3.5.4 Administrative Services

Dungkhag Administration

Gelephu, and its nearby Geogs, fall under the administrative limits of the Gelephu Dungkhag Administration, which is the responsible authority for civil administration in the region. The Dungkhag Administration, a part of the Sarpang Dzongkhag Administration is headed by Dungpa and has various separate administrative sections including land records and finance. The Dungkhag Administration campus is located in the Kuenphen Lam adjacent to the Food Corporation of Bhutan. This campus also houses other institutions like Royal Court of Justice, Office of the Superintend of Police and Regional Registration Office.

Gelephu Municipal Corporation

The Gelephu Municipal Corporation is responsible for the administration of Gelephu town. The office of the Gelephu Municipal Corporation is situated on the Gelephu-Trongsa Highway adjacent to the Regional Education Store. The functions and administrative set-up of the Gelephu Municipal Corporation is explained in detail later in this chapter.

Regional Revenue and Customs Office

The Regional Revenue and Customs office is located near the football ground adjacent to the Bank of Bhutan. The future proposals include establishment of dry port on a 5.44 acres plot owned by the department and construction of a modern office.

Department of Immigration Office (Regional Registration Office)

The Regional Registration Office in Gelephu was established in 1976 and is located inside the Dungkhag Administration campus. This regional office serves six dzongkhags while the department is primarily responsible for controlling the immigrant flow of non-Bhutanese entering in the country, issuing of route permit for tourists and identity cards to workers on the basis of approval from the concerned ministry. The staff strength is about fifteen persons and is anticipated to increase in the future with respect to the region’s development. Future proposals include a requirement of 1.5 acres of land for the construction of a two storied office building with detention facilities.

Regional Trade and Industry Office

The Regional Trade and Industry Office is located in a rented building behind the hospital premises. As the role of the department is to monitor the industrial development and to approve proposals for setting up new industries in the Gelephu region, the department shall play a crucial role in facilitating the Jigmeling Industrial Estate (1500 acres) in between Gelephu and Sarpang.

Office of the Forest Range Officer, Gelephu Range (Department of Forestry Services)

The office is located near the teak plantation along the Gelephu-Trongsa Highway, occupying a registered area of 6.90 acres. The staff strength is about 26 persons, while the department is primarily responsible for the protection and marking of forest areas and the issuance of permits. The department has established a forest check post near Indo-Bhutan border with one person permanently stationed there.

Office of Park Manager ( Royal Manas National Park)

The office is located near Office of the Forest Range Officer along the Gelephu-Trongsa Highway. The reserved land under the office is about 3 acres, out of which 2.58 acres is reserved for development of a Pygmy Hog habitat. The total staff strength associated with the office is about 78 persons, out of which only six persons are stationed in the Gelephu head office. The primary responsibilities of the office include carrying out research activities, protecting large range of habitats, maintaining the bio-diversity of habitats and protection of endemic and endangered species.

Some of the other administrative facilitators in Gelephu include the Fisheries Department and the Regional Pig and Poultry Office located to the east of the town towards Mao Chhu.

3.5.5 Security Services

Urban areas, by definition, are places with higher security levels for the property and life of their inhabitants. Security becomes an issue of prime concern in an urban area when thousands of people with varied social, economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds come to live together. There are certain public codes of conduct, which unless respected the integrity of the urban life could not be achieved. Broadly security needs could be divided into two; one pertaining to the internal security aspects of the settlement; and the other pertaining to the external security threats created to the settlement. Given the unrest in nearby Assam, security takes on significance in Gelephu. The security aspects of Gelephu are taken care of mainly by the Royal Bhutan Police, and also by Royal Bhutan Army. The police station of Gelephu with lock-up facilities is located behind the Bhutan Telecom Office is a part of the police residential campus. The office of the Superintend of Police is located in the Dungkhag Administration compound. A police training camp is located a few kilometers away from the town towards north on the Gelephu-Trongsa Highway. As a part of the security measures inside the town, apart from the strict police vigilance every day, there exists a police post in Norkhil Lam and a security post in-front of the Bank of Bhutan. Security against fire is taken care by the Fire Brigade, which is a part of the police establishment.

Click here for secirity measures and check posts map

Apart from the police establishment, the town also houses a considerable army force. Due to the non-availability of defined places for these establishments in the town, currently they occupy parts of spaces available within various institutional campuses. There is a considerable army establishment near the Indo-Bhutan border, which takes care of the security aspects along the border. Apart from all these security establishments in the town there are security check posts at strategic points along the Mao Chhu and at entry points of the town along the Gelephu-Sarpang corridor to check foreign entry into the town. Due to the security arrangements in the region the effects of the disturbances in nearby Assam were very limited.