Gangtok, March 5: Houses and health insurance cover for BPL families, 100 storage units for each of the 32 constituencies to keep off-season vegetables, free uniforms for students till Class VIII for schools located in remote areas and all with an eye on the Assembly polls next year.

The focus of Sikkim Nirman, on the lines of Bharat Nirman, is to “undertake new and significant initiatives”, chief minister Pawan Chamling said while presenting the budget today.

Under Mukhya Mantri’s Awas Yojana, Rs 18 crore has been allotted for construction of houses in rural areas. Nearly Rs 3 lakh will be spent on each house. The Rs 1 crore health insurance will cover two members from each BPL family across the state.

New roads will be constructed along with repair of old ones leading to places of heritage and pilgrimage located on the outskirts of towns and cities.

Around Rs 2 lakh has been allotted for the development of all recognised official languages in the state. A voluntary action fund of Rs 20 lakh has been put side for NGOs “putting in relentless efforts in the rural sector”.

The proposed central university will be developed fully by Sikkim, the chief minister said. “It will be come up as one of most sought-after centres of higher learning in eastern India and South Asia and transform the state into a knowledge society,” the chief minister said.

Presenting the last budget of the third consecutive term of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front government, Chamling said Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for a Nathu-la trade museum.

The idea, he said, was to integrate trade with tourism. Since the route was once used by Sir Francis Edward Younghusband to go to Lhasa, now part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, in 1903, the Nathu-la trade route study team has suggested that certain spots and memorials be made national heritage sites. Unesco support, too, would be sought, Chamling said.

After rural development, the focus was on education. Around Rs 50 lakh has been given to Sikkim University to undertake policy research exclusively on the state.

The government, the chief minister said, will recruit the best teachers for college education and the state human resource development department will follow UGC norms.

The government will also launch de-concentration and de-crowding projects in towns like Gangtok, Singtam, Rangpo and Namchi.

Yangang in South Sikkim will be one of the new growth centres where mega projects like the central university and a skywalk is expected to come up.

For senior citizens over 55, Rs 30 lakh has been allotted under pilgrimage sojourn fund. It can be accessed for pilgrimage to places within South Asia.