Reforms have benefited Sikkim, says CM

Jump in State GDP, drop in poverty level

Sarikah Atreya

Gangtok, Jan 27. Sikkim 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.