Tourism, which was a huge source of revenue for Lakshadweep islands once, has been facing a major crisis. Caught in legal battles between the administration and tourism operators, the tourist resorts at Bengaram and Agatti islands - two widely sought-after destinations in Lakshadweep - have been closed for the past couple of years.
Other than causing huge revenue loss, it has severely affected employment opportunities in the islands also.
“The island resorts at Bengaram and Agatti used to be popular among tourists. The resort at Bengaram was closed in 2010 while operations of Agatti resort was shut down in 2011. Both the issues are currently before different courts. Closing down of the resorts has affected the economy of the islands. It’s high time the administration and the officials took steps to solve the issues,” pointed out T Muthukoya, who was operating Agatti Island Beach Resort.
Similar is the issue of Bangaram Island Resort, which was operated by the Casino Group for over 20 years.
They took the property on lease from SPORTS (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports), which used to renew the agreement every five years. In 2009-10, SPORTS floated global tenders to operate the resort. The Casino Group approached the court against this pointing out that as per the agreement, they have the right to run the resort for 25 years. Later the issue became complex with a bunch of petitions from the landowners of Bangaram.
The landowners had pointed out that according to the Lacadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Protection of Scheduled Tribe) Regulation, 1964, and Lacadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Land Revenue and Tenancy) Regulation, 1965, the land in the islands cannot be transferred to people from outside. The issue is currently before the Supreme Court. “Developmental activities in Lakshadweep islands have been badly hit by the closedown of resorts,” said Jose Dominic, MD of CGH Earth Group.
“It’s a sad story after the resorts closed down. The resorts and related activities were major sources of livelihood for locals. After that no developmental activity is taking place there. Local establishments were also hit. It seems there’s a policy paralysis regarding Lakshadweep in Delhi,” he said.
“Operations of these resorts was a source of revenue for the administration while provided jobs to locals. About 80 per cent of the employees were locals. These resorts used to give about 30 per cent of their revenue as lease amount which comes to above `1 crore,” said P K Kassali, former tourism officer at the Lakshadweep islands.
There is a demand for promoting the concept of lagoon villas. “The Lakshadweep islands with vast lagoons can host hundreds of lagoon villas in Minicoy, Kalpeni, Agatti, Kadmat, Suheli and Bangaram. The authorities should be positive to accept these facts while framing the tourism policy for the island,” demanded A Misbah, president of the Lakshadweep ST Welfare Association.