A special session of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu (DT) in Zhemgang has decided to develop the current town of Panbang into a Yenlag Throm. This has left the residents of Tingtibi unhappy. Tingtibi was planned as a bustling town in the 7th Five Year Plan but years down the line the plan failed to develop.
Members had proposed that the current towns of Tingtibi and Panbang be developed into a Yenlag Throm. However, majority of the members said that it was appropriate for Panbang to be made into a Yenlag Throm as it is centrally located. And with Tingtibi’s proposal disapproved, residents in Tingtibi expressed their disappointments saying that they have been paying urban taxes since the town was identified to be developed. Some residents had even forgone their private land for the development of the town.
“We were happy and offered our land to the government for better development of Tingtibi town. There are urban amenities developed here for the past two decades but now everything has changed. It’s a big disappointment to us and we do not know what to do now,” said a resident, Jamtsho.
Another local resident, Thinley Wangdi, said they had paying urban taxes since 1992. “We want to know how the decision was made by the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Otherwise, we want to pay rural taxes.”
The Chairperson of the Dzongkhag Tshogdu said they have already discussed the issue and said they would propose the current town be made into a Gewog Throm for the residents to pay rural taxes. Tingtibi town has 22 shops with over eight hundred residents.
