The Chief Minister, during his visit told the present tenants about the plan and asked them to co – operate with the government in its efforts to beautify Gangtok. These tenants will be relocated to the slaughter house area at Arithang. The UD and HD officials have already inspected the hall and feasibility of the proposed plan. Mr. Dorjee however revealed that out of the 35 tenants, only 24 families have valid documents which prove that they are locals and therefore only these families with the proper documentation will be relocated. When this relocation is to be carried out has not yet been finalized but according to Mr. Dorjee, the building for the urban poor is being constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Renewal Mission. This building consists of 40 units where the tenants of the hall will be shifted. This building will take 18 months to be completed.

During this visit, Chief Minister Chamling had 23 proposals which included the renovation of New Market and the acquisition of the Star Cinema Hall. The other mentionable proposals were vehicular access from middle secretariat to Tashiling Secretariat via Nam Nam hillock, a recreation centre, a children’s park and a town hall at the top of Kanchandzonga Shopping Mall and the Tourism office to be redesigned into a multi – level parking lot with a mall and the tourism office on the top floor.

The Chief Minister also asked the concerned officials to improve the gradient standard of the roads in the city. Mr. C. Zangpo said that the department has seriously taken up the proposals made by the Chief Minister and these have been segmented into three categories, namely, short, medium and long term. The short term proposals will be completed within a year, the medium will take three years to complete and the long term proposals will take no less than three years to complete.

Dhan Bahadur Rai