Centre plans to turn Andamans into an ideal township

Sources said the focus would be on the Andamans, which is to be ‘‘showcased as a major Indian effort at resettling tsunami-affected people’’ to the rest of the world.

The commission has hired the services of experts for the project. A major effort would be required in persuading people to change their lifestyle resettle them in cluster housing, sources said.

As per the plans, the islanders would be resettled in colonies, with each house costing about 1.5 lakh. Modern jetties would be constructed in each island. Sources said the Union territory government has been advised to float global tenders for this project.

‘‘The island would have a referral hospital, medical and engineering colleges and modern infrastructure,’’ sources said.

Acknowledging the work of NGOs’ in reaching out to the tsunami-affected areas, Planning Commission member Hamida Sayeed recently called representatives of prominent NGOs involved in relief and rehablitation work. Sayeed sought their help in the commission’s ambitious plans and also promised to coordinate relief work with them.

Responding to the widespread criticism that after the tsunami, the government had left NGOs on their own, the Planning Commission had set up a ‘‘Tsunami NGO Coordination Cell for Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Survivors’’, comprising representatives from 25 NGOs and commission officials.

The NGOs have offered to work in areas assigned to them by the government. ‘‘Even if it’s after two months of the disaster, at least someone took pains to speak to us to know how we could be helpful,’’ Dino Touthang of the EFICOR organisation said.