Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024 10:00 [IST]
Last Update: Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024 04:32 [IST]
GANGTOK,: Urban Development minister LB Das on Monday tabled the ‘Sikkim
Town And Country Planning Bill’ in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly for
development and regulation of growth of urban and rural areas of Sikkim.
In his
statement of object and reasons, the Urban Development shared that through the
bill, the government aims to develop physical and socio-economic plans for
different hierarchies and explore innovative land use mechanisms to attract
investments for planned growth. This legislation will also provide for the
establishment of development authorities to supervise development beyond
municipal areas and define recruitment rules for hiring workforce with the
required skill set to facilitate an organised approach to land, labour and
capital, he said.
State
capital Gangtok, Namchi, Singtam, Rangpo, Geyzing, Jorethang, Singtam and
Mangan are the major urban areas in Sikkim with towns like Pakyong, Soreng and
Melli also rapidly expanding. Over the years, Sikkim has experienced rapid
urbanisation driven by administrative and commercial activities.
Das, while
introducing the bill, mentioned that the rapid rural-urban migration results
from disparities in quality of life, development pace, basic infrastructure and
employment opportunities.
“Sikkim
already faces challenges due to limited land availability, with 82.31% of its
area under the jurisdiction of the State Forest department. The recurring issue
of development expanding beyond city boundaries, driven by overwhelming
pressure for land developments necessitates attention.”
Urban
Sikkim is restricted to seven civic bodies and 146 bazaars, classified into
Class II, III and marketing centres based on their importance. These areas are
regulated by the Sikkim Allotment of House Sites and Construction of Building
(Regulation and Control) Act, 1985 and the Sikkim Building Construction
Regulations, 1991.
However,
the need for legislation enabling the creation of development authorities to
oversee areas beyond municipal jurisdictions, promote form-based codes for
built environment, provide for local area planning, encourage town planning
schemes for innovative land pooling in greenfield development, climate
sensitive planning and resilience planning has become imperative for the State,
said the Urban Development minister.
The bill
proposes creation of a Sikkim Town And Country Planning Board with the Chief
Minister as its chairperson and chief town planner as the member secretary.
Discussions
and voting on the bill would take place in the next sitting of the Assembly.
Enlistment of constructional machines
Transport
minister MN Sherpa placed the ‘Sikkim Enlistment of Constructional Machineries
and Equipments Bill’ in the Assembly.
The bill
proposes to develop a system to enlist the owners of constructional machineries
and equipment who intend to conduct business within Sikkim.
“…the
State government has deemed it expedient to streamline the deployment and
operation of construction machinery and equipment within the State of Sikkim
with a view to eliminate the unsanctioned operational practices and in
consideration of safeguarding the environment, interest of local public and
signifying the concept of ease of doing business,” said the Transport minister
while introducing the bill.
The Sikkim
Nationalized Transport (SNT) division under Transport department would be the
implementing authority to control the deployment and operational of all the
constructional machineries and equipment intended to utilized for all the
commercial work, government developmental project works and infrastructure
developmental works within Sikkim.
Two
classes of enlistment are proposed – Class ‘A’ for Sikkimese and Class ‘B’ for
non-residents of Sikkim.
Discussions
and voting on the bill would take place in the next sitting of the Assembly.