SARBHANG

Jan 28, 2009: Although the first year of the tenth five-year plan has expired, geogs in Sarpang dzongkhag have started to push forward their action plans. Chuzergang was the first geog to hold meetings yesterday to discuss plans and programmes worth Nu  2,000,000 in consultation with the public. The meeting discussed various developmental issues affecting the lives of the people. Like most of the geogs in the dzongkhag, the  issue of safe drinking water is a serious problem. According to the gup, a large chunk of the budget will be used for providing safe drinking water for three chiwogs which are most hit by water crisis.A project, that will include construction of a 500- cubic meter water tank in Chasker,  has been approved during the current financial year, to solve the problem of acute water shortage in the four chiwogs, according to the Chuzergang gup. Farm road has been seen as the most important and immediate need of the people of the geog.  Nu 200,000 will be utilized from the budget to construct a three-kilometer farm road according to the chairperson of Geog Yargay Tshogdu. Public raised the concern over the uneven labour contribution by the residents as many of the villagers were reluctant to contribute labour.  “Every household should contribute labour equally,” said a resident of the geog.One of the major issues discussed in the meeting was the difficulty in collecting tax by the geog office. More than 60 households live away from the geog and do not pay annual taxes and insurances, according to the chairperson of the meeting. The gup said that the tenth plan in the geog would be unique from the current development year. According to him, work will be divided and distributed among the people of the geog for easy implementation and faster completion. “It will be very much decentralized,” he said. However, the details of the plan will be finalized by the GYT. There are 458 households in nine chiwogs with more than 90% resettlement population.

Written by M.B. Subba, Gelephu 

in Bhutan Today