Kohima, May 31 (MExN): The Tseminyu Block VDBs comprising of 30 members are home after an 11-days study tour to Darjeeling, Sikkim. The team was led by BDO Hanenmo Semy and VDB association officials.
The Panchayat Director, Government of Sikkim along with his officers warmly welcomed the team and provided all the necessary arrangements during our stay, a release received here said.
The release described the people of Sikkim as “well discipline, polite, gentle, friendly and ready to help stranger.” Sikkim is endowed with natural beauty-covering of mountains, rivers, thick forest with beautiful wild life sanctuararies, bordering with China, West Bengal, Nepal, Bhutan and one of the most attractive tourist spots in India.
The team interacted with the Gram Panchayat of Ranka Block, Lindung Block of Gangtok district, District Development Officer (DDO) staff at Namchi district, SIRD staff at Joreethan.
During discussion hour, “we came to know that the Government of Sikkim is spending 70 per cent of total allocation to the rural development programme, besides, the government use to allocate Rs. 10 lakh to each Gram Panchayat per annum and all the department use to deduct 5 per cent amount of total allocation to rural development programmes.
The main crops of Sikkim are tea, cardamom, maize, rice, ginger etc. Sikkim is the second largest producer of cardamom in India. Every year the average harvest of cardamom producer families alone earn about Rs. 2 lakh.
Though Sikkim is one of the smallest states in India and a highly hilly region, they preserve big areas of reserved forest in all the places and is also declared as an organic state, the release observed.
"As we compare to Sikkim we have highly potential and fertile land which God has given to us. But still we did not do our best with sweat yet we take it easy going, easy money" the release regretted.
The release appealed to the state government that the people of rural areas where 70 per cent of the population are bucolic small development funds through RD department “cannot fulfill the dreams of s developed state.” It viewed that proper fund allocation should be given to rural areas development programme on the basis of population.
Also, all the committees of communitisation programme should be rooted through VDB only and not like current system of communitisation programmes.
It also viewed that the VDBs should properly utilize them as per programme according to technical standard in order to bring quality of working systems as well as to maintain transparency.
Meanwhile, the Tseminyu Block VDB Association thanked the state government, especially Director RD, Additional Director PD for allowing them to visit Sikkim officially.
The Association also expressed gratitude to Parliamentary Secretary R Khing for his encouragement, and donating Rs 10, 000 and Additional Director KG Himb for donating Rs. 5000.
It also acknowledged Peter Seb, DSO, Dimapur and Thansi, Deputy Director Soil for making all the necessary arrangement for their comfortable stay at Gangtok. It also thanked the Government of Sikkim for their hospitality.
