New Delhi, July 30: The Union tourism ministry, at the behest of the Prime Minister's Office, has formed a panel to look into the possibility of throwing open uninhabited islands in the Andaman and Lakshadweep archipelagos for high-value tourism.

The panel, headed by tourism secretary Vinod Zutshi and including officials from Niti Aayog and the environment and forests ministry, has also been asked to redefine existing coastal zone regulations to allow construction of edge-of-the-sea resorts, government officials have said.

Environment ministry sources said the government is keen to promote tourism on six uninhabited islands in the Andaman group and four such islands close to Lakshadweep, a group of 36 small islands, located 200 to 440 kilometres off the southwestern coast of India. Ten of the Lakshadweep islands are inhabited.

"The idea is to construct world class resorts and hotels on the lines of what Maldives offers to high-end tourists for unique experiences," said a joint secretary in the ministry. "We expect the investments to be mostly by private parties, but we want to facilitate the process by easing environmental norms."

The move, the official said, had been initiated by the PMO.

"The panel is likely to submit its report within a month after which necessary measures will be taken to facilitate required infrastructure and construction on the islands," another official said.

Currently the Andamans, three of whose major parts - south, north and middle - are inhabited, gets around four lakh tourists a year. The eastern and western Andaman islands are uninhabited. The tourist footfall in Lakshwadeep stands at a dismal 10,000 to 15,000 every year.

"Also, these are mostly domestic tourists. Not many foreign tourists with high spending capacity go to these places because of lack of world-class infrastructure and facilities. We want to change that and develop these places into something totally unique," the official also said.

The committee has also been asked to tweak existing coastal regulations to promote building of hotels and resorts jutting into the sea - like those in Mauritius and the Maldives.

The move has found support within the tourism industry whose representatives said these demands have been in place for long. "While the government wants to promote tourism in a big way to make it a major source of revenue and employment generation, it has been carrying the burden of several restraining laws and regulations that don't let the industry flourish," said Pronab Sarkar, the president with the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

"Big pushes such as this one are required to ensure that foreigners look towards India instead of Southeast Asian countries."