Gangtok: Fifteen years of relentless environmental protection measures of the small Himalayan State of Sikkim today received a resounding endorsement from the Centre with the Union Tourism Minister, Ms Kumari Selja, declaring Sikkim as an ‘Eco-friendly Tourism State'.

“The Green Mission campaign of Sikkim Government to preserve the environment and forest cover is highly commendable and we are very happy to declare Sikkim as an Eco-friendly Tourism State,” said the Union Minister while inaugurating a day-long inter-State regional conference of Tourism Ministers of East and North-Eastern States being hosted at Chintan Bhavan here today.

Tourism meet

Tourism Ministers and representatives from eight States from East and Northeastern States are participating in the meet.

Ms Selja pointed out that while drawing up tourism policies, the fragile ecology of North-Eastern States must not be forgotten which offer extraordinary prospects for Green Tourism. “In this direction, the Green Mission initiative of the State Government of Sikkim aiming to sustain, maintain and enrich the State's environment and ecology is highly commendable. I urge every State and Union Territory in India to emulate this initiative,” she said.

It may be added here that earlier this year, the Union Forest Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, had announced a Green Bonus for Sikkim.

Ms Selja, who arrived yesterday for the meet, lavished praises on the Sikkim Government for its exemplary tourism projects, including the beautification of the Mahatma Gandhi Marg located in the heart of the capital.

“The MG Marg project can be emulated by other States and my Ministry will be sharing information on it with other States as an example,” she said. She also complimented the State Government for the cleanliness maintained in Gangtok and said that other States should learn from Sikkim.

Focus on North-east

Commenting on the meet, Ms Selja said that the objective of the conference is to give a serious thought on tourism-related issues and problems that specifically pertain to the States in the region. She pointed out that despite the immense tourism potential of the North-East region, the sector is yet to see its full potential.

“There are indeed some hurdles that are blocking the exploitation to its full capacity. This conference aims at perusing, analyzing and examining at length these blockages,” said Ms Selja. She added that the Ministry has strongly taken up the issue of relaxations of inner line, restricted area and protected area permits and after constant persuasion the Ministry of Home Affairs have accorded relaxation for the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

The Minister said that the Ministry has initiated the scheme of certification of skills of service providers working in the hospitality sector.