Directorate of Panchayat

The roots of Panchayati Raj in Sikkim dates back to the time when Sikkim was a Kingdom under the Namgyal Dynasty. During this period there were landlords or Zamindars who were known as 'Kazis' and under them were the 'Mandals' and 'karbaris'. The ' Mandals' and 'karbaris' were in-charge of collecting field products and taxes and delivering it further to the higher level in the hierarchy.

The first recorded attempt to establish Panchayats in the State was made in 1948 under Notification no. 3052-254/P.S. dated 24.04.1948, immediately after the abolishion of Zamindari and Addas under the landlords. These Panchayats comprised of the landlord or his representative and four other members of the public. These were essentially Nyaya Panchayats (quasi-judicial) as is evident for the functions entrusted to it.

The Sikkim Panchayat Act, 1965 was promulgated to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the Panchayats in Sikkim to facilitate rural development and enable participation by all communities at the village level. The term of such Panchayats was three years. Altogether sixteen items were listed as duties and functions of the Panchayats. Funds of the Panchayats comprised of house tax, 10% of land revenue, matching grant by the Durbar for original works for which public contributions were collected, sanitation and water cess. This Act also provided reservation for minorities.

In 1996, the first Panchayat elections were held under the supervision of the Chief Secretary who was the ex-officio Chief Election Officer and the Land Revenue Secretary to the Sikkim Government. These elections were conducted in 142 Panchayat Units, the members of 71 units were elected unopposed. In many units there was 100% polling while the average polling was recorded as over 75%. Two ladies contested the elections and were elected as members of the Panchayats for the first time. A total of 213 elected village Panchayats started functioning in deemed to be Gram Panchayats. The Dzumas exercise their traditional powers and functions within the framework of Sikkim Panchayat Act,1993.

The second Panchayat elections were held in April, 1969. In 1982, a new Act was enacted which introduced the constitution of the Zilla or district Panchayat. At the time of the enactment of the Constitution (Seventy-third) Amendment Act, 1992, a new set of Panchayats had recently been elected and was therefore allowed to complete its 5 year term under the provision of Article 243N.

The Sikkim Panchayat Act, 1993 (Act no. 6 of 1993) was enacted and notified on 18.10.1993. The Act follows the guidelines laid down by the Constitution (Seventy third) Amendment Act, 1992, for the constitution of Panchayats in the state. The first Panchayat elections under this Act were conducted in 1997 and for the first time in Sikkim, it was a party based election. The present Panchayat is the fourth in succession under the Sikkim Panchayat Act, 1993.

Sikkim follows a two tier system of Panchayati Raj with the Zilla Panchayat at the district level and the Gram Panchayat at village level. The state is divided into four Zilla or district presently consisting of 110 territorial constituencies and 176 Gram Panchayat Units comprising of 987 wards. Two areas of Sikkim, Lachen and Lachung,have traditional institutions known as 'Dzumsas'.

Rural Local Bodies are the strongest institution which facilitates holistic development of villages across Sikkim. Panchayati Raj Institutions of Sikkim are empowered to function as institutions of self governments which plans and implements programs of economic and social development

The Directorate of Panchayati Raj under the aegis of the Rural Management & Development Department has continuously and consistently initiated several multi level interventions to build up the right processes, procedures, capabilities by creating suitable structures and bringing about basic necessary technical changes including attitudinal changes in policy makers and implementers for smooth transition to democratic, decentralized and developed Panchayati Raj.

Over the years, the Directorate's initiatives towards empowering the Panchayati Raj Institutions has come to fruition, testimony to which is amply evident by the awards received by the State by being the 3rd Best State in Panchayati Raj (2006-07), the 2nd BestState (2009-10) and the 3rd Beststate(2010-ll).

Administrative Set-Up of the Directorate

Formally known as Panchayat Cell, it became a full-fledged Directorate of Panchayati Raj vide Notification No 07/RM&DD/P dated 18/08/2015.

The Director of Panchayat is the head of the Directorate with the Minister-in-charge of Rural Management & Development Department primarily responsible for the disposal of business pertaining to the Directorate under the administrative control of the Secretary, RM&DD.

With the empowerment of Panchayati Raj in significant progress has been made by the Directorate in the last two decades. The progress and achievements are credited to the several initiatives and interventions undertaken to empower the elected bodies to empower the common people living in rural Sikkim.

Conforming to the vision and mission of Government of Sikkim to strengthen the course of local self Government, some of the several initiatives and interventions undertaken by the Directorate which has been instrumental in bringing about significant positive change in the socio-economic landscape of rural Sikkim are as follows

Decentralization of Powers to PRIs

The Panchayati Raj in Sikkim is governed by the Sikkim Panchayat Act, 1993 which was enacted and notified on October 10, The Act follows the guidelines laid down by the 73^rd Amendment Act, 1992, for the constitution of Panchayats in the State. The Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution under article 243G has stipulated 29 subjects to be transferred to the Panchayati Raj Institution. For the same purpose, 'active mapping' was carried out to chalk out the deleg ation of responsibilities between the Zilla Panchayats and Gram Panchayats. The Directorate in consonance with and in compliance to the constitutional provision has devolved the functions, as given in the 11th Schedule, to the Zilla Panchayat and Gram Panchayat drawing an Activity Map. The implementation of the activity mapping has brought about more decentralization of funds, functions functionaries.

2.Infrastructural Initiatives ::Village Administrative Centres

The state government under its decentralization policy has devolved the three Fs, i.e Funds, functionaries and functions to every Gram Panchayat Units. The objective of the same is to enable these grass root institutions to take decision in matters related to day to day socio-economic life of the people. To enable effective functioning in the Gram Panchayat Units, the Directorate has set up Village Administrative Centres. Out of the 176 GPU's in the state, 160 GPUs have their own administrative centres and the remaining 16 will be taken up in the near future. These VAC's are state of the art administrative offices with amenities like Gram Suchna Kendras/CICs, Library and meeting hall. All the Village Administrative Centres have a library incorporated within them. Books are annually issued to these libraries with the updating of the same happening in phased manner that cater to the educational and informational needs of young and old alike.

:: Community Recreational Centre

With the objective of providing a common space for people in villages to come together during occasions and related engagements, Community Recreational Centers have been created throughout the state. During the Sikkim Village tour of the Hon'ble Chief Minister in 2011, demands for 164 Community Centres were placed by the members of the Public and Panchayats, out of which 20were sanctioned in the year 2012-13 for an estimated amount of Rs.95 lakhs to 1 crore depending upon the accessibility and land profile.

:: Zilla Panchayat Bhawan

Utmost care has been taken to ensure that state of the art physical infrastructure is provided at all district level for the functionaries of Panchayati Raj. At the District level, elected representatives of the Zilla have their own Zilla Panchayat Bhawans equipped with all office facilities.

:: Construction of State Panchayat Resource Centre (SPRC) & District Panchayat Resource Centre (DPRC)

With the dearth of proper venues for training large number of ERs and functionaries especially on the computer applications and related matters ,1 SPRC in Gangtok and 1 DPRC for West District from the centre has been approved under RGPSA.

3. Deployment of functionaries

For smooth functioning of the Village Administrative Centres and to assist the Elected Representatives in planning implementation and monitoring all the developmental schemes of the State and Central Government ,the Directorate of Panchayati Raj has over the years deployed many village level functionaries in the capacity of Panchayat Accounts Assistants,Panchayat Development Assistant and Barefoot Engineers.IT Assistants are posted at the Block level to assist GPUs under its jurisdiction to provide assistance in resolving issues related to e-Panchayat, hardware and software issues.

4.Capacity Building and Training

Directorate has always striven to build the capacity of the Elected Representatives and the functionaries of the Panchayati Raj Institution for all round development of the villages. This has been ensured through regular sensitization programmes, orientations and workshops on various PRI issues, Finance Commission recommendations and Grants, PRI Accounting system and e-Panchayat Applications.

Apart from these, training of elected representative on basic computer application, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods, and refresher course on Sikkim Panchayati Raj System has been taken up time and again in collaboration with the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD), Jorethang.

5.Exposure Tours

To sensitize the Gram Panchayat Units and to create an enabling atmosphere for all elected representatives to see and learn from progressive GPUs in the State and in the country, the Directorate organizes regular exposure tours for the Panchayats and their functionaries. These tours encourages peer learning with first hand exposure to the best practices of Panchayati Raj system being implemented in that Gram Panchayat.

Over the years the Directorate has been able to send Panchayat representatives from both ZillaPanchayat and Gram panchayats to

:: Gerethang, Samdong, Mellidara, Sangadorje, Namphing within Sikkim.

:: Rajasthan, Kerela, Kolkata, Goa, Himachal Pradesh within India.

:: Singapore, Switzerland and Netherlands abroad.

6.Social Audits cum Vigilance committees

To monitor and evaluate the programs at village level, Social Audit-cum-Vigilance Committees have been constituted in all Gram Panchayats Units. Through a notification, specific terms of reference have been given to the Committee including a directive that no final payment shall be made under any programme unless the committee verifies and gives its clearance.

7.Reservations of seats

To ensure that there is adequate representation of the weaker and the backward sections of the society in the development process, a policy of reservation is stipulated for equitable development of all sections. The Sikkim Panchayat Act 1993 provides for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, in both tiers of PRIs. Proportional representation for Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward castes and most backward caste are made in accordance with their population in the state. Similar reservations are also provided for the post of Adhyaksha and Up Adhyaksha of the ZillaPanchayats and Sabhapati and Up Sabhapati of the Gram Panchayats.

8. Strengthening last mile delivery

Though the state has a two tier PRI at the village and the district level, Block Administrative Centers (BACs) were established to provide administrative, accounts and technical support to cluster of Gram Panchayats. Boasting of state-of-the-art infrastructure, a BAC with its battery of officers, provides support to a population of about 15,000.Thirty one BACs have been created so far to cater to the needs of the 176 Gram Panchayats in the state. These centers have greatly broadened the decentralization process by strengthening the last mile outreach of the administration and developmental programs.

9. Organizing Panchayat Sammelan

To motivate and to acknowledge the excellent functioning of Panchayats, the state government has been conferring 'Panchayat Shri' Awards to the best performing Panchayats from across Sikkim and also awarding the Best Performing Gram Panchayat Unit during the annual PanchayatSammelans. This initiative has been highly appreciated by the elected representatives and they are further motivated to perform their duties and responsibilities with much vigor and enthusiasm.

The Directorate of Panchayati Raj is responsible for organizing the day long programme which is chaired by the Hob'ble Chief Minister and attended by the Council of Ministers, MLA's, Head of Departments and other dignitaries.The Directorate is responsible for 100 % attendance of the Elected Representatives.

10. Documentary on Panchayati Raj Systems.

With the advent of the social media in the day to day life of every individual and the easy means to access these facilities, the Directorate wanted to make the most of this new technology in reaching to the masses by coming up with its first documentary film on the Panchayati Raj of Sikkim. This documentary film captures the essence of the democratic decentralization mandated by the Sikkim Panchayat Act,1993 and has been uploaded on Youtube.
The Directorate of Panchayati Raj has yet again come up with a second documentary film on the Panchayati Raj Institution of Sikkim to highlight the various changes that have been brought about since the first one. The said film is in its final leg of filming.

11. Enhancement of honorarium of Panchayat

The honorariums of Zilla Panchayats have been revised from time to time as per the schedule furnished below:-

sr no	year	Honorarium per month	Notification	Date
1	1998	800/-	35(49) 1997-98/36 RDD/P	13.04.1998
2	2008	2400/-	07/RMDD/P	04.07.2008
3	2014	4800/-	23/RMDD/P	27.02.2014

sr no	year	Elected Representatives	Honorariurn per month	Notification	Dated
1	1995	Panchayat President	400/-	35(5) 1995-96/8/37 RDD/P	07.07.1995
		Panchayat members	300/-
			2400/	07/RMD D/P	07.07.2008
2	2008	Panchayat President
		Vice President	2000/-
		Panchayat Secretary	2000/-
		Panchayat Member	1600/-
			4800/-	23/RMD D/P	07.07.2008
3	2014	Panchayat President
		Vice President	4000/-
		Panchayat Secretary	4000/-
		Panchayat Member	3200/-

The Panchayati Raj Directorate acts as a facilitator to Gram and Zilla Panchayats for proper implementation of state and central schemes. Under its umbrella a number of Central Government schemes have been successfully implemented till they ran their course.

I.Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan(PMEYSA)
Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan (PMEYSA), a nationwide campaign was initiated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India with the main objective of bringing together Elected Women's representatives (EWRs) of the country and enhancing their capabilities and empowering them. The core committee for Sikkim PMEYSA was constituted, vide Notification No: 54/RM&DD dated: 02/09/06 and was initiated at Gangtok on 24.04.2007.Many initiatives were taken up for the EWRs under this scheme like orientation on election procedures, communication and leadership skills, micro-planning and legal rights of women.
The Scheme was delinked by the Central government in the year 2012.
II.Backward Regions Grant Fund(BRGF)
Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) was launched in the Year 2006 subsuming the existing Rashtriya Sam VikasYojna.The programme was designed to reduce the regional imbalances in development. BRGF consisted of two funding windows- a Capacity building Fund and Untied fund.
Each Gram Panchayat received a substantial amount of untied fund which were utilized as per the plan prepared by them. Under the capacity building fund which was managed by SIRD, Elected Representatives and their functionaries were given training on various subjects related to the Panchayati Raj.BRGF was delinked by the Central Government in the year 2015-16.
III.Rural Sports
With the intent to build a strong, disciplined and focused rural Sikkim, RMDD&PR had been promoting rural sports in the state since 2004. The Gram Panchayats had been provided with an annual budget for conducting these sports and games and also to procure sport equipments at Panchayat level. The Zilla Panchayat organizes the district level games while the state level games are organized by the RM&DD &PR.

The department through this facility has ensured that basic sports infrastructure is created at all Block Administrative Centres. The infrastructure includes a basketball court, volleyball court, badminton court, children park and a gymnasium hall, including an RCC table tennis board for people interested in the sport. More than 15 community playgrounds have been constructed since 2004. In places where acquisition of land is difficult, school playgrounds have been extended and augmented under this scheme.

Annual competitions are held at Gram Panchayat Unit level and also at District/Zilla level. Performing sportsmen are further encouraged to participate in the state level competitions and talent sported at the state level competition are sponsored for intensive training in sports hostels and also encouraged for participation in various national level rural sports.Presently the scheme has been handed over to its respective Department.

IV.Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Shashaktikaran Abhiyan)
Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) was launched in the 12th Five Year Plan period taking into account the experiences leamt and the lacunae felt in the effective implementation of the then existing schemes which aimed at strengthening the Panchayati Raj system in varying degrees.

However, during the 2016-17 Budget Speech, the Union Finance Minister stated that a new restructured scheme, namely Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) to help Panchayati Raj Institutions to develop governance capability to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be put on motion and the action for approval of new structured scheme of RGSA, through restructuring of the erstwhile scheme of RGPSA would be initiated. With a view to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system across the States and to do away with the factors that constrain the same.

RGPS A/RGS A seeks to:

• Enhance capacities and effectiveness of Panchayats and the GramSabhas;
• Enable democratic decision-making and accountability in Panchayats and promote people's participation;
• Strengthen the institutional structure for knowledge creation and capacity building of Panchayats;
• Promote devolution of powers and responsibilities
• to Panchayats according to the spirit of the Constitution and PESAAct;

Strengthen Gram Sabhas to function effectively as the basic forum of people's participation, transparency and accountability within the Panchayat system; Create and strengthen democratic local self-government in areas where Panchayats do not exist; Strengthen the constitutionally mandated framework on which Panchayats are founded.

Components/ Schemes under RGPS A:
Administrative and Technical Support
GP Buildings
Capacity Building and Training of Elected Representatives &
Functionaries Institutional Structure for Training at State, District & Blocklevel
e-enablement of Panchayats Support to Panchayat Processes and Procedures in
Panchayats with Inadequate Revenue Base Special Support for Gram Sabhas in PESA and NE Areas Programme Management Information, Education, Communication (IEC) Strengthening of SECs Innovative Activities in States
IEC Activities

::Awareness program of Panchayat and functionaries

::Information Display System: GPs are being provided with information boards regarding proceedings of Model Gram Sabhas both in English and local language, Panchayat Enterprise Suit (PES) - PRIASoft and PlanPlus Application for awareness purpose.

Project Management Unit (PMU)

The following have been appointed as part of the PMU team for the State and the Districts:-

1. State Panchayat Resource Group (RGSA & e-Panchayat)-1
2. District PanchayatResource Group-8
3. Office Helper-2

They are tasked with the planning and monitoring progress of RGSA and also the implementation, hand holding and training for Panchayat Enterprise Suit.

E-PANCHAYAT MISSION MODE PROJECT (MMP)

If the Panchayats are to perform the ever increasing mandated task efficiently and effectively, extensive use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is needed. Moreover, there is a strong need to build a 'digital inclusive society' where large sections of rural population are able to benefit from new technologies; can access and share information and services freely and can participate in the development process more effectively.

The Panchayats being at the cutting edge of rural citizens and governance structure, e-Panchayat applications are an effective vehicle to stimulate mass ICT culture at the grassroots level. It is with this broad vision that MoPR formulated a scheme for ICT enablement of all the Panchayats in the country on a Mission Mode approach. The e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) is intended to address all the aspects of Panchayats' functioning from internal core functions such as Decentralized Planning, Budgeting, Accounting, Implementation and monitoring etc. to service delivery like issue of certificates, licenses etc.

Hence the key objectives of e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project are to use ICT for:

• Automation of internal workflow processes of Panchayats
• Improving delivery of services to citizens

9 No	Name of the Application	Implementation	Remarks
1	Local Government Directory (LGD)	Yes (100%)	All ZP and GP data are entered as per 2012 Delimitation
2	Plan Plus	Yes (100%)	Fo r the i nand al Veer 2014-15
3	PRlASoft	Yes	Day to day entry is being made by PDAs with constant  assistance from  the State PMU Team.
n	National Asset Directory (NAD}	Yes	Details are entered  as per new assets created under BRGf. Other asset details are also being entered
5	Action Soft	Ves	Details are entered as per Plan Plus and progress of BRGF Plan,
6	Area Proffer	Yes	90% Elected member details are entered, Other  village  profile   details   are  being entered after trajnfrigof PDAs
7	National Panchayat Portal	Yes (Nascent Stage)	Technical Assistants are being trained for implementation,
8	Meeting Management and Training Management	Yes	State PMU team and SIRD wll be entering details in this application
9	Social Audit	Yes	Details are  to   ce  entered   out   due   to  technical glitches progress has been halted
10	Service Plus	Nascent Stage	Service frameworks are prepared by State MIC team and will be operational very soon
u	m-ASSET	yes {100%)	A part of NAD,   m-Assei is mobile asset mapping and  has been done  thoroughly throughout the State.

 

• Capacity building of Panchayat Representatives and Officials
• Social Audit
• Transparency, Accountability, Efficiency and RTI compliance ofPanchayats
• Improving Governance of local self-government
  The Panchayats being the basic unit for planning and implementation of a large number of schemes and services, this MMP would also go a long way in improving public service delivery through PRIs with better outcomes.

The Panchayati Raj Directorate, in keeping pace with the times and anticipating the future is embracing the benefits of technological advancements in the coming years. The Directorate has already initiated steps to introduce the following facilities.

1. State-of-the-art video conference facility

To minimize the time taken for communicating the various schemes and related projects to the district levels, a state of the art video conference facility is projected as a future initiative by the Directorate. This video facility would also ensure that the interactions of the state teams with the central teams are conducted over video conferencing facility. This would not only save time but also would be extremely cost effective in the long run.

2. V-Sat connectivity to all Village Administration Centres

To further utilize the advancement and advantage of technology in reducing the time and efficiency gap between the stakeholders, the Directorate is working towards connecting all the village administration centres through V-Sat. It is the endeavor of the Directorate that all 176 Gram Panchayat Units are connected through satellite so that the concept of e-Panchayat gets to see the reality of the day. It is also the endeavor of the directorate that all applications online processed online so as to reduce the process of paper work in the Village Administration Centres.

3. E-Office

With an objective to convert the entire mechanism of paperwork online, the Directorate of Panchayat Raj is working towards a complete paperless office at the state headquarter level. With the success of the same at one level, the experiment will further move to the district levels and then subsequently to the block levels. The thrust of the Directorate is that in the next couple of years the entire process goes online thereby bringing in more convenience and accessibility to the entire work ecosystem.

4. Beacon Panchayats

In order to give firsthand experience in learning the workings of becoming a better Panchayati Raj Institution,the Directorate is in the process of selecting a number of Gram Panchayat Units to become the sites for peer learning to other non performing Gram Panchayat Units.This initiative will be supported by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj under the scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and all necessary given to these Beacon Gram Panchayat Units.

The Directorate of Panchayati Raj has been one of the most effective and efficient bodies to bring about reformation in the way elected representatives in rural Sikkim conduct their duties and responsibilities. It is through the directorate that the elected bodies in the Gram panchayat and the Zilla Panchayat have been able to show tremendous progress in the last many years. The Directorate also in the years that were, was able to achieve many milestones and success stories for the rest of the state and country to emulate.

1. Compendium of Notifications pertaining to Panchayats

With an objective to ease the process of understanding of the various notifications and circulars of the Government of Sikkim, The Directorate of Panchayat Raj brought out a compendium of notification pertaining to Panchayats in the year 2013. The compendium, which has the gazette notifications since inception of the Panchayati Raj institution in Sikkim is a ready reference for all elected Gram Panchayat members as and when they require reference.

2. Gram Panchayat Development Plan

Amongst the many firsts of the state of Sikkim, is another achievement in the field of documentation. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan, an annual planning document, notified as compulsory by the Government of India has witnessed Sikkim becoming one of the first states to come out with these guidelines. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan has a structured approach to planning of the various activities that needs to take place at the respective Gram Panchayat Unit.

3. Timely conduct of Elections

The State Election Commission (SEC) was constituted immediately after the enforcement of the Sikkim Panchayat Act, 1993. The Sikkim Panchayat Act 1993 was amended in 1997 to allow elections for both tiers to be contested by political parties. Since 1997, there has been a smooth process of facilitating election processes in the state and also great discipline in contesting elections in the state. Delimitation of Gram Panchayats and Zilla Panchayat wards and constituencies was also entrusted to the state election commission vide the state Panchayat Act (Amendment) 2007. The Directorate of Panchayat Raj has been ensuring that processes and procedures of Panchayat elections are followed as per the rule book and for the past several years has been conducting timely and successful Panchayat

4. Reservation for Women in Gram and Ward Sabha

In 2005, the Sikkim Panchayat Act was amended to insert a provision for one third reservations for women in the quorum of Gram and Ward Sabha to ensure active participation of women in all decision making. Later vide Notification No. 14/LD/P/2007, dated 12.09.2007,40% reservation for elected women representative was made mandatory. The final amendment vides Notification No. 11/LD/P/ll dated 17/12/2011 raised the reservation to 50% for women in all posts.
Reservation for the seat of Adhakshya and Up-Adhakshya in the Zilla Panchayat.

Year:1997

No. and name of Zilla Panchayat	Name of office in the Zilla Panchayat and category for which the reservation has been made
	Adhakshya	Up-Adhakshya
	OBC
1.WestDistrict		UR
2.Sou& Dish kr	UR	TJR
3.East District	UR<W)	OBC(W)
4. North District	ST	ST

YEAR 2002

No. and name of Zilla Panchaynt	Name of office in the Zilla Panchayat and category for which the reservation has been made
	Adhakshya	Up-Adhakshya
l.West District	OBC	UK(W)
2. South District	UR(W)	OBC
3. East District	UR	UR
4.North EM strict	ST	ST

YEAR 2007

No. and name of Zilla Panchaynt	Name of office in the Zilla Panchayat and category for which the reservation has been made
	Adhakshya	Up-Adhakshya
l.West District	ST	UR
2. South District	MBC	ST
3. East District	OBC	SC(W)
4.North EM strict	ST	ST(W)

YEAR 2012

No. and name of Zilla Panchaynt	Name of office in the Zilla Panchayat and category for which the reservation has been made
	Adhakshya	Up-Adhakshya
l.West District	ST(W)	OBC(S)
2. South District	OBC(W)	SC(W)
3. East District	OBC(W)	ST(W)
4.North EM strict	ST(W)	ST

 

5. Organizing activities during the 'Year of Gram Sabha'

In order to renew the commitment to grassroot democracy, The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, New Delhi had proposed to observe 2009-10 as the 'Year of Gram Sabha'. The Ministry had advised the state government to take up activities at Grassroot level and the state responded with the observation of the Year of Gram Sabha in the most befitting of manner with great importance given to self-governance, transparency and accountable functioning of Gram Sabhas. Four mandatory Gram Sabhas was organized in all the 176 Gram Panchayats Units of the state.

During the course of the observation in Sikkim, all GPUs were extended financial support to hold Gram Sabhas and television and radio were used as a medium for information dissemination. Essay competitions, quiz competitions and related competitions were organized on a state and District level.Literature on the importance of Gram Sabha was prepared and distributed for mass awareness of grass root democracy.

6. Model Accounting System

For Panchayat institutions to ensure transparency and accountability in their operations, The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India prepared a Model Accounting System for Panchayati Raj institutions. The central government consulted the CAG and the state government for the implementation of the same

The method of accounting is double entry and the accounts of PRIs will be maintained on Cash Based Double Entry Accounting System. To facilitate the adoption of Model Accounting System, the usage of user friendly software (PRIASoft) was designed and training for the same given to account officials in Gram Panchayats, District and state level officials.

7. Digital India Week

The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The Department of Information Technology is the nodal Department and the Directorate is the implementing agency for the entire event.

The Digitial India week is an annual event initiated in the year 2015.The Directorate took up this exercise with great enthusiasm deputing the District Panchayat Resource Group to all the District to handhold the functionaries and the Panchayats to observe this campaign. Various Activities like-Special Gram Sabha

• Power Point Presentation about DIW.
• Distribute brochures, email or distribute PPTs and required info for Special Gram Sabha
• Work in applications for GPS that have already done the PPTs and awareness programs their Special Gram Sabha:-

1. Area Profiler
2. ActionSoft
3. PlanPlus
4. PRIAsoft
5. Awareness drive in schools

Reports of activities were taken up in National Panchayat Portal for DIW and the PMIS provided by the ministry. Reports and pictures of the activities are posted in Facebook Page: Sikkim Panchayat Directorate for all to see.

8. Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan
The Prime Minister launched the 'Gramoday se Bharat Uday' Abhiyan at a Public Meeting in Mhow to observe the National Panchayat Day celebrated annually on 24th April. However, 2016 marked this National event with an eleven daylong celebration starting from 14th April to culminate with a special Gram Sabha on 24th April, 2016.This 11 day programme focused to strengthen Panchayati Raj and through it, promote farmers welfare highlighting the importance of preparing Panchayat Development Plan for local economic development and to motivate them to participate fully in the process.

As mandated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Level and District Committee for Implementation and monitoring of the campaign was constituted who also had the enormous task to
ensure maximum participation of people, especially women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. Extensive efforts were made to popularise the event at the village level.

The 11 daylong programmes were carried with utmost zeal and enthusiasm by stakeholders of all walks of life including Panchayat, public, children and government officials. Day to activities carried out in the Gram Panchayat level was reported daily to the Ministry and consolidated weekly reports were also submitted.

Awards & Recognitions

2015: Ranked 2nd on Incremental Devolution index in the country 2014-15

2015: Ranked 1st on Cumulative Devolution Index in the North East Region 2014-15

2015: Best District Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi PanchayatSashaktikaranAbhiyan (RGPSA)

2015: Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Rongay Tathangchen, East Sikkim

2015 : Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi PanchayatSashaktikaranAbhiyan (RGPSA) for Namphing Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2014: State Award for Devolution Index under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyaan for appraisal year 2013-14

2014: RashtriyaGaurav Gram Puraskar for Best Gram Sabha for 2013-14 under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for KolthangTokdey Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2014: Best District Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for West District ZillaPanchayat

2014 : Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Sangu Radhu-Khandu Gram Panchayat, West Sikkim.

2014 : Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2014-15, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Namphing Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2013: Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat SashaktikaranPuraskar for appraisal year 2013-14, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for MellidaraPaiyong Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim.

2013:Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2013-14, R aji v G an dhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Karmatar Gyaten Gram Panchayat, West Sikkim.

2013: Best District Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2013-14, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for South District Zilla Panchayat, Namchi.

2013: Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Puraskar for best Gram Sabha for appraisal year 2013-14, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Samdong Gram Panchayat, West Sikkim.

2012: Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2011-12, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Gerethang Gram Panchayat, West Sikkim

2012 : Best Gram Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2011-12, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for MellidaraPaiyong Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2012: Best District Panchayat Award under Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for appraisal year 2013-14, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for South District ZillaPanchayat, Namchi

2012: Rashtriya | Gaurav Gram Puraskar for best Gram Sabha for appraisal year 2011-12, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for YangangRangrang Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2011: RashtriyaGaurav Gram Puraskar for best Gram Sabha for appraisal year 2010-11, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (R G PSA) f or Sangadorjee Gram Panchayat, West Sikkim

2011: Third Best Performing state in Panchayati Raj for the year2010

2010: RashtriyaGaurav Gram Puraskar for best Gram Sabha for appraisal year 2010-11, Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for Mellidara Gram Panchayat, South Sikkim

2010: Third Best performing state in Panchayati Raj for the year2009-10

2009: Second Best performing state in Panchayati Raj for the year2008-09

2007: Third Best performing state in Panchayati Raj