Sikkim's first greenfield airport to be completed by December 2014 By TBM Staff | Mumbai

The first greenfield airport in Sikkim at Pakyong will be completed by December 2014, which will provide air connectivity to the land locked state, Bhim Prasad Dhungel, Minister for Tourism, Government of Sikkim said yesterday, the PTI reported. The Pakyong airport, being built at an altitude of 4,700 feet, will be one of the five highest airports in India. The reinforcement wall on the project is 80 metre in height, which is one of the tallest reinforcement walls in the world, Dhungel told Dr K Chiranjeevi, Minster of State with Independent Charge for Tourism, Government of India, in New Delhi, official sources said. He said that construction work on the Rs 300-crore airport being constructed by Airports Authority of India on 200 acre land is in full swing and added that operation of flights from the airport will be commissioned by March 2015. Dhungel said that the airport having 180-metre-long airstrip will facilitate landing of ATR-72 plane. Presently, the nearest airport to Sikkim is located 124 km away at Bagdogra in West Bengal.

Sikkim records steepest fall in poverty level

By PTI | 15 Sep, 2013, 11.42AM IST

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Sikkim has recorded steepest fall in poverty level in the country on account of increase in per capita consumption.

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GANGTOK: Sikkim has recorded steepest fall in poverty level in the country on account of increase in per capita consumption and the proportion of the poor living below poverty line in the urban area is lowest among all states. 

Latest data released by the Planning Commission says that in Sikkim, the proportion of people below the poverty line (BPL) came down from 30.9 per cent in 2004-05 to 8.19 per cent in 2011-12, a decline of 22 per cent due to inclusive and equitable development of the entire state, an official release said. 

The number of people living below poverty line in Sikkim has come down from 1.70 lakh in 2004-05 to 51,000 in 2011-12 and the proportion of the poor in the Himalayan state remains well below the national average. 

According to Planning Commission, Sikkim has been ranked among the five best performing states in poverty reduction in the country. States with the least proportion of poor living below poverty line are Goa (5.09 per cent), Kerala (7.05 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (8.06 per cent), Sikkim (8.19 per cent), Punjab (8.26 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (9.20 per cent). 

The average monthly per capital expenditure in rural and urban areas of Sikkim has been estimated at Rs 1445.06 and Rs 2528.11 in comparison to national average monthly per capital expenditure of Rs 1287.17 and Rs 2477.02 in rural and urban areas respectively, the release said. 

Around 9.85 per cent of rural population and 3.66 per cent of urban population of the Sikkim lives below poverty line in comparison to national average of 25.70 per cent rural population and 13.70 per cent urban population living below poverty line, according to latest planning commission data. 

Sikkim has the lowest 3.66 per cent urban population living below poverty line which is minimum among all states and is followed by Goa (4.09 per cent), Haryana (4.33 per cent) and Kerala (4.97 per cent). 

In rural poverty, the 9.85 per cent population of Sikkim is living below poverty line and the state is ranked with the five top states Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab in terms of reduction in rural poverty. 

Among the North-eastern states, Sikkim has been ranked as top in poverty reduction.

Poverty declines sharply in Sikkim

IANS     |     September 15, 2013     |     Economy  ·  Nation     |     0 Comments

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New Delhi: The north-eastern state of Sikkim has performed creditably in implementation of poverty alleviation programmes with the proportion of people below the poverty line declining sharply to 8.19 percent in 2011-12 from 30.9 percent in 2004-05 — showing a steep fall of 22 percentage points, government data showed.

“Sikkim has recorded the steepest fall in poverty level in the country from 2004-05 to 2011-12 on account of increase in per capita consumption and the proportion of the poor living below poverty line in the urban area of the state is lowest among all the states of the country,” according to an official statement of the Sikkim government released here.
Referring to the Planning Commission data, the statement said, the number of people below poverty line in Sikkim has come down from 170,000 in 2004-05 to 80,000 in 2009-10 and and it declined further to 51,000 in 2011-12.
The proportion of the poor in the Himalayan state remains well below the national average of 21.9 percent.
The number of persons below poverty line has been reduced by one-fifth in the state and a sizeable population of 1,19,000 persons living below poverty line have been lifted out of poverty during the last seven years as a result of various developmental programmes launched by the state government.
“About 23,000 households have been brought above poverty line in the state during the seven-year period,” the statement said.
Sikkim is ranked among the five best performing states in poverty reduction. The state with lowest proportion of people living below poverty line is Goa with 5.09 percent, followed by Kerala 7.05 percent and Himachal Pradesh 8.06 percent.
Sikkim is at the fourth position with the proportion of people living below poverty line at 8.19 percent, as per the latest Planning Commission data.
Around 9.85 percent of rural population and 3.66 percent of urban population of Sikkim lives below the poverty line as compared to the national average of 25.70 percent for rural and 13.7 percent for urban areas.

Sikkim has the lowest proportion of people below poverty line in urban areas, followed by Goa 4.09 percent, Haryana 4.33 percent and Kerala 4.97 percent.