Gangtok Municipal Corporation

Further information: Gangtok and East Sikkim district

Gangtok Municipal Corporation
History
Founded	2010;15 years ago (2010)
Leadership
Mayor	Nell Bahadur Chettri [1]
Deputy Mayor	Tshering Palden Bhutia [1]
Municipal Commissioner	Gayden Chopel
Seats	19 [1]
Elections
Last election	2021 [1]
Next election	2026

Gangtok Municipal Corporation is the municipal corporation of Gangtok city of Sikkim state in India.

History

The Gangtok Municipal Corporation Act, 1975, establishes a Municipal Corporation in Gangtok, and applies to the town of Gangtok. ^[2] The first-ever historic elections of the Gangtok Municipal Corporation consisting of 15 wards, was held on 27 April 2010 ^[3] . The Corporation was formed as part of the reforms under JNNURM. ^[4] The councilors took the oath of allegiance to their offices on 12 May 2010. ^[5] Elections to the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor were held on the same day. K. N. Topgay and Shakti Singh Choudhary were elected as the First Mayor and First Deputy Mayor of the Gangtok Municipal Corporation respectively. ^[5] The first phase of the three Fs (functions, functionaries, and funds) depending on the capacity of the corporation was devolved to the corporation vide Gazette Notification No 293, dated 25 June 2010. ^[5]

Administration

The Municipal Corporation is divided into 19 administrative wards. ^{[5] [6]} It consists of democratically elected members (councillors) and is headed by the Mayor. ^[6] The councillors are chosen through direct election by all the voters residing in the administrative ward for a term of 5 years. Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the Municipal Commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The Municipal Commissioner, appointed by the state government, is the head of the executive arm of the corporation and is assisted by various other officers belonging to different departments in the corporation.

Wards

The total number of municipal wards in Gangtok city was increased from 15 to 17 with addition of two new wards in 2015. ^[7] In 2020, the number of wards was increased to 19. ^[7] The newly created wards were Bojoghari 2nd Mile and Pani House. ^[8]

Councillors elected in 2021 Elections (19 Wards)

Zone	Ward Number	Ward Name [9]	Areas Covered	Assembly Constituency	Councillor [10] [9]	Political Group
	1	Bojoghari, 2nd Mile Ward			Mr Palzor Lepcha
	2	Burtuk Ward			Mr Nell Bahadur Chettri
	3	Lower Sichey Ward			Ms Kala Rai
	4	Upper Sichey			Ms Aruna Chettri
	5	Chandmari Ward			Ms Chungkela Lepcha
	6	Tathangchen Ward			Ms Pema Lhamu Maltha
	7	Development Area Ward			Mrs Tshering Palden
	8	Diesel Power House Ward			Ms Bindhya Cintury
	9	Arithang-I Ward			Mr K Tempo Tapgyal Bhutia
	10	Arithang-II Ward			Mr Raju Tamang
	11	Lower MG Marg - Lall Bazaar Ward			Mr Ashok Kr. Prasad
	12	Upper MG Marg Ward			Mr Sundeep Malu
	13	Tibet Road Ward			Mrs Diki Lhamu Lepcha
	14	Deorali Upper Syari Ward			Ms Sabita Pradhan
	15	Pani House Ward			Mr Norbu Tamang
	16	Daragaon Lumsey Ward			Mr Milan Gautam
	17	Tadong Ward			Mr Chewang Thendup
	18	Tadong 6th Mile			Mrs Rubina Gurung
	19	Ranipool Ward			Mrs Asha Chettri

List for 17 Wards

Zone	Ward Number	Ward Name [11]	Areas Covered	Assembly Constituency [11]	Political Group
	1	Upper Burtuk		28-Upper Burtuk & 29-Kabi Lungchuk
	2	Lower Burtuk		28-Upper Burtuk & 29-Kabi Lungchuk
	3	Lower Sichey -I		28-Upper Burtuk
	4	Lower Sichey -II		28-Upper Burtuk
	5	Upper Sichey		28-Upper Burtuk
	6	Chandmari Ward		29-Kabi Lungchuk & 23-Syari
	7	Development Area		27- Gangtok & 28- Upper Burtuk
	8	Diesel Power House Ward		27-Gangtok
	9	Arithang Ward		26-Arithang
	10	Lower M.G. Marg Ward		26-Arithang
	11	Upper M.G. Marg		26-Arithang & 27- Gangtok
	12	Tibet Road Ward		27-Gangtok
	13	Deorali Ward		25-Upper Tadong & 26-Arithang
	14	Dara Goan Ward		25-Upper Tadong
	15	Tadong Ward		22-Namchebong
	16	Ranipool Ward		22-Namchebong
	17	Syari/Tathangchen Ward		23-Syari &26- Arithang

List of Mayors and Deputy Mayors

Mayors

Sl	Name	Tenure	Ward name
1	K.N. Topgay [12]	2010 - 2014	Chandmari Ward [12]
2	Lashey Doma Bhutia [13]	2014 - 2015	Syari
3	Shakti Singh Choudhary [14]	2015-2020	Upper M.G. Marg
4	Nell Bahadur Chettri [5] [15] [16]	May 2021 -	Burtuk ward

Deputy Mayors

Sl	Name	Tenure	Ward name
1	Shakti Singh Choudhary [17]	2010-2015	Upper M.G. Marg
2	Lassey Doma Bhutia	2015-2020	Tathangchen ST(W)
3	Tahering Palden Bhutia [16]	May 2021 -	Development Area ward

Gangtok Smart City

As per a report from Praja, "Sikkim state government created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) known as Gangtok Smart City Development Limited (GSCDL) for execution of smart city projects in Gangtok. The Smart City Board initially included both the Mayor and Commissioner. But, since Mayor and councilors are not part of the SPV board, they are not able to put forward ward issues under smart city mission projects." ^[18]

Revenue sources

The following are the Income sources for the corporation from the Central and State Government. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Revenue from taxes

Following is the Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Property tax.
• Profession tax.
• Entertainment tax.
• Grants from Central and State Governmen t like Goods and Services Tax.
• Advertisement tax.

Revenue from non-tax sources

Following is the Non Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Water usage charges.
• Fees from Documentation services.
• Rent received from municipal property.
• Funds from municipal bonds.

References

1. Dhungel, Pankaj (4 May 2021). "Sikkim: Suspense over, Nell Bahadur Chettri is new Gangtok mayor". EastMojo. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
2. "The Gangtok Municipal Corporation Act, 1975" (PDF).
3. "Clean Sikkim Green Sikkim - Gangtok Municipal Corporation" (PDF).
4. "State Annual Action Plan (FY 2017-18)" (PDF).
5. "Welcome!". gmcsikkim.org. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
6. "Gangtok Municipal Corporation (Sikkim)". MyBharat. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
7. "Aquifer Management Plan of Gangtok Municipal Corporation, Sikkim" (PDF).
8. "Sikkim municipal elections on Mar 31". Sikkimexpress. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
9. "Welcome!". gmcsikkim.org. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
10. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). sikkim.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
11. "Gangtok Municipal Corporation (Ward to Ward Boundary Demarcation)".
12. "Gangtok Civic Chief Removed".
13. "Sikkim NOW!: Gangtok gets a new Mayor". Sikkim NOW!. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
14. "Interview: Mayor of Gangtok Shakti Singh Choudhary on how Gangtok is treating waste as treasure – ICLEI South Asia". southasiaoffice.iclei.org. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
15. "Nell Bahadur Chettri sworn in as the new mayor of Gangtok". Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
16. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.sikkim.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
17. "Welcome!". www.gmcsikkim.org. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
18. "Praja's Urban Governance Dialogue" (PDF).
19. Jadhav, Radheshyam (3 December 2020). "Why civic bodies in India need municipal bonds". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
20. "Municipal corporations under severe strain as revenues sink: RBI Report". Business Today. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
21. "If cities are to deliver better quality life, need to have business models which are sustainable". Financialexpress. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.