The poverty level in Sikkim has gone down with 80,000 people now living below poverty line, according to the new official estimates for 2009-10 released by the Planning Commission.
While in 2004-05, poverty level in Sikkim stood at 30.9 per cent with 1,70,000 people living under BPL, in the wake of the intense poverty alleviation programme initiated by the government, it has been significantly reduced in both urban and rural areas, official sources said.
The poverty levels in some other North-Eastern States – Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland – has increased during the period, the data reveals.