While Samtse awaits the government’s decision to establish its town as the fifth dzongkhag thromde in the country, the town development works are in full swing.
Established in the 1960s, one of the oldest towns in the country did not see any major developments for decades. The works for the major facelift of the town began only in 2014.
With tall buildings and construction activities gaining speed now only a few structures are what remain of the old Samtse town.The middle of the town, which was once a bustling Sunday market area, is now used to store dredged earth and construction materials.
During the first sitting of the third Parliament, the prime minister announced that Samtse would be made the fifth dzongkhag thromde in the country.
“We have formed a high-level committee as prescribed in the writ of mandamus issued by the Supreme Court regarding the establishment of dzongkhag and yenlag thromde in 2015. If we get the go-ahead from the committee, we will get the plans rolling to establish Samtse dzongkhag thromde,” the Works and Human Settlement Minister Dorji Tshering said.
The minister also added that if Samtse throm’s delimitation remains the same as finalized by the Election Commission of Bhutan in 2015, the establishment of Samtse dzongkhag thromde need not be passed by the parliament again.
The places, which fall under the 2015 Samtse thromde delimitation, are Gangtokha, Lhamoiney, Norjangsa Maed, Norjangsa Toed, Tshongdusa, and Soeltapsa.
The dzongkhag, on the other hand, is ready for any decision the Government makes.
“If Samtse is recognized as a dzongkhag throm, we are ready to hand all our plans, budget, and human resource to the new thromde administration. We have had an internal discussion on this. It will only benefit us,” Kinzang Dorji, the District Engineer, said.
More than 5,000 people reside in the Samtse town area. Development works are expected to be complete by the end of the year giving Samtse town a new look, which the dzongkhag officials claim will be a model town.
