Introduction to Development Indicators Department-wise Development Indicators Financial Allocations 2002-03 Onwards

Special Category States

Eleven States in the Indian Union are categorised as Special Category States and given favoured treatment in respect of plan financing and financial devolutions. They are the seven States in the North East - viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura - Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim. A number of them were created for considerations other than financial viability. Some of them formed parts of former Assam as just one or two districts. All of them have the common characteristics of hilly and difficult terrain and very low level of infrastructural development. Most of them have significant tribal population. Almost all of them are border States with considerable international borders.
The Special Category States together accounts for just over 5 per cent of the population of the country. However, according to the Gadgil formula for devolution of Central assistance for States plan as approved by the National Development Council, 30 per cent of the total funds is earmarked for Special Category States. Further, as against the composition of Central assistance of 30 per cent grant and 70 per cent loan for major States (characterised as non-special category States), special category States receive 90 per cent plan assistance as grant and just 10 per cent as loan. Similar favoured treatment is received by the special category States in the hands of the Finance Commission in respect of devolution of Central tax revenues. High levels of devolution by the Planning Commission and the Finance Commission compensate for the very fragile own revenue basis of these States.
Table below presents the important financial indicators of special category Sates. As a reference point the all States average of each of the indicator is also included in the table. Column 2 presents the per capita net domestic products of the States at current prices for 1995-96, the year for which latest data are available. It is clear that special category States are, by and large, poor States with relatively low per capita incomes. Only Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have average NSDP higher than all States average, that too only marginally higher. Tripura is the second poorest State in the country, after Bihar, in terms of per capita income.
The various revenue receipts of the Special Category States are presented in columns 3 to 7 of Table below. Column 3 presents the per capita own tax revenues. They vary from as low as Rs.77 in Mizoram to Rs.620 in Himachal Pradesh. All of them are below the all-States average of Rs.686, though Himachal Pradesh comes quite close. Some of these States do not even impose sales tax which is the principal source of own tax revenues in other States. Their logic is that due to transport and communication bottlenecks the prices are generally 25 to 50 per cent higher there as compared to the rest of the country and they do not want to overburden the consumers by further raising the prices by imposing sales tax.

S. No.	State	Per capita net domestic product at current prices for 1995-96 (in Rs.)	Own tax revenues	Own nontax revenues	Tax devolution	Central Grants	Total	Developmental exp. as a % of total exp. in 1995-96	Capital exp. as a % of revenue exp. in 1995-96	Per capita outlay realised in the Eight Plan at 1991-92 prices
1.	Arunachal Pradesh	10205	82	866	1331	5774	8053	72.1	36.2	14936
2.	Assam	6288	291	139	378	590	1398	65.6	11.4	836
3.	Himachal Pradesh	8747	620	213	726	1624	3183	67.1	17.2	4408
4.	Jammu and Kashmir	6181	347	192	783	2644	3966	62.2	23.3	2959
5.	Manipur	6914	140	229	835	2278	3483	66.1	22.4	4476
6.	Meghalaya	7862	345	349	832	2038	3564	67.9	21.6	3960
7.	Mizoram	9570	77	614	1656	6052	8399	70.8	19.5	9518
8.	Nagaland	9758	158	260	1511	4020	5949	60	17.1	4692
9.	Sikkim	9472	471	789	1174	5502	7936	74.5	26.1	10932
10.	Tripura	5083	161	129	766	2088	3144	67.9	19.1	3183
11.	All States	9725	686	254	323	232	1494	61.5	15.2	1619

Own non-tax revenues given in column 4 indicate that they vary from as low as Rs.129 per capita in Tripura to as much as Rs.866 in Arunachal Pradesh. The high level of non-tax revenues in States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya are on account of sizeable revenues from forestry. However, the recent Supreme Court mediated regulation of felling trees has created sizeable dent into this source of non-tax revenues. The high level of per capita non-tax revenue of Sikkim is partly explained in terms of the sizeable net revenue from lottery accruing to that State. With restrictions on lottery sales, this amount is likely to come down. On the whole own non-tax revenues of special category States are comparable to those of the major States.
Finance Commission-mediated tax revenue devolution is given, State-wise, in column 5. They vary from Rs.378 per capita for Assam to Rs.1656 per capita for Mizoram. Obviously the per capita tax revenue devolution for all the special category States exceeds the all States average of Rs.323 per capita. Indeed, three of them viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland receive more than four times the per capita average for all States and Sikkim receives more than three times.
Per capita grants from the Centre is given in column 6. It is clear that these are far in excess of the all States average of Rs.232 per capita. The principal reason for the very high level of Central grants to special category States is the fact that 90 per cent of the Central assistance for their State plans are in the form of grants and they together receive 30 per cent of the Central assistance though their share of the total population is just about 5 per cent of the total. Even the lowest per capita grant for Assam of Rs.590 is more than double the all States average. Grants per capita of States like Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are more than 20 times the all States average.
The total per capita revenue receipts of special category States are presented in column 7. They vary from Rs.1398 for Assam to as much as Rs.8399 for Mizoram. All of them except that of Assam exceed significantly the all States average of Rs.1494. It is interesting to note that the revenue receipts per capita of a number of special category States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim are close to their per capita NSDPs. This implies that the size of the Governments in these States in terms of the purchasing power is comparable to the private sector especially in view of the fact that there are not any major corporates in these States.
Developmental expenditure as a percentage of revenue expenditure for special category States is presented in column 8. The share of developmental expenditure varies from 74.5 per cent in Sikkim to 60.0 per cent in Nagaland. Indeed, the only State with the share of developmental expenditure less than the all States average among special category States is Nagaland. Considering the fact that large quantum of plan assistance flows from the Centre to these States, high share of developmental expenditure is not surprising. Lower shares in States like Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir are on account of large scale diversion of plan funds for current non-developmental expenditure. Capital expenditure as a share of total expenditure of special category States is given in column 9 for different special category States. It is noteworthy that the share of capital expenditure in all special category States except Assam, is higher than the all States average. The share of capital expenditure is exceptionally high in Arunachal Pradesh and comparatively high in Sikkim. Considering the very low level of infra- structural developments in these States, the high share of capital expenditure is indicative of the right priorities.
Per capita plan outlays realised by the special category States during the Eighth Plan are presented in column 10. They vary from the low figure of Rs.836 for Assam to the very high figure of Rs.14936 in Arunachal Pradesh. Assam is the only State where the plan expenditure was less than the all States average and that too almost half that level. All other special category States had achieved significantly higher levels of outlay during the Eighth Five Year Plan. It is, however, important to note that Assam, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of the population of special category States had achieved very low level of plan outlay, pulling down the population weighted average plan outlay for special category States to a low level of Rs.2631 per capita.

Gadgil Formula

The Gadgil formula is due to D.R. Gadgil, the social scientist and the first critic of Indian Planning. It was evolved in 1969 for determining the allocation of central assistance for state plans in India. Gadgil formula was adopted for distribution of plan assistance during Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans.

The Gadgil formula was formulated with the formulation of the fourth five-year plan for the distribution of plan transfers amongst the states. It was named after the then deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Dr. D R Gadgil. The central assistance provided for in the first three plans and annual plans of 1966-1969 lacked objectivity in its formulation and did not lead to equal and balanced growth in the states.[2] The National Development Council (NDC) approved the following formula:

Special Category states like Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland were given preference. Their needs should first be met out of the total pool of Central assistance.
The remaining balance of the Central assistance should be distributed among the remaining States on the basis of the following criteria:
- 60 per cent on the basis of population;
- 10 per cent on the basis of tax effort, determined on the basis of individual State's per capita tax receipts as percentage of the State's per capita income;
- 10 per cent on the basis of per capita State income, assistance going only to States whose per capita incomes are below the national average;
- 10 per cent on the basis of spill-over into the Fourth Plan of major continuing irrigation and power projects;
- 10 per cent for special problems of individual States.

Reasoning behind the given weights:

Population

In a country like India population acts as an apt measure to represent the requirements of the people because a major portion of the population lives below the poverty line. This proposition was also supported by the empirical data which showed a negative correlation between population of states and their per capita income.
Tax effort

This is an important factor to measure the potential of the state as far as its own resources are concerned. This relative measure incentivizes the states to undertake measures to increase their own potential through various tax measures.
State per capita income

A problem regarding unequal development amongst the states was faced in the earlier plans because of larger states with their large plans were able to get a larger share of resources from the centre. This led to increased inequalities amongst the states. Therefore, to make the distribution fairer to the smaller states with a lesser than national per capita average income were given extra share in the resources.
Special Problems

This factor was introduced so as to provide enough resources to states to overcome problems like droughts, famines etc. In the absence of this share, such states would have suffered huge losses because of these problems and the implementation of their plans could have been hindered. This was a discretionary element in the formula which required proper scrutiny of the states situation by the Finance Commission.
Irrigation and power projects

These projects have been in the process of implementation before the fourth plan was formulated. They needed extra resources for the successful completion of these projects.

Modified Gadgil Formula

The formula was modified on the eve of the formulation of the Sixth Plan. The 10 percent indicator for ongoing power and irrigation projects was dropped and the share of per capita income was increased to 20 percent, to be distributed to those states whose per capita incomes were below the national average. The modified Gadgil formula continued for the Sixth and the Seventh Plans. Compared to the allocations in the Fourth and Fifth Plans, the allocations during the Sixth and the Seventh Plans show a definite shift in favour of the poorer states. All the low income states, except Tamil Nadu, received Plan assistance higher than the average income of the 14 states taken into consideration at the time. This can certainly be attributed to the higher weightage given to per capita income as per the modification. Per capita income serves as a suitable proxy for changes in the economy. If the states are ranked according to their per capita income as well as their per capita Plan assistance and the rank correlation coefficient is worked out, it should give a fair idea of the effectiveness of the modified Gadgil Formula in terms of progressivity. The rank correlation coefficients worked out for the four Plan periods are as follows:

Plan Period	Rank Correlation Coefficient
IV	(-)0.17
V	(-)0.04
VI	(-)0.66*
VII	(-)0.72**

Notes: *Significant at 5 percent level **Significant at 1 percent level

The low income states received better allocations during all the four Plan periods, as there is a negative correlation. However, for the Fourth and the Fifth Plans, the correlation coefficients are not significant, which shows that allocations in these periods were only marginally progressive. In the Sixth and the Seventh Plan periods, there was a marked improvement in the progressivity of Plan allocations, as can be deduced from the statistically significant correlation coefficients. Therefore, the modified Gadgil formula resulted in a more progressive distribution of Central Plan assistance.

In the period spanning the beginning of the Fourth Plan to the Seventh Plan, the dependence of the states on Central Plan Assistance for financing their Plan outlays has been declining for all states. Despite this trend, the low income states depended heavily on Central Plan assistance for funding their outlays, despite this assistance increasing considerably after the modification made to the Gadgil formula. Also, it has been seen that the states with a higher per capita outlay are usually the high income states. Therefore, unless the distribution of the Central Plan assistance is made sharply progressive, narrowing down of inter State differentials in per capita outlays will be impossible.

While Plan outlays have increased by over nine times, Central Plan assistance has increased only by half the amount from the Fourth to the Seventh Plan period. This is the reason for persistent interstate inequality. The Centre has resorted to funding states for the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, which form 80 percent of Plan Assistance. This has led to the sidelining of the states own Plan outlays. Due to the problem of increasing gaps between the assistance provided and outlay of the states, calls for further revision of the Gadgil Formula increased, which resulted in the next revision of the formula in 1990.

Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula

The National Development Council (NDC) meeting held in October 11, 1990; discussed and approved a New Revised formula. The new revised formula is popularly known as Gadgil-Mukherjee formula after the name of then deputy chairman of Planning commission and the current President of India Dr.Pranab Mukherjee. The new revised formula as approved by NDC is given in the following table. Criteria for inter-state allocation of Plan Assistance

Criteria	Weight (%)
Population	55
Per Capita Income	25
Fiscal Management	5
Special Problems	15
Total	100

Under the new revised formula, Population was given maximum weightage by considering it as most important factor for the allocation of central assistance, but in comparison with old Gadgil formula the weightage has been reduced by 5%.

The share of Per Capita Income has increased from 20% to 25%. Out of 25%, 20% will continue to be allocated on the principle of The Deviation method (The per capita state domestic product is calculated by taking an average of per capita state domestic product whose actual data are available, for the latest three years.) to those states whose per capita income is below the average national per capita income and the rest 5% will be allocated to all states on the principle of The Distance method (The distance of per capita income of each state from the state which has the highest per capita income is calculated, then these values are multiplied with the respective value of the population of each state. This was done to meet the objections like, less developed states were allocated less and given low weightage, also the states whose per capita income were slightly higher than the average national per capita income, were deprived of share under this particular criterion.

Fiscal management, as a new criterion has been introduced with 5% weightage by discarding the earlier Tax effort criterion which was given 10% weightage in old Gadgil formula. Fiscal management criterion is to be assessed on the basis of a states actual resource mobilization for its plan in comparison with the target agreed upon the Planning Commission. Therefore this criterion is considered to be more comprehensive for fiscal efficiency than The Tax effort criterion. The Fiscal Management was given only 5% weightage due to the danger arises from the manner in which it is defined. It can develop an unhealthy competition among the states to show their resources less at the time of preparing initial resource estimates.

The remaining 5% weightage of Tax effort has been given to The Special problems criterion due to which its weightage increased from 10% to 15%. The NDC has defined special problems under these seven heads:

Coastal areas
Flood and drought prone areas
Desert problems
Special environmental issues
Exceptionally sparse and densely populated areas
Problem of slums in urban areas
Special financial difficulties for achieving minimum reasonable plan size.

By comparing the new revised Gadgil formula with the old Gadgil formula as a whole, only 85% of the total central assistance has been distributed on the basis of four well defined criteria, whereas, in the old Gadgil formula these criteria were given 90% weightage.

Approved Normal Central Assistance (NCA) as per Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula for Special Category States

Sl. No.	STATES	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
SPECIAL CATEGORY STATES		Grants+Loans			Grants+Notional Loans									Grants (excluding Loans given)			Grants
1	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	492.07	534.87	588.36	647.20	698.98	768.86	845.75	969.48	1066.49	1142.87	1268.04	1369.48	442.86	481.38	529.52	582.48	629.08	691.98	761.18	872.53	959.84	1028.58	1141.24	1232.53
2	ASSAM	1212.37	1317.81	1449.59	1594.55	1722.11	1894.33	2083.76	2388.61	2627.63	2815.80	3124.21	3374.13	1091.13	1186.03	1304.63	1435.10	1549.90	1704.89	1875.38	2149.75	2364.87	2534.22	2811.79	3036.72
3	HIMACHAL PRADESH	599.44	651.58	716.74	788.34	851.41	936.63	1030.30	1181.03	1299.21	1392.26	1544.74	1668.31	539.50	586.42	645.07	709.51	766.27	842.97	927.27	1062.93	1169.29	1253.03	1390.27	1501.48
4	JAMMU & KASHMIR	1187.66	1290.96	1420.06	1562.06	1687.02	1855.73	2041.30	2339.94	2574.09	2758.43	3060.54	3305.38	1068.89	1161.86	1278.05	1405.85	1518.32	1670.16	1837.17	2105.95	2316.68	2482.59	2754.49	2974.84
5	MANIPUR	362.42	393.94	433.33	476.66	514.79	566.28	622.91	714.04	785.49	841.74	933.93	1008.64	326.18	354.55	390.00	428.99	463.31	509.65	560.62	642.64	706.94	757.57	840.54	907.78
6	MEGHALAYA	301.10	327.29	360.02	396.02	427.70	470.47	517.52	593.23	652.60	699.33	775.92	838.00	270.99	294.56	324.02	356.42	384.93	423.43	465.77	533.91	587.34	629.40	698.33	754.20
7	MIZORAM	346.93	377.10	414.81	456.29	492.79	542.07	596.28	683.52	751.91	805.76	894.01	965.53	312.24	339.39	373.33	410.66	443.51	487.87	536.65	615.16	676.72	725.18	804.61	868.98
8	NAGALAND	366.82	398.72	438.59	482.45	521.05	573.15	630.47	722.71	795.02	851.96	945.27	1020.89	330.14	358.85	394.73	434.21	468.95	515.84	567.42	650.44	715.52	766.76	850.74	918.80
9	SIKKIM	233.97	254.32	279.75	307.75	332.37	365.58	402.14	460.97	507.10	543.42	602.93	651.17	210.57	228.89	251.78	276.98	299.13	329.02	361.92	414.88	456.39	489.08	542.64	586.05
10	TRIPURA	510.95	555.39	610.93	672.93	726.76	799.44	879.38	1008.03	1108.90	1188.31	1318.47	1423.93	459.86	499.85	549.84	605.64	654.08	719.50	791.45	907.23	998.01	1069.48	1186.62	1281.54
11	UTTRANCHAL	591.80	643.27	707.60	778.60	840.89	924.69	1017.16	1165.97	1282.64	1374.50	1525.04	1647.03	532.62	578.94	636.84	700.74	756.80	832.22	915.44	1049.37	1154.38	1237.05	1372.54	1482.33
	Total (11 SCSs)	6205.53	6745.25	7419.78	8162.85	8815.87	9697.23	10666.97	12227.53	13451.09	14414.38	15993.12	17272.50	5584.98	6070.72	6677.81	7346.58	7934.28	8727.53	9600.27	11004.79	12105.98	12972.94	14393.81	15545.25

Financing 12h Year Plan

Sl. No.	Items	XII Plan (2012-17) Projections at 2011-12 Prices	Annual Plan 2012-2013 Estimated	Annual Plan 2013-2014 Estimated	Annual Plan 2014-2015 Estimated	Annual Plan 2015-2016 Estimated	Annual Plan 2016-2017 Estimated	Total
A.1.	State Government: State's own resources	-318.88	-354.43	-280.43	-51.07	105.85	288.75	-291.33
a.	BCR	-1550.73	-468.94	-411.94	-365.58	-290.66	-187.76	-1724.88
b.	MCR (excl. deductions for repayment of loans)	13.93	3.15	3.15	3.15	3.15	3.15	15.75
c.	Plan Grants from GoI (FC)	497.69	111.36	113.36	111.36	113.36	113.36	562.8
d.	ARM	720.23	0	15	200	280	360	855
e.	Adjustment of Opening Balance	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2.	State's Borrowing (net)	1033.73	201	197	226	259	296	1179
3.	Central assistance (a+b+c)	8589.28	1410.17	1626.49	1875.27	2237.65	2691.58	9841.16
a.	Normal Central assistance	3404.99	562.44	646.81	743.83	885.16	1062.19	3900.43
b.	ACA for EAP	737.91	121.89	140.17	161.2	191.83	230.19	845.27
c.	Others	4587.91	757.84	871.51	1002.24	1192.67	1431.2	5255.46
d.	Advance SPA	-141.53	-32	-32	-32	-32	-32	-160
	Total A: State Government Resources	9304.13	1256.74	1543.07	2050.2	2602.5	3276.33	10728.83
B.	Resources of Public Sector Enterprises	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
C.	Resources of Local Bodies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
D.	Aggregate Plan Resources (A+B+C)	9304.13	1256.74	1543.07	2050.2	2602.5	3276.33	10728.83

Financing 11th Year Plan

Sl. No.	Items	XI Plan (2007-12) Projections at 2006-07 Prices	Annual Plan 2007-08 Actual	Annual Plan 2008-09 Actual	Annual Plan 2009-10 Actual	Annual Plan 2010-11 Pre-Actual	Annual Plan 2011-12(AP)	Annual Plan 2011-12 (LE)	XI Plan (2007-12) Actual (2006-07 Prices)
A.1.	State Government: State's Own Resources	-1203.23	118.53	114.72	-136.33	-146.76	29.94	85.19	204.71
a.	BCR	-1756.7	54.94	-54.97	-418.78	-201.66	-184.56	-167.97	-595.1
b.	MCR (excl. deductions for repayment of loans)	8.79	0.74	2.43	2.61	15.72	3.37	64.23	61.75
c.	Plan Grants from GoI (FC)	124.31	2.85	52.85	42.84	6.18	108.29	108.29	213.01
d.	ARM	420.37	60	114.41	237	33	102.84	80.64	525.05
e.	Adjustment of Opening Balance	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2.	State's Borrowing (net)	2563.84	237.7	288.16	353.98	117.04	148	147.45	933.35
3.	Central Assistance (a+b+c)	3359.39	414.2	529.2	946.8	703.37	1222.06	1222.06	2962.37
a.	Normal Central Assistance	2380.32	301.6	349.18	396.85	424.27	489.08	489.08	1547.56
b.	ACA for EAP	187.49	7.85	1.95	0	1.94	105.99	105.99	85
c.	Others	791.58	104.75	178.07	229.95	309.16	658.99	658.99	1123.12
d.	Advanced SPA	-	-	-	320	-32	-32	-32	206.7
	Total A: State Government Resources	4720	770.43	932.08	1164.45	673.65	1400	1454.7	4100.43
B.	Resources of Public Sector Enterprises	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
C.	Resources of Local bodies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
D.	Aggregate Plan Resources (A+B+C)	4720	770.43	932.08	1164.45	673.65	1400	1454.7	4100.43

Mission Modes

The , conceptualized by the Honble Chief Minister way back in 2003, is no stranger to rest of India. Millions of Indian viewers were introduced to this ingenious flagship project of Government of Sikkim through Satyamev Jayate, a popular talk show hosted by Aamir Khan in 2012.
And Organic Mission of Sikkim remains a talking point in the world increasingly concerned about use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural products. The mission wants to convert Sikkim into a totally Organic State by 2015 whereby any agriculture produce from the State is grown using organic fertilizers and healthy for consumption.
Cuba would always been known as the first in the world to have adopted such large-scale organic farming. However, Cuba resorted to such farming practices as a compulsion due to longstanding trade embargo with other nations.
Sikkim voluntarily adopted to go organic under the guidance of the Honble Chief Minister. The State, thus, remains a foremost democratic model in the world on organic farming.
The process for bringing the total cultivatable land of 58,168 hectares under organic farming commenced at ground levels from 2010. Agencies accredited by Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority are certifying the organic process in Sikkim in three phases.
Organic produce of Sikkim, mostly vegetables, would not only fetch more value for the Sikkimese farmers but also offers multiple benefits to the State. Organic status is going to supplement the ecotourism of Sikkim, another visionary initiative of the Honble Chief Minister.
Tourism stakeholders of Sikkim are convinced that Organic Mission when connected with ecotourism would be a double attraction for tourists particularly at homestays. Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of Sikkim but also gain health benefits by consuming organic products. The value of Sikkim ecotourism is bound to enhance.
The Government of Sikkim stepped into Organic Mission process from 2003, the year when it stopped imports of chemical fertilizers in the State. Since then the cultivatable land in Sikkim are practically organic and also farmers of Sikkim are traditional users of organic manure.
Sikkim Organic retail stores have been started by Government of Sikkim in New Delhi and plans to open more in major cities of India to market the organic products of Sikkim

Government Mission:

Sikkim Organic Mission
Chief Ministers rural Housing Mission
Dairy Mission
Forestry and Environment Mission
Mission Healthy Sikkim
Social Security Mission
Sikkim Human Resource Development Mission
Co-operative Mission
Poverty Free Mission
Poultry Mission
Self Reliant Mission
Total Literacy Mission
Tourism Mission
Livestock Mission
Local Talents Promotion Mission
Water and Sanitation Mission
Village Development Mission
Total Connectivity Mission
Energy & Power Sector Mission
Economic Development Mission
Information Technology Mission
Sikkim Youth Empowerment & Self Reliant
Vision & Approach for Urban Development in Sikkim

Awards

The developments in various sectors all around the state have not gone unnoticed and the state has been recognized with various awards and recognition. Sikkim has received awards in various sector including the environment, tourism, education, health and information technology to name a few. The awards Sikkim has bagged is listed below:

Diamond State Award 2012 (IBN7)-to Chief Minister of Sikkim in best small State category and 3 others
India Today State of States Award 2012- to Chief Minister of Sikkim in the field of education
e-North East award 2012- Environment for Spring Conservation Project
National Level Painting Competition-Energy Conservation
Manav Seva Puraskar, 1994 - to Chief Minister of Sikkim for serving the people with dedication.
Bharat Shiromani Puraskar, 1997 to Chief Minister of Sikkim, in recognition of his endeavor to ensure Sikkim's emotional integration with the rest of the country.
Man of Dedication Award, 1999- to Chief Minister of Sikkim.
Sarwasrestha Paryawarna Badi Mukhayamantri, 1999-for working towards the preservation of the environment.
Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) 2003- to the Chief Minister in recognition of his work towards the development of Sikkim, its education, society and its women.
The Best Performing State in Education, 2004-05.
Skoch Challenger Award 2005, in recognition of commendable work done in the field of information Technology.
Hospitality IndiaAward, 2006.
Best State award for progress in primary health sector, its investment friendly environment and its positive budgetary trends, 2006, India Today Group New Delhi.
Sikkim Nationalised Transport awarded National Trophy for lowest accidents in hilly state category for two consecutive years. i.e. 2005-06 and 2006-07 by the Union Transport Ministry.
Sikkim becomes the first Nirmal Rajya in the country.
Fourth JRD Tata Memorial Award for Sikkim.
Highest award in Tourism for many consecutive years.
Sikkim was declared the best state among 12 Eastern States in the State of States Conclave organized by India Today.
The Highest Eco-Tourism Award to Sikkim.
National Tourism Award for the best tourism related programmes for the year 2007-08.
Sikkim awarded the best in Preserving National Resources and maintaining States environment.
Four India Today Awards in the small state category namely; the Best State in Education, Bharat Nirman Award in E-Governance, Bharat Nirman Award in Rural Electrification and Bharat Nirman Award in Rural Roads
National Award as best performing State in Tourism 2008.
Platinum award for Emerging Tourism State of 2008 by Todays Traveller.
IBN7 Diamond State Award for the best state in the small state category for Citizen Security and Justice.
International Ambassador of Peace Award, 2008 -to the Chief Minister of Sikkim
3rd position in best performing states in Panchayati Raj.
IBN7 Diamond State Award for Sikkim in Water and Sanitation category
Leadership and Good Governance Award, 2009 -to the Chief Minister of Sikkim
State Leadership Award 2009 in horticulture.
Best State for Adventure Tourism for the year 2009

Challenges

1. Challenges in the Twelfth Plan

Infrastructure: The Challenge of Connectivity: One of the biggest development challenges in the State is the lack of an infrastructural base. In the absence of air and rail networks to transport people and freight, Sikkim is dependent on its national and State highways and on access through neighbouring West Bengal for connectivity. With the limited size of the local market, the success of attracting investment from private firms depends crucially on good transportation networks and storage chains and on adequate power.

Inclusive Development - Accelerating Growth in the Primary Sector: The primary sector has to be given priority in the development process; around 75 per cent of the population lives in villages, so development is only possible with an improvement in agriculture and allied services.

Exploiting the Hydro-Power Base: Power is one of few sources of revenue for the State, and could help raise its rate of economic growth and attract private investment into industry which could provide much-needed employment opportunities for the working population.

Regulating Urban Development: The unregulated development and environmental degradation of towns in the State, especially the capital Gangtok, has emerged as a major concern. Haphazard growth has placed severe pressure on the citys amenities, and resulted in severe traffic congestion, pollution, the emergence of housing slums and overcrowding.

Rebuilding After the September 2011 Earthquake: The loss of lives, property and infrastructure after the recent earthquake was immense. With the help of the central government the State has launched rebuilding efforts; however, the scale of the loss and rebuilding required is placing an extra burden on the States exchequer, and on Twelfth Plan priorities.

The Sustainable Development Path - Environmental Considerations: One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that the development strategy is ecologically sustainable. In this mountain State, with its fragile terrain, all planning and activity has to be conducted with environmental considerations in mind.

2.Strategy in the Twelfth Plan

The underlying strategy for Sikkim for the Twelfth Plan would be economic development and greater self reliance by harnessing the States natural resources in a sustainable manner. Public participation will be promoted in all government initiatives to foster a sense of ownership among the people. Some of the measures proposed for major sectors during the plan are the following:

Transport infrastructure
Faster movement of people, goods and services is essential to provide impetus to economic activity. This requires strengthening transportation networks to interlink growth centres, promote tourism, and support economic and social needs.
Some of the proposed projects under the Twelfth Plan include constructing a two-lane National Highway as an alternate to NH 31A; providing two-lane connectivity from Gangtok to the upcoming greenfield airport at Pakyong and intermediate-lane connectivity to all upcoming marketing centres; strengthening all major district roads to intermediate lane and all bridges to higher carrying capacity; purchasing modern construction equipment and setting up well-equipped laboratories at Gangtok and Jorethang.
The Twelfth Plan period will also see the completion of spillover road construction projects from the last plan, which had been delayed for various reasons, and projects funded by other agencies such as the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in Northeast Region (SARDP-NE).

Agriculture and Allied Services
Given the importance of the primary sector for most of the population, a major objective would be to raise productivity in agriculture and its allied sectors to improve livelihoods for the large majority dependent on the sector, as well as to eventually make the State self-sufficient in these products. During the Twelfth Plan, farm productivity will be enhanced through of varieties suitable for organic farming and promote the production of orgnic seeds in the seed village programme. This plan period will also continue the work of the Sikkim Organic Mission launched in 2010-11, through an expansion of the area under organic certification, sensitising rural inhabitants to different aspects of the programme, and the provision of rural compost pits to make farms self-reliant in the production of manures.
In horticulture, steps will be taken to increase the area under cultivation of exotic fruit (kiwi and apple) and flowers (cymbidium orchids, roses, gerbera, lilium and alstroemeria) along with measures for the control of pests in Sikkims indigenous products oranges and large cardamom. Low-cost, hi-tech greenhouses will be constructed in farmers fields for the cultivation of vegetables and flowers, and irrigation will be expanded with the construction of community water tanks, roof and rain-water harvesting tanks, dug-out sunken ponds, etc.
As most of the rural population is involved in animal husbandry, and measures to increase production and marketing of the produce will include: improving the varieties of livestock, encouraging and supporting the large-scale, commercial production of livestock and poultry products, expanding the cultivation of varieties of feed and fodder, and strengthening and building infrastructure such as modern slaughterhouses, processing units, etc.

Irrigation
The target for coverage by minor irrigation during the Twelfth Plan period is 10,000 ha and under the command area development programme is 400 ha. Also, the increase in the number of schemes being handled by the department, and in the resultant survey and investigation work, has placed a strain on the available equipment and machinery, and these needs to be increased.

Forests
The density of tree cover in many areas of the State is very low, and has been adversely affected by the September 2011 earthquake. To increase the density of tree cover and tackle other issues in this sector during this plan, the department will continue the State Green Mission programme to increase involvement in volunteering for greening activities and the Jari Booti Kosh Scheme (Herbal Medicinal Fund) for the conservation of medicinal plant resources, among other ongoing schemes. It will also promote the scientific management of forests through greater application and use of GIS, remote sensing and other IT tools for day-to-day operations, such as monitoring and evaluation by connecting all check-posts and offices through a network and web-based system, a satellite-based forest-fire monitoring system, and recording the department activities on GPS for greater efficiency.
The department will also continue with implementing various other programmes such as the Endangered Species Recovery Programme for trees, survey and documentation of key biodiversity species of both animals and plants, soil and moisture conservation through the centrally sponsored Integrated Water Management Scheme (IWMS), treatment of landslides and soil and moisture conservation, the ten-year Sikkim Biodiversity Conservation and Forest Management Project, and forest management for those dependent on the forest for their livelihoods. Skill development and education
Skill development and education are top priorities to improve incomes, and the overall goal is to provide quality education in schools and eradicate illiteracy by 2015. In line with this, a major initiative during the Twelfth Plan will be to improve the quality of teaching-learning process through the Teacher Training Mission which has the goal of having a cadre of fully qualified teachers by 2015. For this, teacher training institutes in the State will be upgraded both in terms of faculty as well as infrastructure, and more such institutes set up to meet future demand. There will be a focus on improving computer education in the State with a suitable programme and special training of all teachers in computers. School infrastructure will be strengthened by providing a playground with galleries in all secondary schools and above; multipurpose halls in all schools; separate toilets for girls and boys, proper drinking water facilities; and child-friendly toilets for students with special needs.
At the higher education level, the Quality Mission for Higher and Technical Education has the objective of strengthening the Sikkim University, opening new polytechnics in remote areas, and encouraging the development of skill-based learning. To implement the Mission, the State plans to upgrade all government colleges to Institutes of Excellence, to introduce science degree courses in all colleges, and to open four model colleges.

Tourism
Tourism will continue to be promoted as it has become a fast-growing area with good employment and revenue-generation prospects. The goal is to make the State a year-round eco-tourism destination, targeting an annual 50 lakh tourist arrival during the Twelfth Plan. Several new tourism infrastructural scheme have been proposed for the Twelfth Plan including the development of a Buddhist tourism circuit in the State, constructing infrastructure around Pakyong airport, the statue of Ban Jhakri at Jhakri Dunga, skywalk at Bhalay Dhunga, development of the Phamroong waterfall with a ropeway facility and of a water park and picnic spot at Sumin Lingzey and Sikkip, and the provision of modern wayside amenities. Other programmes include the promotion and marketing of tourism, especially eco-tourism in the State. Some attention will also be given to the post-earthquake reconstruction of tourism properties and assets that were damaged.
The imminent opening of Pakyong Airport during the 12th Five Year Plan would provide a tremendous impetus to tourism in the State. The airport will be linked to Kolkata and Bagdogra airports, and to Paro airport in Bhutan.

Power
The generation of surplus power by tapping the States hydro-potential would lead to an improvement in socio-economic conditions, help attract private investment into industry, and generate revenue which would enable the State to define its own projects without having to tap the centre for funds. The Central Water Commission has assessed an 8,000 MW hydro-power potential in the State, but expected installed capacity by the end of the Twelfth Plan has had to be revised downward from 5,500 MW to 3,774.50 MW in keeping with ground realities. Revenue earnings from the sale of power have been estimated at Rs 454 crore by the end of the Twelfth Plan. Many of the existing power houses need repair after the earthquake, as well as renovation to augment the existing installed capacity.
A major component of the Twelfth Plan efforts will go towards building and strengthening the States intra-State transmission system for the evacuation of a substantial portion of the expansion in generation that is due to come online in the near future. The Twelfth Plan will see implementation and completion of R-APDRP work in Gangtok and Upper Tadong, and the electrification of those village homes under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)

Climate Change in Sikkim: A Synthesis

Climate change is having a significant impact on biodiversity, natural resources and society in the Himalayas. Here we synthesize the work of 22 papers on climate change issues in the Sikkim Himalayas, and propose a framework for future research and action for adaptation and mitigation. The first section of the paper delineates the status of current data on changes in temperature, precipitation, snow cover and glacier volume. The second section summarizes efforts of documenting local community experiences, observations and traditional ecological knowledge developed over decades. These papers demonstrate that such knowledge can add considerably to scientific data. The third section deals with papers measuring impacts of climate change on water, biodiversity, agriculture and livestock. These employ approaches ranging from modeling based on remotely sensed data to ground-based observations. These papers again demonstrate the urgent need for systematic information on current effects of climate change on nature as well as on society. The fourth section assesses the various approaches to vulnerability assessments. Existing strategies to cope with the negative impacts of climate change are summarized in the next section. In the final section, we urge the establishment of a state-level inter-departmental authority, with representation from government departments, academia, and civil society, to develop and implement a state-wide framework for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Sikkim. This framework should include: monitoring of climate change and its impacts; development of systematic scenarios and improved modeling; vulnerability assessments; and the design and evaluation of interventions for adaptation and mitigation.

Climate change is the new threat faced by governments, corporates, civil society and local communities

The fragile mountain ecosystems are specially sensitive to climate change

Climate change in the Himalayas is already having a significant impact on biodiversity, hydrology, livelihoods and almost every other aspect of the environment and human enterprise (Xu et al. 2009; Salick and Ross 2009). The papers presented in this volume summarize the state of our knowledge about climate change in Sikkim, and have implications on the fate of communities and environments throughout the Himalayas. The major findings summarized in this book regarding the state of knowledge and preparedness for climate change is applicable to a very large part of the Himalayas and beyond. In this chapter we provide a summary of major trends, critical gaps in knowledge, and steps toward a comprehensive programme on climate change research in Sikkim that could serve as a model for the Himalayas.

Climate Data

Four papers analyze available climate data. Rahman et al. (2012) summarize trends in temperature and rainfall from 1981 to 2010 at Tadong (elevation 1350 m). They find that mean minimum temperature has increased by 1.95 oC while mean maximum temperature did not exhibit any significant departure from long term average; rainfall over this 30-year period has increased by 124 mm. During the last two decades, however, rainfall has decreased both in terms of number of rainy days (loss of 14.40 days) and total rainfall (355 mm). The rate of increase in mean minimum temperature too has been highest over the last two decades.

In a related paper, in Gangtok (elevation 1765 m), Seetharam (2012) found decreases in both mean minimum and maximum temperatures from 1961 to 1990 as compared to the period between 1951-80. He also found that rainfall has decreased between 1961 and 1990. The results of Rahman et al. (2012) and Seetharam (2012) are not comparable because of the different periods involved. The limited data presented by these papers underscores the need for long-term data from multiple sites to adequately analyze trends. Furthermore these data sets are from mid altitudes. There are indications that climate may be changing more rapidly at higher altitudes in the Himalayas (Chaudhary and Bawa 2011). Moreover, presentation of means without variances does not permit inferences about statistical significance of the trends found.

Long-term data from multiple sites subjected to statistical analyses for the Himalayas does indicate that both temperatures and rainfall have increased. Shrestha, Gautam and Bawa (2012) show that between 1982 and 2006, temperatures in the Himalayas increased by 1.5C (about three times the global average), and annual precipitation increased by 163 mm. Others too have noted similar increases in temperature and precipitation (Shrestha et al. 1999; Liu and Chen 2000; Dimri and Dash 2012).

The primary data for snow cover is even sparser than temperature and rainfall data. Luitel et al. (2012) and Basnett and Kulakrni (2012) found no discernible pattern in the amount of snow cover in the Teesta and Rangit basins from 2004 to 2008. Similarly there is virtually no information about changes in glaciers. Luitel et al. (2012) show that East Rathong Glacier in West Sikkim has receded by 460 m between 1976 to 2009. The issue of glacial melting in the Himalayas, however, is complex: of the thousands of glaciers in the region, only a few have been monitored, and large-scale observations in fact indicate that glaciers in many parts of the Himalayas are growing and in other parts receding (Scherler et al. 2011). Basnett and Kulkarni (2012) present an interesting approach to monitoring snow cover.

Overall, it is clear that the appropriate data to demonstrate changes in temperature, precipitation, snow cover and glaciers are currently lacking. The state should pursue a comprehensive programme to monitor change at a variety of locations, covering the full range of altitudes and geographical regions. The data are particularly lacking for high altitude areas (Fig.1).

Ox bow lakes at Lashar valley, Lachen, North Sikkim: Lack of climate data at high altitudes

Community Perceptions of Climate Change

Local communities have been experiencing and responding to climate change for millennia. Thus the limited scientific data for present climate change can be supplemented by data based on local knowledge and observations. Ingty and Bawa (2012) have documented detailed observations on climatic changes and cascading impacts on biodiversity and the natural resource landscape of two agro-pastoral communities in the Lachen valley. These include weather-based indicators of climate change such as lesser snowfall, shifts in seasonal timing, erratic rainfall (less often but more intense), accelerated glacial melt, and water sources drying out. There have also been observations of biodiversity indicators such as species range shifts and altered phenology. They throw light on the profound impacts climate change has on the religious sentiments of the community as well. Furthermore, they have documented adaptation strategies of both individual agents and traditional institutions. Finally their study underlines the significance of a holistic approach whereby traditional community knowledge may complement the scientific data.

Poudyal (2012) in a lucid narrative discusses the common mans day-to-day experience of changing climate and its cascading impacts. This engrossing chapter suggests the urgent need for a commitment to counter the impacts of climatic change,to avoid, as he puts it, headingtowards a precipice that may be of our making.

Local communities have extensive knowledge about climatic variation.

The people of Sikkim clearly have considerable awareness of changes in climate parameters (Fig. 2). There is also evidence that people have already started to adapt to changes in climate. Nevertheless, considering the potential importance of local knowledge, more systematic work with good sample sizes and rigorous ethnographic approaches is needed to document the wealth of such knowledge. Moreover, we need to more rigorously separate impacts of climate change from impacts due to other changes in the environment or in society.

Impacts on livestock and agriculture, water, and biodiversity

Livestock and Agriculture: Sharma and Rai (2012) describe a number of changes at low, medium and high altitudes, primarily in response to reduced pasture lands, warming, and decrease in precipitation. Pastoralists at high altitudes move around less and have become sedentary. Productivity of several crops has decreased while crop diversification has increased. Senthil (2012) document changes in the quality of the milk from cattle: the amount of sour milk being gathered by milk cooperatives has increased; sourness presumably is being caused by the warm weather.

Changes in agrarian livelihoods are common place and are being driven by a number of environmental, social and economic factors. Attributing a particular change to change in climate requires surveys and empirical work to tease apart the various factors. Such work remains to be undertaken in Sikkim and in much of the Himalayas. Similarly, one has to be careful in the use of the term adaptation. Humans adjust continually to changes, but not all adjustments constitute adaptation. Sharma and Rai (2012) emphasize that traditional ecological knowledge, agrobiodiversity, multiple land uses and diversification of livelihoods allow local communities to cope with changes, and will each play an important role in true adaptation to climate change. The state aspires to have fully organic agriculture by 2015, and should therefore reduce the area under high-yield crop varieties dependent on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Agricultural intensification reduces agro-biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Water: It can be expected that climate change will have several major impacts on water supplies. Glacial lakes, rivers, streams and springs could be all affected. Kumar and Prabhu (2012) show how due to rapid melting of certain glaciers, the area of high altitude lakes in Sikkim has increased significantly over the last 50 years. In many parts of the Himalayas, the number of such glacial lakes has also increased. Increases in water volume enhance the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

Tambe et al. (2012) present indirect evidence for declines in spring water availability during the dry season, and suggest an approach to monitor spring water flows. There is a need for study regarding the impact of climate change on discharge rates of streams and rivers in Sikkim.

Clearly, systematic monitoring of water in the lakes, springs, streams and rivers of Sikkim is needed. Mahamuni and Kulkarni (2012) underline that without a proper understanding of aquifer dynamics, any study of groundwater remains incomplete. Kumar and Prabhu (2012) and Tambe et al. (2012) each propose protocols and approaches for monitoring glacial lakes and springs. The studies related to discharge rates of the river systems should also be given priority in Sikkim.

A species of Rhododendron in Lachung Valley, Sikkim.

Biodiversity: The extraordinary diversity of plants, animals and other organisms is perhaps the most significant environmental asset of Sikkim.

Much of Sikkims unique biodiversity is found in the alpine and sub-alpine areas. Telwala (2012) and Chettri et al. (2012) document responses of alpine plants in other parts of the world to climate change. Acharya and Chettri (2012) provide evidences for climate change impacts on four important faunal groups namely birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies. These include adaptations such as range shifts, altered breeding mechanisms and skewed sex ratios. Furthermore an increasing trend of warming resulting in numerous cascading impacts of climate change threatens numerous faunal species to the brink of extinction. Long term monitoring the paper underlines that long term monitoring programs would be essential to have a better understanding on the complex impacts of climate change.

Kumar (2012), in an elegant study, models future habitats for Rhododendron and shows how these habitats may shrink under climate change scenarios. Climate change may also have indirect impacts on biodiversity, as for example, by increasing the incidence of forest fires. Sharma et al. (2012) illustrate an approach to monitoring forest fires. Modeling might be necessary to predict future risk areas and potential biodiversity responses to fire.

Limitations of modeling however are shown by the paper by Ravindranath et al. (2012). Based on downscaling of global models, they conclude that the projections for the forest sector of Sikkim show that the biodiversityrich districts of Sikkim are not likely to be impacted by climate change by 2030s and 2080s. However, much evidence points to significant changes already underway in biodiversity-rich areas of Sikkim. It seems most likely that the pace of such changes will accelerate further during the next few decades.

Clearly there is no substitute for ground-based observations. The results of the models are as good as the inputs the models receive. Ground based observations should provide the basis for testing a range of hypothesis and indicate the type of data that needs to be collected through rigorously tested hypotheses. As shown by Kumar (2012), niche-modeling provides another avenue to assess the potential for species to shift and the habitats that might (or might not) be available for range alterations. Among the most urgent priorities for research are general models for the spread of new diseases, pests and invasive species.

Vulnerability to Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines vulnerability as the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, the adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes (IPCC 2001). Barua et al. (2012) point out that poverty and vulnerability are intrinsically linked, since the poor usually have limited resources or assets to cope with climatic changes.

Two papers in this volume use different approaches to assess regional vulnerabilities. Barua et al. (2012) use a multidimensional thematic framework, the Multidimensional Poverty Assessment Tool. Tambe et al. (2012) use a rapid assessment method using available government-sourced datasets and primary information collected from village consultations. These data are grouped into three broad categories, namely exposure (climate data), sensitivity (elevation, dependency on farming) and adaptive capacity (social, economic and environmental data) as indicators of climate change vulnerability. Barua et al. (2012) assessed vulnerability to water resource scarcity in two wards in a rain-shadow area of the Southern district of Sikkim. As seen by stakeholders in this region, the challenges posed by climate change are not limited to water scarcity but include a list of other needs for building community resilience to climate change. The paper touches upon numerous positive interventions by the Rural Management and Development Department (RM&DD) of the Government of Sikkim (e.g. rainwater harvesting (RWH) to collect the rainwater and increase the supply of water for domestic use during water scarcity periods). The paper points out that livelihood diversification will be an important element of reducing vulnerability.

The results of Tambe et al. (2012) suggest varying levels of vulnerability based on a combination of three indicators. Even though villages like Karzi-Mangnam were subject to moderate exposure they showed high vulnerability due to high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity, suggesting that interventions need diverse sectoral profiles and need to be area-specific. Similarly Barua et al. (2012) suggest that RM&DD should plan interventions at the village level rather than the block level, since social and economic profiles, and hence vulnerability, vary across villages. The approach used by Tambe et al. (2012) can also be greatly enhanced if different indicators are weighted differently.

Several studies have shown that the Himalayas are warming faster than the global average (Shrestha et al. 1999; Liu and Chen 2000; Dimri and Dash 2012; Shrestha, Gautam and Bawa 2012). Climate change impacts in the region could be devastating. Clearly, more accurate data on weather, landslides and GLOF potentials are required to reliably assess vulnerability.

Planning for Climate Change

We strongly urge that the expected adverse effects of global climate change be confronted by multifaceted, comprehensive approaches at the policy level, including local, regional and global strategies. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) highlights two fundamental response strategies: mitigation and adaptation. While mitigation seeks to limit climate change by reducing the emissions of GHG (greenhouse gases) and by enhancing sink opportunities, adaptation aims to alleviate the adverse impact through a wide-range of system-specific actions (Fussel and Klein 2002).

The four papers discussed in the following section argue for adaptation and mitigation strategies to tackle the looming dangers of climate change. Bhattacharya et al. (2012) bring to light the impacts on weather and consequent vulnerabilities in water resources, agriculture, livestock and dairy industry, biodiversity, forests, wildlife, and environment. They further suggest adaptation strategies for each area they defined as vulnerable. Tambe and Arrawatia (2012) describe the numerous initiatives, both planned and ongoing, of the Government of Sikkim. These include interventions to stabilise water resources, afforestation and conservation, vulnerability assessments and consequent capacity building and diversification of livelihoods to improve adaptive capacities.

Bhagwat et al. (2012) underline the potential for using the States extant institutional frameworks to participate in global efforts to establish market mechanisms to support reductions in forest loss and degradation. The authors estimate that after a grazing ban was declared in Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, carbon stocks increased by about 585 thousand tonnes. While such mechanisms may hold immense potential,we must also be careful of the significant downsides plaguing market approaches to natural resource custodianship. As Lawlor et al. (2010) point out, REDD+ programmes pose risks to the livelihoods and customary land claims of indigenous peoples and other rural populations. If forest carbon comes to be treated as any other international market commodityand in the absence of the strongest of safeguardsproducers will be able to derive only marginal benefits from their participation.

A Framework for the Future

The available evidence strongly indicates that, as in other regions of the Himalayas, climate in Sikkim is changing rapidly and that more changes are ahead. Importantly, climate will act in concert with other ongoing changes, such as those in land use patterns. The papers in this volume show that climate change is likely to have profound effects on biodiversity, human health, local livelihoods, agriculture and water availability. The Eastern Himalayas as a whole is inherently prone to geological disasters such as earthquakes and landslides. Climate change may exacerbate these risks.

Thus the state must prepare itself to cope with climate change. Tambe and Arrawatia (2012) list a number of initiatives in the state to cope with climate change. Some are linked with climate change mitigation or adaptation, while others have only a tenuous connection. We suggest that the state should further strengthen its ongoing efforts by undertaking a comprehensive and systematic project for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

A framework for the future

The state should consider setting up of a state-wide inter-departmental authority for climate change adaptation and mitigation, with representation from the departments dealing with land, agriculture, forests, water, energy, meteorology and finance. The proposed authority should have a scientific panel and a steering committee including representatives of business, civil society, and academia. The following elements are integral to such a programme on mission mode:

1. Monitor Climate Change and Impacts. A series of weather stations are needed along the full altitudinal gradient to track changes in temperature, precipitation, glaciers and GLOFs, springs and rivers. In parallel, selected sites should be monitored for changes in phenology, shifts in species distributions, spread of new species and pathogens, agriculture and livelihoods.

2. Develop Climate Change Scenarios. Taking into account all available data that can be assembled now, including perceptions of local communities about climate change, the proposed authority could develop scenarios and models for climate change without necessarily waiting for the results of monitoring. Downscaling of global models of climate change is a major challenge but would constitute a critical advance in the development of realistic scenarios. Participation of various stakeholders is also key to scenario development. Scenarios and models would need to be continuously updated as new data from monitoring become available.

3. Vulnerability Assessments. Based on the above two points, vulnerable geographical regions and human populations should be identified. Vulnerability assessments will also highlight at-risk natural resources (such as water and biodiversity) and sectors (e.g. agricultural and energy development). Participatory approaches must be integral elements of vulnerability assessments.

4. Design and Implement Interventions. Given our findings and those of national and international bodies, we must expect that interventions at multiple scales will be required to cope successfully with climate change in this area. Interventions will be required in agriculture, human health, biodiversity, and natural resources. Participation of stakeholders in all stages from planning to implementation would be a key component of interventions.

5. Evaluate Interventions. Following principles of adaptive management, periodic evaluation of intervention outcomes must be undertaken. Interventions should be designed with explicit feedback loops to register signals for the need to adapt or modify interventions as social and environmental conditions change.

Ongoing learning from each of the five steps above should provide the basis for necessary policy changes in such critical sectors as energy, agriculture and natural resources.

Second, the state must build adequate capacity in research and action for climate change. Again, a framework for building capacity is needed at all levels, not only for research and academic centers but also for various government departments and civil society. An interdepartmental authority for climate change can play a critical role in designing a capacity building programme.

Third, mitigation must be an important component of any comprehensive climate change programme. The state must calculate its carbon footprint by gathering data on carbon emissions and carbon sequestration. Data on emissions from both urban and rural sector will be required. Policies should be put in place to reduce emissions and to further develop and measure carbon sequestration potential especially through natural forests. Carbon footprint data could become an important factor in aligning state polices with national and international frameworks to reduce emissions, and in benefiting from the various incentives for reductions currently under development. States taking a proactive stance toward climate change response planning will be best placed to benefit from such incentives as they emerge.

We hope that the papers in this volume will prompt to consider the framework proposed to cope with climate change.

Acknowledgements

We thank the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, the Jamshedji Tata Trust, NORAD, and the Mac Arthur Foundation for supporting our work on climate change, the Government of Sikkim for facilitating field work and Reinmar Seidler for offering comments on the manuscript.

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Kumar,B.,Murugesh Prabhu,T.S.,2012. Impacts Of Climate Change: Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Lawlor,K.,Weinthal,E.,Olander,L.,2010. Institutions And Policies To Protect Rural Livelihoods In REDD+Regimes. Global Environmental Politics, Volume 10, Number 4:1-11

Liu, X., and B. Chen.,2000. Climatic Warming In The Tibetan Plateau During Recent Decades. International Journal of Climatology 20:17291742

Luitel, K.K., Shrestha, D.G., Sharma, N.P., Sharma, R.K.,2012. Impact of Climate Change on East-Rathong Glacier In Rangit Basin, West Sikkim. In Arrawatia, M.L.,Tambe,S.(Eds),Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Mahamuni,K.,Kulkarni,H.,2012. Groundwater Resources And Spring Hydrogeology In South Sikkim, With Special Reference To Climate Change. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Maheshwari,Y.,2012. Climate Change And Alpine Flora In Sikkim.In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Poudyal,T.R.,2012. Climate Change--An Appraisal. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Rahman,H., Karuppaiyan,R., Senapati,P.C., Ngachan ,S.V., Kumar,A.,2012. An Analysis Of Past Three Decade Weather Phenomenon At The Mid-Hills Of Sikkim And Strategies For Mitigating Possible Impact Of Climate Change On Agriculture. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Ravindranath, N.H., SagadevanA., Jayaraman ,M., Munsi ,M.,2012. Climate Change And Its Impacts On Forests Of Sikkim. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Salick,.J., Ross, N.,2009.Traditional Peoples And Climate Change. Global Environmental Change.19:137-139

Scherler, D., Bookhagen, B., and Strecker, M. R.,2011.Spatially Variable Response Of Himalayan Glaciers To Climate Change Affected By Debris Cover, Nature. Geoscience.4:156159

Seetharam,K.,2012. Climate Change Synthetic Scenario Over Gangtok. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Senthil Kumar,P.,2012. Impact Of Climate Change And Adaptation Measures In Dairy Sector Of Sikkim. In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

Sharma,R.K.,Sharma,N.,Shrestha,D.G.,Luitel,K.K.,Arrawatia,M.L.,Pradhan,S., 2012.Study Of Forest Fires In Sikkim Himalayas, India Using Remote Sensing And GIS Techniques: In Arrawatia,M.L., Tambe,S. (Eds), Climate Change in Sikkim Patterns, Impacts and Initiatives. Information and Public Relations Department,Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.

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AUTHORS

Kamaljit S. Bawa

University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA02125, USAAshoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, IndiaEmail : kamal.bawa@umb.edu

Tenzing Ingty

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, IndiaEmail : ingty.tenzing@atree.org

BADP, NLCPR, SPA, NEC

Border Area Development Programme

This programme was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of States bordering Pakistan, namely Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan. During the Eighth Plan, the programme was revamped and its coverage was extended to the States on the eastern border with Bangladesh. In the Ninth Plan period, the programme has been extended to all the land borders in response to the demands of the State Governments and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Thus, in 1997-98, BADP was extended to States bordering Myanmar. In 1998-99 the States bordering China were included under the Programme and from 1999-2000, the Programme was further extended to include the States bordering Nepal and Bhutan also. The main objective of BADP is to meet the special needs of the people living in remote, and inaccessible areas situated near the border.

BADP in Sikkim

The Border Area Development Programme (BADP), is being executed in 9 identified border blocks of 3 districts (west District, East District & North District) of Sikkim which share land border of about 351 kms with 3 neighbouring countries viz. China, Nepal Bhutan.

MANAGEMENT OF INDO-BHUTAN BORDER

India shares a 699 Km long border with Bhutan. Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are the States, which share the border with Bhutan. The State-wise length of the borders is as under :

State	Total length (Length in Km)
Sikkim	32
West Bengal	183
Assam	267
Arunachal Pradesh	217
TOTAL	699

Border Guarding Force

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is the Border Guarding Force at Indo-Bhutan Border.

Border Out Posts

SSB has established 131 Border Out Posts (BOPs) out of 132 sanctioned on Indo-Bhutan border. State-wise details of BOPs established/to be established are as under :

Sl. No.	State	No. of BoPs
1	Sikkim	4	1	5
2	West Bengal	39	--	39
3	Assam	64	--	64
4	Arunachal Pradesh	24	--	24
1	Total	131	1	132

Major Initiatives for effective Border Management

Construction of Indo-Bhutan border roads

A broad administrative decision was taken in the Ministry of Home Affairs for the construction and development of roads along the Indo-Bhutan border in Assam. Accordingly, GOI in consultation with SSB and the State Government has approved construction of 313 Km of border roads along Indo-Bhutan border at a total cost of Rs.1259 crore. The construction work of these roads will be completed over a period of five years commencing from 1st April, 2011. The construction work will be executed by State Public Works Department. Finalization of alignment of the proposed

MANAGEMENT OF INDO-CHINA BORDER

India shares 3488 Km of border with China that runs along the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. State-wise length of the border is as under:

Sl.No.	State	Total Length (Length in Km)
1.	Jammu & Kashmir	1597
2.	Himachal Pradesh	200
3.	Uttarakhand	345
4.	Sikkim	220
5.	Arunachal Pradesh	1126
	Total	3488

The border is not fully demarcated and the process of clarifying and confirming the Line of Actual Control is in progress. The area is characterized by high altitude terrain and thick habitation which have resulted in inadequate development of infrastructure in these regions.

Border Guarding Force

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) is the Border Guarding Force at Indo-China Border.

Border Out Posts

ITBP has established Border Out Posts (BOPs) along the Line of Actual Control in furtherance of this task. A total of 142 BOPs have been established by the ITBP on this border. The details of BOPs established are as under :

Name of the Sector	No. of BOPs
Western Sector (Jammu & Kashmir)	28
Middle Sector (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand)	69
Eastern Sector (Sikkim & Arunachal Pradesh)	45
Total	142

Major Initiative for effective Border Management

Construction of roads of operational significance in border areas along India-China border

To redress the situation arising out of lack of infrastructure along Indo-China border, the Government has decided to undertake construction of 73 roads of operational significance along Indo-China border. Out of these 73 roads, 27 roads involving 804 km length are being constructed by Ministry of Home Affairs (D/o Border Management) in the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs. 1937 crore. The work of construction of these 27 roads has been assigned to BRO (15 roads), CPWD (8 roads), NPCC (2 roads) and HP PWD (2 roads).

Out of 27 roads, 2 roads have been completed. Construction work of other roads is in progress. Present status as on 31-07-2013 - 553.65 Kms of formation work and 228.89 Kms of surfacing work completed.

MANAGEMENT OF INDO-NEPAL BORDER

India shares a 1751 Km long border with Nepal. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim are the States, which share the border with Nepal. The State-wise length of the borders is as under:

State	Total length (Length in Km)
Uttarakhand	263
Uttar Pradesh	560
Bihar	729
West Bengal	100
Sikkim	99
TOTAL	1751
TOTAL	699

Border Guarding Force

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is the Border Guarding Force at Indo-Nepal Border.

Border Out Posts

SSB has established 455 Border Out Posts (BOPs) on Indo-Nepal border. State-wise details of BOPs established is as under:

Sl. No.	State	No. of BoPs
1	Uttarakhand	53
2	Uttar Pradesh	148
3	Bihar	193
4	West Bengal	43
5	Sikkim	18
	Total	455

Major Initiatives for effective Border Management

Construction of Indo-Nepal border roads

The Government of India has approved construction of 1377 km of roads along Nepal border at a total cost of Rs.3853 crore, in the States of Uttarakhand (length 173 km, cost Rs.530 crore), Uttar Pradesh (length 640 km; cost Rs.1621 crore) & Bihar (length 564 km; cost Rs.1702 crore).

Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR)

The Government of India took keen interest on the development of the North Eastern Region which is evident from the fact that soon after the visit of the Honble Prime Minister to the Region in October, 1996 the Planning Commission appointed a High Level Commission under the Chairmanship of Shri S.P.Shukla, Member Planning Commission to critically examine the backlog and gaps of development of the Region and to suggest policies, programmes and requirement of funds to bridge the gaps with special reference to infrastructural development and provision of Basic Minimum Services. The High Level Commission submitted their Report to the Honble Prime Minister on the 7th March, 1997. In the mean time, the Government of India took a decision to the effect that the Central Ministries are to utilize 10 percent of their budgetary allocation each year in the N.E. Region. Keeping in view the fact that a good number of Central Ministries are unable to utilize 10 percent of the budgetary resources in the N.E. Region and also by positively taking into consideration the Report of the High Level Commission of the Planning Commission, the Government of India decided to create the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources for the North Eastern States and Sikkim from the year 1998-99. The funds sanctioned to the State Governments from the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources are in addition to the State Plan resources and are accounted for outside the State Plan.

NORTH EASTERN COUNCIL (NEC)

The North Eastern Council (NEC) came into being by an Act of Parliament, the North Eastern Council Act, 1971 to act as an advisory body in respect of socio-economic development and balanced development of the North Eastern Areas consisting of the present States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The NEC started functioning in the year 1972

The members of the NEC consists of the Governors and the Chief Ministers of the eight member States including Sikkim, apart from the Chairman and three Members who are nominated by the President of India.

The North Eastern Council was constituted for performing the following functions :

To discuss any matter in which some or all of the States represented in the Council have common interest and advise the Central Government and the Governments of the States concerned as to the action to be taken on any such matter, particularly with regard to

any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;
any matter concerning inter-State Transport and Communications;
any matter relating to Power or Flood-control projects of common interest.

To formulate and forward proposals for securing the balanced development of the North Eastern Areas particularly with regard to

a unified and coordinated Regional Plan, which will be in addition to the State Plan, in regard to matters of common importance to that area;
prioritizing the projects and schemes included in the Regional Plan and recommend stages in which the Regional Plan may be implemented; and
regarding location of the projects and schemes included in the Regional Plan to the Central Government for its consideration.

13th Finance Commission

Finance Commission is established for the purpose of allocation of certain resources of revenue between the Union and the State Governments and it is established under Article 280 of the Constitution of India by the President. The Operational duration for the finance commission is five years. So far 13 Finance Commissions have been appointed.

The 1st finance Commission was established in the year 1951 headed by K C Neogy for the period 1952-57. The 13th Finance Commission was established in the year 2007 headed by Vijay Kelkar for the period 2010-15.

The following are some of the key recommendations of the FC-XIII:

The share of States in net proceeds of shareable Central taxes shall be 32 per cent every year for the period of the award.
Revenue accruing to a State is to be protected to the levels that would have accrued to it had service tax been a part of the shareable Central taxes, if the 88th Amendment to Constitution is notified and followed up by a legislations enabling States to levy service tax.
Centre is to review the levy of cesses and surcharges with a view to reducing their share in its gross tax revenue.
The indicative ceiling on overall transfers to States on revenue account may be set at 39.5 per cent of gross revenue receipts of the Centre.
The Medium Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP) should be a statement of commitment rather than intent.
New disclosures have been specified for the Budget/MTFP including on tax expenditure, public-private partnership liabilities and the details of variables underlying receipts and expenditure projections.
The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act needs to specify the nature of shocks that would require relaxation of the targets there under.
States are expected to be able to get back to their fiscal correction path by 2011-12 and amend their FRBM Acts to the effect.
State Governments are to be eligible for the general performance and special area performance grants only if they comply with the prescribed stipulation in terms of grants to local bodies.
The National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) should be merged with the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) with the State Disaster Response Funds (SDRFs) of the respective States.
A total non-Plan revenue grant of Rs 51,800 crore is recommended over the award period for eight States. A performance grant of Rs 1500 crore is recommended for three special category States that have graduated from a non-Plan revenue deficit situation.
An amount of Rs 19,930 crore has been recommended as grant for maintenance of roads and bridges for four years (2011-12 to 2014-15).
An amount of Rs 24,068 crore has been recommended as grant for elementary education.
An amount of Rs 27,945 crore has been recommended for State-specific needs.
Amounts of Rs 5,000 crore each as forest, renewable energy and water sector-management grants have been recommended.
A total sum of Rs 3,18,581 crore has been recommended for the award period as grants-in-aid to States

14th Finance Commission

The 14th Finance Commission has been constituted by the Government of India consisting of Dr. Y.V. Reddy, former Governor Reserve Bank of India, as the Chairman and the following four members:

Prof Abhijit Sen
Ms. Sushma Nath
Dr. M.Govinda Rao
Dr. Sudipto Mundle.

The new commission shall make its report available by the 31st October, 2014, covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st April, 2015.

Role of Finance commission:

Finance commission is a constitutional body(Finance Commission Act, 1951). Article 280 speaks about the provision of formation of Finance commission by the president. The article says:

280(1). The President shall, within two years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year or at such earlier time as the President considers necessary, by order constitute a Finance Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President.

The main function of finance commission is to recommend how the Union government should share taxes levied by it with the states. These recommendations are meant for the period of five years. The commission also lays down rules by which the centre should provide grants-in-aid to states out of the Consolidated Fund of India and also in case of special provision of states. Finance Commission is also assigned the duty of suggesting measures to augment the resources of states and ways to supplement the resources of Panchayati Raj institutes and municipalities.

Apart from its recommendations on the sharing of tax proceeds between the Centre and the States which will apply for a five-year period beginning April 1, 2015, the Commission has been asked to suggest on:

Pricing of public utilities such as electricity and water in an independent manner and also look into issues like disinvestment, GST compensation, sale of non-priority PSUs and subsidies.
measures for maintaining a stable and sustainable fiscal environment consistent with equitable growth including suggestions to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management Acts.
With regard to debt-stressed states, the Commission has been asked to suggest steps for augmenting revenues of states which are lagging.
Review the present arrangements as regards financing of Disaster Management with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005(53 of 2005), and make appropriate recommendations thereon.

In making its recommendations on various matters, the Commission shall generally take the base of population figures as of 1971 in all cases where population is a factor for determination of devolution of taxes and duties and grants-in-aid; however, the Commission may also take into account the demographic changes that have taken place subsequent to 1971.

Sl. No.	Name of Project and Capacity	Implementing Agency	Date of Signing of MoU	R&R Issue/Remarks
1	Teesta Stage-II 330MW (Revised Capacity 150MW)	Him Urja Infra Pvt. Ltd.	01.03.2006	Project survey and Investigation not started due to opposition from Lachen Dzumsa. The project has now been revised and approved for implementation under Chungthang GP area only as Rangma HEP with capacity reduced to 150 MW. The Lol has been issued on 17.09.2012
2	Teesta Stage III 1200 MW	Teesta Urja Ltd.	18.07.2005	Project under construction and cumulative progress of the project till date is 89%
3	Teesta Stage IV 520 MW	NHPC Ltd.	01.03.2006	Yet to start. No activities started at this site.
4	Teesta Stage VI 500MW	Lanco Energy Pvt. Ltd.	07.12.2005	Most of the construction works stopped due to liquidity issues. Works in critical areas like HRT face 3A,3B ,4A and 4B have been resumed w.e.f 23/01/2014. Cumulative progress of the project till date is 46%.
5	Pawan HEP 300MW	Himagiri Hydro Energy Pvt. Ltd.	05.12.2005	Only preliminary construction works started. National Wild Life Board clearance not obtained. 10kms of road upgradation and widening works of Sankalang-Bay-Sakyong road i/c construction of steel bridges under progress. Works undertaken by SPWD Roads and Bridges Deptt. GoS.
6	Rongnichu HEP 96MW	Madhya Bharat Power Corporation	01.03.2006	Project under construction and progress till date is 23%. A PIL has been filed in the Hon'ble High Court of Sikkim for stay order to stop works at ADIT-II Face-5 in view of the day lighting which occurred there on 19/6/2013
7	Sada-Mangder HEP 71MW	Gati Infrastructure Ltd.	14.11.2003	Yet to start. No activities started at site.
8	Bhasmey HEP 51MW	Gati Infrastructure Ltd.	14.11.2003	Project under construction and cumulative progress of the project till date is 28%. Progress of works at site is sluggish
9	Rangit-II HEP 66MW	Sikkim Hydro Ventures Ltd.	08.12.2005	Construction works of project presently stopped due to liquidity issues. Actions to resume work immediately under active consideration. Cumulative progress of the project till date is about 8%.
10	Rangit-IV HEP 120MW	Jal Power Corporation Ltd.	19.12.2005	Construction works of project presently stopped due to liquidity issues. Actions to resume work immediately under active consideration. Cumulative progress of the project till date is about 65%
11	Dikchu HEP 96MW	Sneha Kinitic Power Project Ltd.	01.03.2006	Project under construction and cumulative progress of the project till date is 76%
12	Jorethang Loop HEP 96MW	DANS Energy Pvt. Ltd.	05.12.2005	Project under construction and cumulative progress of the project till date is 88%. Process to start the dam and HRT is underway.
13	Tashiding HEP 97MW	Shiga Energy Pvt. Ltd.	03.09.2008	Project under construction and cumulative progress of the project till date is 11%. PIL in Hon'ble High Court of Sikkim has directed MoEF, GoI to finalise the eco sensitive zone issue within 6 months i.e. by November 2014
14	Kalez Khola-I HEP 27.5MW	Cosmic Infra Powergen Pvt. Ltd.	22.03.2011	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
15	Kalez Khola-II HEP 54MW	Pentacle Power Pvt. Ltd.	25.04.2011	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
16	Rahi Khong HEP 25 MW	Sikkim Engineering Pvt. Ltd.	29.03.2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
17	Upper Rolep HEP 30 MW	Cosmic Infra Powergen Pvt. Ltd.	22.09.2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
18	Upper Rolep (Nathangchu) HEP 30MW	Cosmic Infra Powergen Pvt. Ltd.	22.09.2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
19	Rolep 36MW	Velankani Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd.	Only LoI isued on 31/12/2010	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
20	Ralang 40MW	Velankani Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd.	Only LoI issued 31/12/2010	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
21	Chakungchu 50MW	Velankani Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd.	Only LoI issued 31/12/2010	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
22	Suntaleytar HEP 40MW	Moser Baer Electric Power Ltd.	Only LoI issued 23/02/2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
23	Rechu-Meyongchu HEP 26MW	Planet Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd.	Only LoI issued on Sept 2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
24	Rateychu-Bakchachu 40MW	Samvijay Power & Allied Industried Ltd.	Only LoI issued on 02.06.2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
25	Manul & Mangan 30MW	HiGen Power Pvt. Ltd.	Only LoI issued 22.09.2012	Preliminary survey and investigation works in progress.
26	Rangit-III HEP 60MW	NHPC Ltd.	Project Commissioned
27	Teesta-V HEP 510MW	NHPC Ltd.	Project Commissioned
28	Chuzachen HEP 99MW	Gati Infrastructure Ltd.	14.11.2003	Project Completed and commissioned. COD declared as midnight of 17th June 2013.

Sl. No.	Name of Mountain	Location	Height (ft)
1	Mt. Kanchendzonga	West	28156
2	Mt. Kabru	West	24215
3	Mt. Talung	North	24200
4	Mt. Siniolchu	West	22600
5	Mt. Simvo	West	22476
6	Mt. Pandim	West	22100
7	Mt. Rathong	West	22100
8	Mt. Paunhri	East	22000
9	Mt. Kokthang	West	20162
10	Mt. Lamaongden	East	19366
11	Mt. Masunyange	East	19300

Sl. No.	Name of Glaciers	Location
1	Zemu Glacier	North District
2	Rathong Glacier	West Dictrict
3	Lonak Glacier	North District
4	Hidden Glacier	North District
5	Talung Glacier	North District
6	North Lonak Glacier	North District
7	South Lonak Glacier	North District
8	Tista Khangse	North District

Sl. No.	Name of Lakes	Location
1	Khe-Cheod-Palri (Khecheoperi)	West District
2	Gurudungmar	North District
3	Lam Pokhari	West District
4	Changu (Tsomgo)	East District
5	Laxmi Pokhari	West District
6	Cholamu	North District
7	Bidang Cho	East District
8	Menmecho	East District
9	Majur Pokhari	West District
10	Sima Choka	North District
11	Dud Pokhari	West District
12	Samiti Lake	West District
13	Ram-Laxman (Twin Lake)	West District

Sl. No.	Particulars of Fauna	No. of species/sub-species found in the State	Name of Principal Endangered Species
1	Mammals	144	Bharal, Clouded Leopard, Fishing Cat, Golden Cat, Himalayan Thar, Leopard Cat, Red Panda, Marbled Cat, Musk Deer, Nayan or Great Tibetan Sheep, Pangolin, Serow, Snow Leopard, Spotted Lingsang, Tibetan Antelope, Tibetan Fox, Tibetan Gazelle, Tibetan Wild Ass, Tiger, Tibetan Wolf
2	Birds	550	Black-Necked Crane (Migratory), Blood Pheasant, Peafowl, Tibetan Snow Cock, Tragopan Pheasant, Snow Patridge, Siberian Crane (Migratory)
3	Butterflies & Moths	650	N.A.
4	Reptiles	33	N.A.
5	Frogs	16	N.A

Planning Resource Center GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM

Development Planning Economic Reforms & North Eastern Council Affairs Department

News 2

News 1

INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Power Projects and Developers

Important Mountains of Sikkim

Important Glaciers of Sikkim

Important Lakes of Sikkim

Fauna of Sikkim

Flora of Sikkim

DEPARTMENT-WISE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

FINANCIAL ALLOCATION 2002-03 ONWARDS

Government of SikkimPlanning Resource Center

Sl. No.	Particulars of Flora	No. of Species found in the State
1	Orchids	550 (95 General)
2	Rhododendron	36 (45 Varieties)
3	Flowering Plants	Over 4000 Species
4	Ferns and Allies	300
5	Conifers	9
6	Medicinal Plants and Herbs	Plenty (not enumerated)

Arunachal Pradesh

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Sikkim

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Assam

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Nagaland

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Meghalaya

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Manipur

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Tripura

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Mizoram

Capital

Location

Climate

Area

Special Category States

Gadgil Formula

Population

Tax effort

State per capita income

Special Problems

Irrigation and power projects

Modified Gadgil Formula

Gadgil-Mukherjee Formula

Financing 12h Year Plan

Financing 11th Year Plan

Mission Modes

Government Mission:

Awards

Challenges

1. Challenges in the Twelfth Plan

2.Strategy in the Twelfth Plan

Climate Change in Sikkim: A Synthesis

Climate Data

Community Perceptions of Climate Change

Impacts on livestock and agriculture, water, and biodiversity

Vulnerability to Climate Change

Planning for Climate Change

A Framework for the Future

Acknowledgements

References

AUTHORS

Kamaljit S. Bawa

Tenzing Ingty

BADP, NLCPR, SPA, NEC

Border Area Development Programme

BADP in Sikkim

MANAGEMENT OF INDO-BHUTAN BORDER

Border Guarding Force

Border Out Posts

Major Initiatives for effective Border Management

Construction of Indo-Bhutan border roads

MANAGEMENT OF INDO-CHINA BORDER

Border Guarding Force

Border Out Posts