1 INTRODUCTION Sikkim is a very small hilly state in the Eastern Himalayas, extending approximately 114 Kms from north to south and 64 - kms from east to west, surrounded by vast stretches of Tibetan Plateau in the North, Chumbi Valley of Tibet and the kingdom of Bhutan in the east, Darjeeling district of West Bengal in the south and the kingdom of Nepal in the west . The state being a part of inner ranges of the mountains of Himalayaa has no open valley and no plains but caried elevations ranging from 300 to 8583 mtrs above main sea level consisting of lower hill, middle and higher hills, alpine zones and snow bound land. The highest elevation 8583 mtrs. being the Mt. Kangchendzonga itself. The thumb-shaped state of Sikkim is characterized by wholly mountainous terrain. Almost the entire state is hilly, with the eleva- tion ranging from 280 metres (920 feet) to 8,585 metres (28,000 feet). The summit of the Kanchenjunga is the highest point. Most part of the land is unfit for agriculture because of the precipitous and rocky slopes. However, certain hill slopes have been con- verted into farm lands using terrace farming techniques and is used for cultivation. Numerous snow-fed streams in Sikkim have carved out river valleys in the west and south of the state. These streams combined to form Teesta and its tributary, the Rangeet and its tributary. The Teesta is known as the "lifeline of Sikkim", which flows through the state from north to south. In Sikkim about one third of the land is heavily forested. The Himalayan mountain range in North Sikkim. The lofty Himalayan ranges surround the northern, eastern and western borders of Sikkim in a crescent. The most populated areas lie in the southern reaches of the state, in the Lower Himalayas. The state has twenty- eight mountain peaks, twenty-one glaciers, 227 high altitude lakes, including the Tsongmo Lake and Khecheopalri Lakes, five hot springs, and over 100 rivers and streams. Eight mountain passes connect the state to Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. Geology The hills of Sikkim mainly consist of gneissose and half-schistose rocks, making their soil brown clay, and generally poor and shallow. The soil is coarse, with large amounts of iron oxide concentrations, ranging from neutral to acidic and has poor organic and mineral nutrients. This type of soil tends to support evergreen and deciduous forests. A large portion of the Sikkim territory is covered by the Precambrian rock and is much younger in age than the hills. The rock consists of phyllites and schists and therefore the slopes are highly susceptible to weathering and prone to erosion. This, combined with the intense rain, causes extensive soil erosion and heavy loss of soil nutrients through leaching. As a result, landslides are frequent, isolating the numerous small towns and villages from the major urban centres. Climate SIKKIM - INTRODUCTION
Transcript
1
INTRODUCTION
Sikkim is a very small hilly state in the Eastern Himalayas,extending approximately 114 Kms from north to south and 64 -kms from east to west, surrounded by vast stretches of TibetanPlateau in the North, Chumbi Valley of Tibet and the kingdom ofBhutan in the east, Darjeeling district of West Bengal in the southand the kingdom of Nepal in the west . The state being a part ofinner ranges of the mountains of Himalayaa has no open valley andno plains but caried elevations ranging from 300 to 8583 mtrsabove main sea level consisting of lower hill, middle and higherhills, alpine zones and snow bound land. The highest elevation 8583mtrs. being the Mt. Kangchendzonga itself.The thumb-shaped state of Sikkim is characterized by whollymountainous terrain. Almost the entire state is hilly, with the eleva-tion ranging from 280 metres (920 feet) to 8,585 metres (28,000feet). The summit of the Kanchenjunga is the highest point. Mostpart of the land is unfit for agriculture because of the precipitousand rocky slopes. However, certain hill slopes have been con-verted into farm lands using terrace farming techniques and is used for cultivation. Numerous snow-fed streamsin Sikkim have carved out river valleys in the west and south of the state. These streams combined to formTeesta and its tributary, the Rangeet and its tributary. The Teesta is known as the "lifeline of Sikkim", whichflows through the state from north to south. In Sikkim about one third of the land is heavily forested.
The Himalayan mountain range in North Sikkim.The lofty Himalayan ranges surround the northern, eastern and western borders of Sikkim in a crescent. Themost populated areas lie in the southern reaches of the state, in the Lower Himalayas. The state has twenty-eight mountain peaks, twenty-one glaciers, 227 high altitude lakes, including the Tsongmo Lake and KhecheopalriLakes, five hot springs, and over 100 rivers and streams. Eight mountain passes connect the state to Tibet,Bhutan and Nepal.
GeologyThe hills of Sikkim mainly consist of gneissose and half-schistose rocks, making their soil brown clay,and generally poor and shallow. The soil is coarse, with large amounts of iron oxide concentrations,ranging from neutral to acidic and has poor organic and mineral nutrients. This type of soil tends tosupport evergreen and deciduous forests.A large portion of the Sikkim territory is covered by the Precambrian rock and is much younger in agethan the hills. The rock consists of phyllites and schists and therefore the slopes are highly susceptibleto weathering and prone to erosion. This, combined with the intense rain, causes extensive soil erosionand heavy loss of soil nutrients through leaching. As a result, landslides are frequent, isolating thenumerous small towns and villages from the major urban centres.
Climate
SIKKIM - INTRODUCTION
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The climate ranges from sub-tropical in the south to tundra in the northern parts. Most of the inhabited regionsof Sikkim, however, enjoy a temperate climate, with the temperatures seldom exceeding 28 °C (82 °F) insummer or dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) in winter. The state enjoys five seasons: winter, summer, spring,autumn, and a monsoon season between June and September. The average annual temperature for most partof Sikkim is around 18 °C (64 °F). Sikkim is one of the few states in India to receive regular snowfall. Thesnow line is around 6,000 metres (19,600 feet).
During the monsoon months, the state is lashed by heavy rains that increase the number of landslides. The staterecord for the longest period of non-stop rain is eleven days. In the northern region, because of high altitude,temperatures drop below -40 °C in winter. Fog also affects many parts of the state during winter and themonsoons, making transportation extremely perilous.
Demography
A majority of Sikkim's residents are of Nepali ethnic origin, descendants of conquering Gorkhas who came tothe province in the 12th century. The native Sikkimese, consisting of Bhutias, who migrated from the Khamdistrict of Tibet in the 17th Century. The Lepchas are the state's original inhabitants who is believed to havemigrated from the far east. Tibetans reside mostly in the northern and eastern reaches of the state. Immigrantcommunities who are not native to the state include the Marwaris, Biharis,etc who are mainly involved inbusiness activities.
Hinduism and Buddhism are the religion professed by most of the Sikkimese. Sikkim also has a small group ofChristian population, consisting mostly Lepchas, who are converted to the faith after British missionariesstarted preaching in the region in the late 19th century. The state has never had inter-religious strife.Mosques in downtown Gangtok and Mangan also serve the minuscule Muslim population.
Nepali is the linqua franca of Sikkim. English and Hindi are also spoken and understood in most placesof Sikkim. Other cognate languages spoken in Sikkim include Bhutia, Lepcha, Limboo, Rai, Gurung,Tamang, Manger, Sunuwar, Newari, etc.
Revenue Blocks No. 453 2001 Census6 No. of Towns No. 9 2001 Census7 Total Households No. 114223 2001 Census8 Average
Household Size No. 4.7 2001 Census9 Total No. 540851 2001 Census10 Male No. 288484 2001 Census11 Female No. 252367 2001 Census12 SC % 5.0 2001 Census13 ST % 20.6 2001 Census14 Main Workers % 39.31 2001 Census15 Per-Capita GSDP
at Current Prices Rs. 29808 2004-05 (Q)16 People Below
Poverty Line % 36.55 1999-200017 Human
Development Index No. 0.532 1998 (Skm) 2005 (Ind)
Sources:(i) Census of India 2001-final population totals,(ii) Planning Commission,
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TYPE STUDY SURVEY (2005-06)
State Income estimates provide the most important indicator of the overall performance of the State’s economy.These estimates over a period of time reveal the contents and direction of the changes in the level of economicdevelopment. Estimates of SDP have been essentially used in government policy formulation, resource alloca-tion and academic studies. Sectoral composition of SDP gives an idea of the economy.
The Department of Economics, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation Sikkim is regularly estimatingSDP estimates over a period of time. For over a decade, state income cell of DESM&E have been trying toconduct a survey especially for private service sectors. This, we thank to Central Statistical Organisation whotook initiative of funding the state to undertake the task of survey for private sectors. The survey was givenname “Type Study Survey” under which we have covered seven different sectors like:
State Income Unit of DESM&E undertook all the responsibilities of designing the schedules for thesurvey. Various unemployed youth from different district were employed to collect the information. Accord-ingly the youth were given training for the survey. The youth collected all the information under the supervisionof DESM&E’s staff.
The ‘Type Study Survey’ resulted that altogether there are 97920 households in Sikkim. Out of these,81415 comes under rural and 8505 under urban areas. There are 319 (Three hundred and nineteen) PrivateSchools/Colleges, 34 (Thirty four) Private medical/Pathology, 283 (two hundred and eighty three) Barber andBeauty Parlour, 96 (ninety six) Private Legal Services, 467 (Four hundred and sixty seven) Private Tailoring,80 (Eighty two) Cable, Cinema/Video Parlour, and 20 (twenty) Registered Manufacturing Unit.
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PRIVATE SCHOOLS / COLLEGES
Sikkim has made rapid progress inthe field of education. Over the years,progress in education sector hasshown a massive improvement in theliteracy rate of the state. The expan-sion of School/Colleges has beenvery rapid. In this, the role of privateschool/colleges cannot be ignored.Out of 1099 schools/colleges inSikkim, 319 are private school/col-leges. A number of private schoolswith outstanding performance arethere in Sikkim. Their contributiontowards the expansion of educationsystem in Sikkim is significant. In eastdistrict, which is the highest populousof all the district having a householdof 38095, there are 123 private schools/colleges. This includes big colleges like Sikkim Manipal Institute ofTechnology, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, and Pharmaceutical College etc. The rural areashaving a household of 31857 have 302 numbers of Pvt. School/Colleges. Likewise urban areas having ahousehold of 6238, have only 17 Pvt. School/Colleges. Comparatively there are quite high numbers of Schoolsin rural areas because urban size in Sikkim is only 11.10 percent as per 2001 Census.
The district wise data shows that north district has very less numbers of schools compared to otherdistrict. This may be due to less population in the district. In west district, there are 25099 households in ruralareas and 787 in urban areas in which there are only 89 schools in rural areas. Likewise in south district, thereare 21938 households in rural and 1194 households in urban areas in which there are 86 schools in rural and 3schools in urban areas.
The private education sector earns about 1529.52 lakhs profit annually. Compared to other big statesof India, Sikkim has very less number of units as well as the workforce employed in the particular sector.Number of units being high in rural areas, 90 percent of profit is contributed by the rural areas. As a whole,3046 people in rural areas and 389 people in urban areas employed under this sector. Annually, this sectorgenerates about 4792 lakhs income with 2182 lakhs operating surplus out of which 1772 lakhs contributiontowards salary and wages.
The district wise figure shows that both in urban and rural areas east district has the highest number ofunits which is followed by south and then west district. North district has very less number of units comparedto other districts. Altogether 1608 workers in east district, 590 in south, 715 in west and 133 people in northdistrict are employed under this sector in rural areas. East district is contributing highest share in income makingabout 1320 lakh profit annually.
In urban areas also, 76 percent of the units are in east district, followed by south and then northdistrict. West district has no units in urban areas. In Sikkim few areas are classified under urban areas, sothe number of units in urban areas is much less than the rural areas.
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School/College Teacher Employee Income Expenditure Profit/ Loss Rent Interest OS S & W
(in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %)
DISTRICTWISE PECENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, EXPENDITURE& WORKFORCE : URBAN
Districtwise percentage distribution of Income of Urban Sector
98.62%
0.00%
0.25%1.13%
EAST SOUTH NORTH WEST
Districtwise percentage distribution of Income of Urban Sector
1.34% 0.36%
0.00%
98.30%
EAST SOUTH NORTH WEST
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PRIVATE MEDICAL
Since the beginning, there were onlyGovernment Hospitals Clinic etc serving thepeople in Sikkim. The entire serious ailmentwas referred to big hospitals outside the statesfor treatment. The decrease in birth rate from22.5 to 21.8 and death rate from7.5 to 5.7since the last three decades has shown signifi-cant improvement in the health infrastructureof Sikkim. In this, the contribution of PrivateMedical cannot be overlooked. Of late Pri-vate medical has also shown a remarkable in-crease in its numbers. According to the “TypeStudy Survey”, there are 34 private medicals/pathology in which 32 are in urban areas andonly 2 are rural areas which as a whole earn about 670 lakhs income annually. Compared to urban areas, thereare very less numbers of unit in rural areas. It is very recently, a Private Central Referral Hospital has been setup in Sikkim besides that there were only private check-up centers with a single doctor and some helpers.There is only one private doctor practicing in the village area in Sikkim i.e. rural area. The Central ReferralHospital which comes under rural areas is in fact very closer to the main Gangtok Town and is mostly acces-sible to the people of urban areas.
There are 32 urban private medical in the state in which east district has the highest of 19(Nineteen)followed by south district which has 12 (twelve), west district has only one and north district do not have anyprivate medical. Since east being the capital district, highly populous, private doctors/pathology are mostlyconcentrated in east. Because of Central Referral Hospital falling under rural areas, number of people workingunder rural private medical is 389 which are much more than that of urban areas which only 90 people workingin this sector. The rural contribution in income is 368 lakhs which is high compared to urban areas whichcontribute only 302 lakhs income annually. The rural figure shows that there are only two units in rural areaswhich fall under east district only and the other three districts do not have any private medicals.
In urban areas also east has the highest number of units earning about 235 lakhs income which includes144 lakhs salary and wages every year. North district being a district of difficult terrain and very less popula-tion, there is no private practitioners practicing in the district, people either go to the Govt. Hospitals or theycome down to Gangtok for the treatment. Almost all the private medicals are working under profit. Out of thetotal income of Rs.670 lakhs, they make about Rs 203 lakhs profit which is about 30 percent of the totalincome.
In Sikkim, private medical sector is growing day by day at a faster rate. Number of Veterinary doctorshas started practicing privately besides human doctors. The number of Homeopathic, Ayurvedic, and Physio-Therapy etc are increasing day by day.
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SUB-SECTOR : PRIVATE MEDICALDETAIL INFORMATION RELATING TO INCOME, EXPENDITURE
& WORKFORCE : RURAL / URBAN
PECENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, EXPENDITURE& WORKFORCE : RURAL / URBAN
5.88
94.12
84.58
15.42
78.78
21.22
54.97
45.03
68.2
31.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Hos pital/Clinic Doc tor Employee Inc ome Ex penditure
Urb a n & Ru ra l pe rce nta ge d istribu tion o f Num b e r o f Un its, In co m e , Ex pe nditure & W orkforce
RURA L URB A N
Hospital/Clinic Doctor Employee Income Expenditure
(IN NOS) (IN NOS) (IN NOS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS)
The activities covered under this categoryare hair dressing and other beauty treatment. InSikkim, this business is totally covered by privatesector. According to “Type Study Survey”, there are283 barber and beauty parlour centers in Sikkim ofwhich 152 are in rural areas and 131 in urban areas.Altogether they earn about Rs 332 lakhs incomeannually employing about 921 people spending Rs.120 Lakhs in the salary and wages. The numbers ofhair dressing and beauty treatment centers are in-creasing at a very faster rate. In rural areas, eastdistrict has the highest of 82 numbers of units whichis followed by west district which has 39 units; southdistrict has 27 units and north has only 2 units. Inurban areas also, east district has the highest of 82units followed by south which has 33 units, west has12 units and north has only 4 units.
In this sector, more people are engaged inurban units than the rural units though the number ofunits is less in urban areas. 54 percent of units are inrural areas which employ about 228 people and earnRs 121 lakhs income. Whereas 46 percent of unitsin urban areas employ 262 people earns aboutRs.211 lakhs income annually. This shows that thoughthe number of units are less in urban areas, their earnings is high as compared rural areas as more people areengaged in the occupation in the urban areas. The profit margin is also high in urban areas.
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SUB-SECTOR : HAIR DRESSING- BARBER AND BEAUTI PARLOURDETAIL INFORMATION RELATING TO INCOME, EXPENDITURE
& WORKFORCE : RURAL / URBAN
152131
228
262
120.95
211.26
89.94
168.36
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Shops E mployees Income Expenditure
Urban & Rural Number of Units, Income, Expenditure & Workforce
RURAL URBAN
PECENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, EXPENDITURE &WORKFORCE : RURAL / URBAN
Shops Employees Income Expenditure
(IN NOS) (IN NOS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS)
DISTRICTWISE PECENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, EXPENDITURE& WORKFORCE : URBAN
Districtwise percentage distribution of Income of urban sector
63.89
24.48
8.94
2.69
EAST SOUTH NORTH WEST
Districtwise percentage distribution of expenditure of urban sector
2.67
8.75
24.84
63.74
EAST SOUTH NORTH WEST
Shops Employees Income Expenditure
(in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %) (in %)
EAST 62.6 62.6 63.89 63.74 64.46 62.6 56.47 63.86 62.6
SOUTH 25.19 25.19 24.48 24.84 23.08 25.19 5.88 23.29 25.19
NORTH 3.05 3.05 2.69 2.67 2.8 3.05 0 2.81 3.05
WEST 9.16 9.16 8.94 8.75 9.67 9.16 37.65 10.04 9.16
SIKKIM 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
District
Profit/ Loss Rent
Number of Gross
Interest OS S & W
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PRIVATE LEGAL SERVICES
In Sikkim, it was only in 1955 a highcourt was established. In the beginning, no law-yers were allowed in the lower court except forexceptional cases. After the merger, High courtof Sikkim started functioning in line with the otherhigh courts of the country. At present, there arefour district courts each headed by District andSession Judges. Due to small size of the stateand little population, there are very few privatelegal practitioners compared to the other bigstates of the country. The ‘Type study Survey”resulted with having 96 numbers of private ad-vocates in the state. Altogether 157 people areengaged under the private legal services whoearns about Rs 125 lakhs income which includesabout Rs 7 lakhs expenditure in salary and wages.Almost all the private practitioners are concen-trated in urban areas and there is not even a single person practicing in rural areas.
Out of 96 private practitioners 93 of themare practicing in east district and only threein south district. There is no private practi-tioner practicing in North and West district.All the cases in north and west district arehandled by the lawyers of east and southdistrict. East district has the highest share ofincome, they earn about Rs 121 lakhs in-come out of the total. South earns only Rs4 lakhs income annually. East district high-est number of people employed in this sec-tor which is about 97 percent of the total.In Sikkim since last four-five years, the num-ber of private lawyers increased at a veryfast rate. Out of the total number of 129people engaged under this activity, 27 per-sons are the employee of the private practi-
tioners who shares about Rs 7 lakhs salary and wages out of total.
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Advocate Employee Income Expenditure Profit/ Loss
(IN NOS) (IN NOS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS)
DISTRICT WISE INCOME, EXPENDITURE & WORKFORCE : URBAN
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SUB-SECTOR : TALIORING DETAIL INFORMATION RELATING TO INCOME, EXPENDITURE
& WORKFORCE : RURAL / URBAN
PRIVATE TAILORING
In Sikkim tailoring service is almostcovered by the private sector. Mostly sched-ule caste group of Nepali community, Muslimpeople etc are engaged under this activity. Ac-cording to the “Type Study Survey”, there are467 tailoring units which earns about Rs 553lakhs income annually employing 810 peopleunder this activity.
Out of the total of 467 units, 309 unitsare in rural areas and 158 are in urban areasbut the income earning in urban areas is muchhigher compared to rural areas. 66 percent oftailors are in rural areas earning about 41 per-cent of income whereas only 34 percent oftailors in urban areas earns 59 percent of in-come. This shows that value added perworker in urban areas is high compared tourban areas.
In Sikkim designer garments are notdesigned, tailoring is confined only to stitch-ing of cloths like, suits, ladies as well as gents,frocks, shirts etc. All the designer garmentscome from outside the state. In rural areas,east district has the highest number of tailoring earning about Rs 108 lakhs income per annum followed by westdistrict having 95 units and earning Rs 63 lakhs income. South district 53 units units and north has the leastnumber of units. Regarding the workforce also, east district has the highest number both in rural as well asurban areas, followed by south district, and then west and at last north district. The total expenditure in salaryand wages is about Rs 166 lakhs. Out of the total income of Rs 552 lakhs, this sector makes about Rs. 90lakhs income annually.
Shops Employee Income Expenditure
(IN NOS) (IN NOS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS) (IN LAKHS)
