Thiruvananthapuram: The Lakshadweep administration on Sunday said that is has proposed high-end eco-tourism projects at Kadamat, Suheli, and Minicoy Islands.
A statement from the Lakshadweep administration said that the intention was to establish a robust base for maritime economic growth with tourism development as its core.
The projects are to be implemented under the aegis of NITI Aayog and taking into account the protection of the fragile coral's ecosystem.
Three water villa projects which are of the first in the country will be opened in the Islands. The water villa projects will come up at Minicoy at a cost of Rs 319 crore, Suheli islands at a cost of Rs 247 crore and Kadamat at Rs 240 crore.
National Centre for Sustainable Social Management (NCSCM), MoEF&CC and NITI Aayog have conducted a joint survey during November 2018 for site assessment and confirmation.
Lakshadweep Collector, S. Asker Ali, (IAS), told IANS: "All the mandatory clearances are given for the projects are given upfront including the CRZ clearances."
He also said that National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) was engaged to prepare the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report which is required for CRZ clearance.
The Collector said that before finalizing the projects, the administration has conducted meaningful consultations with all the concerned stakeholders including public representatives and the panchayats of Kadamat, Kavaratti and Minicoy.
The local panchayats concerned have reportedly issued NOC for the proposed eco-tourism projects at Kadamat, Minicoy and Suheli islands in totality even for bar license in the project.
The administrator said that Global tenders for the three projects have been floated and can be downloaded with effect from August 1.
