About Us

Rural Management & Development Department emphasizes on sustainable development of achieving the goal of improving quality of life of rural masses. It has, therefore, designed for development of new pro-poor programmes and also concentrating on restructuring of the existing programmes. There has been a shift in the policy in which rural poor are treated as resource to utilise their potentialities. The emphasis is on empowerment of rural communities, decentralized governance,. participatory and beneficiaries driven approaches designed to improve the delivery of resources and amenities. These thrust areas are sufficiently backed up by fiscal and administrative decentralization which will help in bridging the rural-urban gap in income and economic opportunities and human development. The department is also trying to create off- farm employment opportunities so that rural enterprises become both engines of growth as well as measure contributor to the eradication of rural poverty. In order to realize this objective the Rural Management and Development department adopted the following strategy:-

(i) Adoption of decentralized, participatory and beneficiary driven approaches designed to improve the delivery of such rural services as connectivity, drinking water, rural sanitation, extension of micro credit, education and health to the poorest section of the societies so as to foster confidence amongst people.



(ii) Empowerment of Panchayati Raj lnstitutions as "Institution of Self Government" to plan and implement programmes of economic development and social justice. The devolution is patterned on a nexus between the three Fs- Functions, Functionaries and Finances. These devolutions are being taken up through a transparent form of activity mapping based on principle of subsidiary.



(iii) Bridging the rural urban gap in income, economic opportunities and human development in order to ensure equitability of resources in rapid development in rural areas and to overcome service gap between Urban and Rural areas.



(iv) To create off-farm employment opportunities in the rural areas so that the rural enterprise can become both an engine of growth as well as major contributor to the reduction of rural poverty.



(v) Making rural peqple thearbitratQt of· their destiny because the development has to be in consonance with the people's wishes and aspiration. Emphasis is being more towards participation of People in development process through the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Self Help Groups.



(vi) Creation of enabling environment for better economic opportunities and growth. At present many of the rural villages in Sikkim are not well connected by all weather roads to the market centre or the main road network. Emphasis is now to provide rural connectivity to all unconnected habitation so as to bring the economic development in these areas.



(vii) Adequate water and sanitation are necessary to improve the health outcome and also reduces the incidence of water borne diseases and ensures that productive mandays to economic resources of the household are not wasted on avoidable illness. Emphasis of RM&DD is to provide safe drinking water to all habitation within Sikkim and provide sanitation facilities to the poor household within the State.



(viii) Providing avenues of dignified living through provision of shelter, water and clean environment.



(ix) Social mobilization of rural poor for economic upliftment through Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana(SGSY). Development of village infrastructure, ensuring food securities and employment to the rural people through Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SGRY).