TRADE through Nathula will commence in July, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said. “We have come to know that the Centre has cleared the Nathula proposal and with time proper trade would start,’’ the Chief Minister said while releasing the party  manifesto for the forthcoming elections in the State. Describing the opening of the Nathula route as an achievement, Mr. Chamling, who is also president of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) said his Government had been able to persuade the Centre to open up this ancient Silk route. He claimed it was only  due to his Government that Sikkim was in a stable economic condition now.

“The internal revenue of the State is now Rs. 300 crores, an increase from the Rs. 40 crores during the last chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s regime,” he said. He waned to take the revenue to Rs. 1000 crores by 2015. Mr. Chamling made a strong claim that he had converted the  State into an agri-export zone and was aiming to make it an organic State within the next  five years. His only ambition was to make Sikkim a self-sufficient State, he added. Meanwhile, the State Industries department has said they were ready for trade through Nathula in June after clearance from the

Ministries of External Affairs and Commerce and Industries. However, the basic study report for Nathula is yet to be prepared. The meeting between the security agencies and the civil authorities has not taken place. Local people demand that Nathula should not be opened till the rights of the three ethnic communities are ensured.

On the other hand there is no clear guideline how the traders of Sikkim would benefit from the Nathula trade. Sikkim coming under article 371, does not have any system of Permanent Account Number (PAN). Without PAN,  Government of India does not give export import lisence. 

The decision to start trade through Nathula was taken when Prime Minister Vajpayee visited China in last June. It is believed that by agreeing to begin trade through Nathula, Beijing has finally agreed that Sikkim is a part of India. Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also removed the map of Sikkim from their website, which till then showed Sikkim as an independent country.

| Sikkim | North East Enquirer (Headlines) | Nena Home Page |