Tourists will soon enjoy the pristine natural beauty of Minicoy, Suheli and Kadmat Islands in Lakshadweep, and the administration will resume the process of developing the high-end ecotourism centres for Rs 806 crore on these three islands.
The administration of Lakshadweep restructured on Saturday and launched new global tenders to select bidders for the development of beach and water villas offering 370 rooms on these three islands under the public-private partnership model. The water and beach villas on these three islands will be handed over to selected bidders for development, operation and maintenance for a period of 75 years.
The Lakshadweep government has received all the necessary permits, including the coastal regulatory zone and clearance certificates from the elected panchayats on the three islands, to operate bars in the resorts. In an interview with ThePrint in May, Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel said that he wanted to develop the archipelago along the lines of the neighbouring Maldives, a renowned international tourist destination.
The administration had launched global tenders in 2019 to develop eco-tourism projects on these islands, but after a subdued response from potential bidders, the union's territorial administration decided to withdraw, restructure and restart the tenders. The projects are supported by the federal think tank Niti Aayog and the Union Interior Ministry to develop the remote islands. However, the project has raised concerns among environmentalists.