The Chief Minister, Mr Pawan Chamling, today said that the forest cover of the Himalayan State has increased by four per cent due to the pro-environment policies of his government since 1994.

“From the time we came to power in 1994, we undertook policies and measures to protect environment and our forests and as a result the forest cover of Sikkim has increased by four per cent by now,” Mr Chamling said while launching the fifth phase of the State Green Mission here today.

The forest cover of Sikkim in 1995-96 was 43.95 per cent and according to the report of Ministry of Forest of 2009, now it is 47.59 per cent, said Mr Chamling.

He said that some of the environment and forest conservation policies such as ban on grazing in forests and removal of cow sheds from the forests were difficult decisions.

“The State Government faced a lot of criticism for such policies but we went ahead with our mission to conserve our rich biodiversity for future generations,” said the Chief Minister.

Describing the State Green Mission as the main policy of the State Government to conserve environment, the Chief Minister appealed to the Sikkimese people to participate in the mission whole-heartedly.