzz2KCDtrxdT

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1010238#ixzz2KCDmUmHO

ITBP unhappy about slow road construction along China border

Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) understands very well that strategically how important is it for India to construct road along China border. But ITBP is unhappy about the slow pace of the road construction in Sikkim and Uttarakhand.

In Sikkim, the progress is about 30% in the case of Dombang to Gorala Road while it’s 25% on Giagang-Kerang Road stretch. The progress is worst on the Thangu-Muguthang stretch at 5%.

Sources said that the ITBP is unhappy with the poor progress on the new stretches that are being constructed by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in these two states and there are chances that the border police would prefer not to give any such work to the agency in future.

Government had launched the programme to build 27 link roads totaling 804 km in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs 1,937 crore and the works were originally targeted to be completed by this March end.

While CPWD has got eight projects, Border Roads Organization (BRO) is involved in 15 projects. National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) has two roads and Himachal PWD has another two roads. ITBP sources said that while the total progress of construction in the case of CPWD is about 40% and bitumen laying work is yet to start; two projects by NPCC covering almost 145 km in Jammu and Kashmir are 91% complete.

CPWD officials said they have tough terrains to work both in Uttarakhand and Sikkim which are located at altitude as high as 17,500 ft. For example the Siagang to Kerang road is perhaps the stretch that passes through country’s second highest altitude. Officially, the Khardung La (Khardung Pass) in Leh is a motorable road at the highest altitude.

“We are constructing roads facing major climatic constraints. Moving man and machinery is very difficult and you have short period to carry out construction,” said a source. Officials said that they are using the granular sub base or inverted choke design to build these roads. This design ensures drainage of all water that accumulates on the surface or passes through layers. “If the water is not drained out quickly, then there is fear of the water becoming ice. Any such formation below the bituminous stretch causes early damage of the road,” said an engineer involved in such projects.

Constructing these stretches are crucial for supply of food and other essential items for the ITBP forces deployed along the border. As present animals are used to transport

http://isikkim.com/2013-01-itbp-unhappy-about-slow-road-construction-along-china-border-25-08/

Sikkim airport may go on stream by 2014-end



By the end of 2014, flying to the Himalayan State of Sikkim will be a reality.

The upcoming Sikkim airport is likely to be operational by then , a senior Airports Authority of India official said.

The Rs 310-crore project is being developed by Punj Lloyd at Pakyong, 30 km south of Gangtok and located in the eastern part of the State. The airport will be spread over 197.72 hectares .

“Construction work is on for the last two years. We expect the airport to be operational by the end of 2014,” the official told Business Line.

According to him, the project has been “quite challenging” as it requires construction of slopes in a hilly terrain. The difficult topography and hostile weather also restrict work to only 125 days in a year, he added.

Located at an altitude of 4,700 ft and flanked by deep valleys on both ends of the runway, the airport would rank one among the five highest airports in India, according to Punj Lloyd.

The project was slated to be completed by December last year. Sikkim Tourism Minister Bhim Prasad Dhungel had last week said the airport would boost the growth of tourism in the State.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/sikkim-airport-may-go-on-stream-by-2014end/article4326239.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy