In a significant effort to strengthen Sikkim’s cooperative sector and secure long-term stability for the state’s farming community, a high-level delegation from the Denzong Agricultural Co-operative Society (DACS) held a series of important meetings in New Delhi on Monday. The team was led by Satish Chandra Rai, MLA-cum-Chairman of DACS, and Dhiraj Pradhan, Managing Director of the Society. The discussions began with a meeting with Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS, Defence Secretary, Government of India, and senior Army officers. The delegation strongly appealed for the restoration of the earlier system under which DACS received three-year contract sanctions for supplying essential items to the Indian Armed Forces. These contracts were granted on the basis of annual negotiations and were in place for two consecutive terms—2017–2020 and 2020–2023—before the Centre reverted to annual sanctions for 2024–25 and 2025–26.
During the meeting, Rai highlighted that restoring the three-year sanction period would ensure operational continuity, financial predictability, and stability for thousands of farmers in Sikkim who depend on DACS. He stressed that repeated short-term sanctions create uncertainty and disrupt the cooperative’s long-standing supply mechanism, which has consistently served the Defence forces with reliability and efficiency. The Defence Secretary is learnt to have given a patient and positive hearing, acknowledging the concerns raised by the delegation. DACS, a Government of Sikkim undertaking established in 1965 under the Sikkim Cooperative Societies Act, has played a crucial role in supplying food products and essential goods to the Indian Army for decades. Its reputation for dependable service and timely delivery has made it one of the country’s most trusted cooperative agencies in defence procurement.
Following the meeting with the Defence Secretary, the delegation met Lieut. General Mukesh Chaddha, Director General (Supply & Transport), Lieut. General Ajai Ramdev (IT), and Maj. General G.S. Chaudhary, Joint Secretary (Army). These discussions were described as constructive and encouraging, with senior Army officials assuring that the proposal for reinstating the three-year contract system would be positively examined.