Ravangla, July 26: The government has decided to support the proposal for a model village to be developed near the subdivisional town of Ravangla in south Sikkim.

Sikkim urban development and land revenue minister D.D. Bhutia announced this at a Van Mahotsav function held here earlier this week. Bhutia, who is also the local MLA, said an estimated amount of Rs 18 crore will be spent by the government to construct the village.

?We plan to set up a colony with all modern facilities and accommodate 100 poor families there,? he said. He added that land for the purpose had already been identified and belonged to the animal husbandry department on Kewzing Road.

The department would be transferred from the place for the purpose.

He also said the funds were likely to be obtained through the land bank schemes of the state land revenue and disaster management departments.

Unlike the model villages constructed elsewhere, where the houses are located far away, this particular scheme in Ravangla would be built in the form of a colony. The department will undertake the construction of the village and then transfer it to the families.

On Sunday, Bhutia had visited Kewzing, some eight km from Ravangla, and held deliberations with those involved in village tourism there. He also visited the market and various other areas to work out a detailed plan to develop the place.

Kewzing is the best-known destination for village tourism in the state.

Some 12 houses of the village-run homesteads there are supervised by the Kewzing Tourism Development Committee, in association with Sikkim Development Foundation, an NGO. In fact, this was the foundation?s pilot project. The area has also become a bird watchers? paradise.