 bill no xlviii of 2010 the special financial assistance to the state of sikkim bill, 2010 a billto provide for special financial assistance to the state of sikkim for the purpose ofpromoting the welfare of scheduled tribes and other sections of the people of thestate and for the development and exploitation of its vast natural  resourcesand for matters connected therewith and incidental theretobe it enacted by the parliament in the sixty-first year of  the republic of india as follows:—commencementspecial financial assistance to the state of sikkim52 (1) there shall be paid such sums of moneys out of the consolidated fund of india, every year, as parliament may by due appropriation provide, as special financial assistance to the state of sikkim to meet the costs of such schemes of development, as may be undertaken by the state with the approval of the government of india for the purposes of promoting the welfare of people and for the development, proper utilization and exploitation of the resources in the state(2) without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1) above, the following projects/schemes shall be given priorities while undertaking any welfare or developmental work under this act:—10(a) early completion of the airport at pakyong and to convert it into aninternational airport(b) time bound completion of rail link to the state (c) construction of an alternative national highway via bhutan(d) early census for reservation of tamang and limboo tribes in the legislativeassembly15(e) development of sikkim as an international tourist destination(f) preservation of the flora and fauna of the state3 the provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in forceact not in derogation of other law statement  of  objects  and  reasonssikkim was merged with the union of india  in 1975 the peace loving people of the state are proud to be indian even after thirty-five  years of its merger, not much development has taken place mainly due to financial constraint it is a landlocked state with no air and rail connectivity as of now, with the rest of the country the only life line of the state ie, nh-31ais often blocked due to various bandh and agitations called in the hilly terrain of west bengal which causes a lot of difficulties in sustaining the supplies to the state there is a constant demand for an alternative national highway via bhutan for better connectivity of the state this state is also strategically located geographically as it shares its international borders with nepal, bhutan and china sikkim is also popularly known as mini switzerland of india with abundance of natural and scenic beauty and has the third highest peak of the world ie mt kanchenjunga if adequate financial assistance is provided, it can be developed into an international tourist destination there is a lot of resentment among the people of the state due to inadequate development and welfare of schedule tribes and other sections of people of the state it is, therefore, essential that special financial assistance should be given to the state of sikkim so that the plans can be implemented for an all-round development of this statehence this billot  lepcha financial  memorandumclause 2 of the bill provides special financial assistance to the state of sikkim to meet the cost of such schemes of development as undertaken by the state with the approval of the government of india the bill, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india at this stage, it is not possible to give the estimates of recurring expenditure, which would be involved out of the consolidated fund of india no non-recurring expenditure is likely to be incurred from the consolidated fund of india———— a billto provide for special financial assistance to the state of sikkim for the purpose ofpromoting the welfare of scheduled tribes and other sections of the people ofthe state and for development and exploitation of its vast natural resourcesand  for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto————(shri ot lepcha, mp)