PROPOSALS UNDER 11TH. FIVE YEAR PLAN (2007-12)

HOUSING SECTOR :

After Sikkim merged with the Indian Union in 1975, the concept of Plan development underwent a radical change which resulted in a tremendous spurt in the development activities. The rapid development and socio-economic change coupled with de-centralization of administration to the districts and sub-division level, the need for immediate establishment of administrative centers at the districts and sub-division level was inevitable. As per government notification eight sub-divisions were created by splitting the forth districts. Thus the development of infrastructural facilities at all the sub-divisions was given equal priority in the sectors covering socio-economic services etc. The Sikkim Public Works (Buildings & Housing) Department which is solely responsible for the construction of Residential and Non-Residential buildings of the government throughout the state could construct large number of residential quarters at various districts till 10th Plan period. Keeping in view the overall number of government employees posted at Gangtok and district and sub-division headquarters, the housing facilities for the government servants is still inadequate and therefore emphasis is to be given in the 11th Plan to provide more number of quarters for the employees at Gangtok, District Headquarter, Sub-Divisional Levels and other places.
Housing is a state subject and it is an integral part of our policy of improvement of human settlements and economic development. Accordingly government has given more emphasis in providing residential accommodations to government servants. The main idea behind this is to improve the housing conditions of the inadequately housed and to provide a minimum level of basic services and amenities to all.
It further emphasises new construction and up-gradation and housing for rental purposes. Those government servants who are provided with residential quarters are liable to pay house rent and lease charge which is deducted from their salary every month resulting collection of government revenue.
Keeping in view the above an outlay of Rs. __4159.07__ lakhs is proposed under housing sector which includes the spill over liabilities on account of the ongoing scheme taken up during the 10th Plan period.

Tenth Plan 2002-2007- A review.

During 10th Five Year Plan an outlay of Rs. 2500.00 lakhs had been agreed under Housing with which it was targeted to construct 336 numbers of residential quarters of various categories. During 10th Plan the Department constructed 9 units of Cl-I, 11 units of Cl-II and 14 units of Cl-III and 62 units of Cl-IV quarters all over the State including Raj Bhavan and judiciary. Works related to the construction of these quarters such as land acquisition, site development, approach road, jhora training, boundary fencing, drainage works were also taken up. Besides construction of these quarters, the Department undertook special repairs, addition/alteration of existing staff quarters in all four districts, renovation of Ministers’ bungalows, Mintogang etc. as well as restoration of monsoon damages by providing retaining walls. The Department also replaced old furniture with new sets in the existing staff quarters and VIP bungalows.

With the increase of population and for better administration, different Administrative Departments have been created and as a result of which number of employees have increased. The present accommodation facility in different districts, sub-divisions and blocks is not sufficient to meet the demand.

Continuing project under Housing

1. Construction of Staff qtrs. at SDM Complex at Rongli.

Keeping in view further requirement of residential accommodation for Government servants, more no. of quarters have been proposed in the 11th Plan for which provision of Rs. __4159.07__ lakhs has been kept for the Housing Sector. The scheme-wise details are summarized below : -

4216- Capital Outlay on Housing
01 – Government Residential Buildings.
01.106- General Pool Accommodation.
60 – Construction (PWD).

4216 - HOUSING SECTOR

60.45.71 – Staff quarters at Gangtok.
Proposed Plan Outlay -                                                                               Rs. 555.00 lakhs

A number of new projects have been proposed for taking them during the 11th Plan period. The major projects proposed are construction of 6 units Cl-1 and 4 units Class-II qtrs. at Development Area, Construction of qtrs. for District Collector and SP (East) and construction of 12 units Class-III qtrs. at Development Area and Syari.

60.00.72- Quarters at Other Districts.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                   Rs. 730.00 lakhs

The district headquarter namely Mangan, Gyalshing & Namchi are still facing shortage of residential accommodation for the government employees. Although it is very difficult to fulfill the entire demand during 11th Plan period efforts will be made to construct some quarters during the 11th Plan. It is proposed to construct 4 units Cl-I qtrs., 8 units Cl-III qtrs., officers hostel at Rabdentse, Staff qtrs. at at Mangan and Namchi and Cl-I Single unit for District Collector (North) at Mangan.

60.00.73- Qtrs. at Sub-Divisional Level.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                               Rs. 416.07 lakhs

The proposal is to construct staff qtrs. at Soreng and Ravangla. It is also proposed to complete the spill over works of staff quarters at SDM complex at Rongli taken up during the 10th Plan.

60.45.74- Quarters at other places.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 700.00 lakhs.

There will be requirement of large no. of residential quarters for the staff and officers to be posted in the Regional Administrative Center, Karfectar. A provision of Rs. 700.00 lakhs is proposed during 11th Plan to construct such quarters at Karfectar and Chisopani, South Sikkim.

60.45.75- Quarters for Ministers.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 500.00 lakhs

A provision of Rs. 500.00 lakhs has been kept for additions/alteration/extension of the existing VIPs bungalows as per need during the 11th Plan period.

60.00.76- Additions/Alteration/Renovation of Quarters.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                      Rs. 400.00 lakhs

Requirement of fund for the purpose of renovation and repair of existing residential bldgs. in the state had been felt during the 10th Plan period due to provision of meager amount under Non-plan budget for maintenance and repairs. A great number of quarters are in dilapidated condition and needs major repairs and renovation.

Although it is not possible to cater to all the demands for repairs under 11th Plan allocation, good number of these quarters would be repaired and renovated which will add to the value of the assets and also ease up the inconvenience faced by the employees of the state

60.45.77- Quarters for M.L.As.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                   Rs. 858.00 lakhs

Construction of 12 units of Duplex apartments in multi storied buildings (Vidhayak Awas) has been proposed under the 11th Plan period to provide residential accommodation for the MLAs in the State capital, Gangtok.

PUBLIC WORKS SECTOR “4059”

With the rapid development activities and change of socio-economic policy of the Government thereby bringing about de-centralization of administration, the need for establishment and augmentation of administrative centre in the districts and sub-

divisions is inevitable. After the creation of 8 sub-divisions in addition to the districts, the development of infrastructural facilities at all sub-divisions was given higher priority.
The Sikkim Public Works (Buildings & Housing) Department is solely responsible for the construction of Non-Residential accommodations under Public Works. A great emphasis was given in the 10th Plan period to bring administration closer to the people by way of de-centralization of the administrative structure to village level. For this purpose the basic infrastructure viz. the office buildings in an around Gangtok and in the districts and sub-divisions have been covered.
Hence, the thrust area under Public Works Department is construction of office buildings in district Headquarter, Sub-Division Level and at Gangtok. An outlay of Rs. 28215.42 has been proposed in the 11th Plan for the purpose as well as to complete the ongoing projects spilled over from 10th Plan.

Physical achievement during 10th Plan period under Public Works- Major Head –“4059”.

1. District Administrative Centre at Namchi.
2. Circuit House at Gangtok.
3. Chintan Bhawan (Convention all and Banquet Hall)
4. Samman Bhawan
5. Guest House at Karfectar
6. Display Centre for Handloom and Handicraft at Rangpo.
7. Security Check Post at Rangpo
8. Entrance gate for Raj Bhawan at Zero Point.
9. Renovation of Varshey Guest House.
10. Ashirwad Bhawan at Raj Bhawan Complex.
11. Construction of Chain Link boundary fencing around Raj Bhawan compound.
12. Construction of Toilet block for ITBPF at Raj Bhawan
13. Extension and Renovation of Ministers office at Tashiling.
14. High Court Building at Gangtok Phase-I
15. Chogyal P.T Namgyal Park.

Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                            Rs. 700.00 lakhs.

An outlay of Rs. 700.00 lakhs has been proposed for meeting up the administrative expenses of the department, strengthening of the materials testing laboratory and planning & research activities, training to the office personnel.

4059- Capital Outlay on Public Works.
01- Office Buildings
60- Other Buildings.
60.051- Construction
03- Buildings & Housing Department.

(ii) 03.45.71- Secretariat at Gangtok

Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 50.00 lakhs

A sum of Rs. 50.00 lakhs has been proposed for renovation alteration and additions in the Tashiling Secretariat Building on account of changes in the administrative set up

(iii) 03.45.72- Other Office Complex Gangtok
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                   Rs. 9000.00 lakhs
Secretariat Building Annexe

The present State Secretariat complex comprises of four separate buildings where the offices of Chief Minister and other Ministers, Chief Secretary and senior Secretaries of few Departments such as DPER & NEC Affairs, DPART, Land Revenue, Home and Finance & Revenue Expd., Cultural Affairs & heritage, Health Care, Human services and Family welfare Department, Bank, Post office, staff canteen are located. Due to shortage of space, many departments are running in rented premises some of them located quite far away from the main secretariat thus creating difficulty in co-ordination. There is also acute problem of parking of vehicles as the existing car park has proved very inadequate. With the opening of Nathula Trade route, the need for a proper and dignified State Secretariat has been felt more and more. It was therefore felt necessary to construct an annexe building to accommodate the offices of Chief Minister, Ministers, Chief Secretary and few other Secretaries with their connected officers and staff and shift the Departments running in private premises to the secretariat complex. The annexe building will have a total built up area of 162142 Sq.ft. and will have car park for about 250 vehicles in the basement floor. The annexe building will also have provision for Cabinet room, Conference room, visitors’ lounge, computer rooms along with facilities like covered car parking for VIPs., Bank, post office, canteen, V-sat centre, Electrical sub-station etc. etc. The cost of the project arrived at adopting two bid system is Rs. 90.00 crore. The construction will commence once fund is arranged.

(iv) 03.00.73- Office Complex at District Headquarter
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 376.77 lakhs

With the implementation of plan development programme in all the districts more and more physical infrastructure are required for administrative purpose. Accordingly it is proposed to construct D.A.C Annexe Building at Gyalshing, the West District HQ and extension of D.A.C at Mangan, the North District HQ. The provision also take care of spill over liabilities of construction of DAC extension at Namchi, the South District HQ. taken up duriong10th Plan.

(V) 03.00.74- Office Complex at Sub-Division Level.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 680.24 lakhs

The administrative infrastructures at Sub-Division Level have been completed but with decentralization of administration, the need for immediate upgradation of infrastructure in the Sub-Division Level is very much felt. It is proposed to provide extension of Sub-Divisional Magistrate office at Ravongla and Pakyong. The above provision also takes care of spill over liabilities for the ongoing works of 10th Five Year Plan projects viz. Extension of SDM Complex at Rongli & Soreng.

(VI) 03.45.75- Office Complex for P.W.D
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                   Rs. 300.00 lakhs

The Nirman Bhavan complex where Works Departments like Roads & Bridges, Buildings & Housing and PHE are located is facing acute shortage of office space and parking area for vehicles due to expansion of the Departments and addition of Irrigation and Flood Control Department in the same premises. The present proposal
of Rs. 300.00 lakhs is for construction of Annexure Building for Nirman Bhawan, with adequate Car parking facilities.

(VII) 03.45.76- Office Complex for Judicial Administration(State Share)
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                   Rs. 500.00 lakhs

The physical infrastructure required for the judiciary is in the process of development. Fund required for creation of such infrastructure is borne by the State and Central on 50:50% basis. The Central Government has so far released Rs. 1016.32 lakhs since the year 1994-95 till 2006-07 and the State has allocated Rs. 724.40 lakhs for the same period. During 10th Plan the Central Government has released Rs. 606.52 lakhs out of which Rs. 506.52 lakhs has been allocated in the budget. For State Share an allocation of Rs. 350.00 lakhs has been made during the 10th Plan. The infrastructure created so fare consists of High Court Building Phase-I, Courts and residential complex for district and session Judges, Chief Judicial Magistrates and Civil Judge-Cum-Judicial Magistrates at Namchi, South Sikkim, acquisition of land and construction of residential complex for Judiciary at Sichey, Gangtok which is under construction at present.
The proposed outlay of Rs. 500.00 lakhs as State Share in the 11th Plan will provide fund for development of infrastructure for Judiciary all over the state as envisaged in the 10th Year perspective plan.

(VIII) 03.00.77- Additions/Alteration/Renovation of Office Buildings.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                    Rs. 50.00 lakhs

Various office buildings in the capital as well as district and sub-divisional head quarters require renovation, repairs as well as alteration as per need of the users of the office space. Such renovation and refurbishing will add value to these assets and is expected to increase efficiency in performance. Since it would not be possible to renovate all office buildings at a time, it is being done in phase-wise manner.

(IX) 03.45.71- Construction of Raj Bhawan Annexe.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                  Rs. 1855.87 lakhs

A. Construction of new Raj Bhavan
The present Raj Bhavan built in 1890 has been damaged by major earthquake on various occasions, the latest one being the earthquake on 14th February 2006 which has rendered the building unsafe to live in. The State Government has therefore decided to construct a new Raj Bhavan in the vicinity. The old structure will be conserved as a heritage building. The new Raj Bhavan will have total built up area of 26825 Sq.ft. and it will cost Rs. 15.15 crore. The Vice President of India recently laid the foundation stone for the new Raj Bhavan on 19th August 2006. The construction will commence as soon as fund is made available.

B. There are various works commenced during 10th Plan period for development of infrastructure for Raj Bhavan such as construction of 16 units Cl-III quarters, works taken up to set up camp Raj Bhavan at Circuit House which are continuing and spilled over to 11th Plan.

(X) 03.00.78- Other Buildings.
Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                               Rs. 14402.54 lakhs.

Additional infrastructure like construction of State Convention Centre at Gangtok office complex for Sikkim Public Service Commission, Election Department, IPR Department, Social Welfare Department near AIR Station at Gangtok, Construction of Circuit House at Namchi are proposed. In addition to above, other ongoing schemes of 10th Five Year Plan are also being taken up viz. Construction of Multipurpose-cum-Gymnasium Hall for Sikkim Armed Police at Pangthang, Sherpa Community Centre at Okherey, View Tower at Pelling (West Sikkim), Regional Administrative Centre at Jorethang, Guest House at Kolkata. The fund provided above would also take care of this spill over works.

(XI) 03.45.79- Strengthening and Renovation of Assembly Building including Acoustics System (Extension of building).

Proposed Plan Outlay                                                                                 Rs. 300.00 lakhs

The present S.L.A building at Gangtok has proved in inadequate and inconvenient for the function of the House due to lack of enough and proper rooms for various VIPs, such as Leader of the House, Chairman of various Committees, opposition leaders etc. The toilets also need up-gradation and renovation. It has therefore been proposed to extend the Assembly building in such a way that enough space is created for all, the corridors are made wider and convenient, entry to the Speaker’s dais is made direct and short instead of the present circuitous passage way. Underneath the extended portion, the driveway will be maintained and the existing parking facility also gets enhanced. The work will cost approximately Rs. 180.00 lakhs.
It is also proposed to add annexe block to the present MLA hostel to accommodate more visiting MLAs from other States. Altogether 5 new suites will be added along with a convention cum meeting rooms, recreation room etc. The project will cost approximately Rs. 120.00 lakhs.

District Plan

As already stated, the Buildings & Housing Department is responsible for construction of non-residential buildings for office purpose of Government Departments as well as residential buildings for quarters for government employees in the state capital Gangtok and district and sub-divisional head quarters as per requirement of State Government and availability of fund. Panchayat level planning is not required to be done, because of the fact that Panchayat cannot assess the requirement as well as take a decision in the matter. However, suggestion of district planning committee is taken in formulating the plan proposals of the department. That is why the proposals in the district plans invariably find place in the department’s plan proposal. The district wise proposals for the 11th Plan and Annual Plan for 2007-08 for both Housing and Public Works Sectors are indicated in GN Statement B(Part-I)

Tribal Sub Plan.

The Buildings & Housing Department undertakes construction of non-residential buildings for the office accommodation of various government departments and residential quarters for accommodation for government employees in general. The department does not construct office buildings for any specific tribe, cast or community. Similarly, the government quarters are also not constructed for employees of any particular tribe, cast or community. As such, the proposal of the department for 11th Plan and Annual Plan cannot be categorized as tribal sub plan or schedule caste sub plan in the strict sense. However, for the purpose of showing components of TSP and SCSP in the department’s plan documents, the plan proposals in the tribal or reserved constituencies have been treated as schemes or projects for the benefit of the tribals.
The annexure VI-A and VI B gives the components of STP worked out on the basis of above assumption.

                                                                                   Principal Chief Engineer cum Secretary
                                                                                Buildings & Housing Department
                                                                           Government of Sikkim
                                                                         Gangtok.