The Hindu Business Line : Reforms have benefited Sikkim, says CM

Gangtok, Jan 27Sikkim Chief Minister Mr Pawan Chamling has said that the reforms movement initiated by his Government after it came to power in 1994 has started to bear fruit. He said this while interacting with bureaucrats in Gangtok recently.

“When my government decided to launch new programmes after coming to power in 1994, the State had drastically deviated from past strategies and instruments of development. This coupled with under-development and a low-growth scenario, serious economic crises and political instability made the problem more difficult for us,” Mr Chamling said.

The major task was to sensitise the people of the State to the need for such a reformation, Mr Chamling said. “Ours has been a society that has very strong roots in traditional institutions and practices. More seriously, I had to make consistent efforts to convince our people about both the short- and long-term benefits brought about by such reforms and liberalisation. We initially had a tough time both because people had become too dependent on the government for employment and other services and because a strong mindset of lethargy and status quo had already been established among members of the political community and bureaucratic fraternity,” he said.

Growth rate

The State has since made great strides on the economic development front. “We have moved far ahead. The growth rate has been relatively much higher than the national average. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the State increased from Rs 403 crore in 1993-94 to Rs 1,717 crore in 2005-2006. This means the gross state domestic product has increased 4.2-fold after our government took over. During the last four years of the 10th Plan (2002/03-2005/06), the State GDP has grown over 13 per cent per annum at current prices. If this is maintained, Sikkim will for the first time achieve a two-digit growth rate,” Mr Chamling said.

“The per capita gross domestic product recorded over three-fold increase from a mere Rs 8,457 in 1993-94 to Rs 29,808 in 2005-06. This means Sikkim recorded a 3.5-fold increase in the per-capita income of each Sikkimese after our government took over. Among the 28 States and seven union territories in the country Sikkim has the fifth-highest growth rate in per capita income and 14th-highest per capita income. The latest report of the Reserve Bank of India on the State Finances — a study of Budget 2006-07 — mentions that Sikkim is the State which devotes the highest share of 31.3 per cent of its budget to the social sector,” he said.

Plan allocations have recorded significant jumps from Rs 216.67 crore in the 7th Plan (1985-90) to Rs 1,655.74 crore in the 10th Plan (2002-2007). The structural shift in the Sikkimese economy has been remarkable with tertiary (services) sector contributing the largest share (54 per cent) to the State Domestic Income. “This is a very healthy trend and shows that the State is fast moving from a ‘developing’ to ‘developed’ State,” he said.

The percentage of population below poverty line has gone down steadily after recording a sharp jump in 1993-94. “I further expect it to go down towards the end of 10th Plan in 2006-07 for which data is awaited. As per the preliminary findings of the State’s Socio-Economic Census 2005, the percentage of households below poverty line has gone down drastically to 19.2 per cent,” Mr Chamling added.

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