Thirty-six of the Andamans and Nicobar's 572 islands are inhabited and Western tourists are allowed to travel only to its administrative capital Port Blair, Havelock island and 11 other minor isles in the archipelago's north.

"A proposal for opening new islands is in its very advanced stage and we are expecting the permission (from New Delhi) very soon," D.S. Negi, top bureaucrat of the federally-administered Andamans, told AFP.

Negi said his administration has identified 10 uninhabited islets near Havelock - a haven for scuba diving, surging and snorkelling - but declined to name them, saying he feared opposition from local environmentalists.

"I will not name these islands because different (environmental) lobbies will raise objections," he said, adding that the exercise was aimed at rebuilding the archipelago's once-thriving tourism industry.

About 100,000 Western and domestic tourists visited the archipelago last year but the figure dropped by 91 percent after tidal waves on December 26 wiped out 70 percent of its jetties and destroyed its exotic coral reefs, an administration spokesman said.

Chief Secretary Negi also scratched the island of Jolly Buoy in northern Andamans from the local tourism map, saying catastrophic destruction to its coral shelves by the tsunamis had robbed the lush green isle of its charm.

"As there is very little coral left, there is really no point in opening the island again to tourists," he said. Andamans was home to five species of exotic coral reefs, much of which is now choking under sediments or has been smashed, scientists say.

About 1,205 people are confirmed dead and 5,531 still listed as missing on the Andamans which lay close to the epicentre of the earthquake off Indonesia that triggered the tsunamis. The giant waves killed 217,000 people across Asia.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, warned Wednesday they would oppose the move if the administration violated ecology rules of the chain, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) southeast of the Indian mainland and home to military bases and tribal populations.

"We'll oppose this move to open 10 virgin islands if the administration violates the eco-friendly model code set up for the tourism industry," warned Samir Acharya of the archipelago's influential Society of Andaman and Nicobar Ecology.

The code calls for judicious use of fresh water and electricity in the supply-starved chain.

"Also, the authorities must honour the guidelines stipulated in India's Coastal Regulation Zone which does not permit any construction activity near the shores," Acharya added.

New Delhi has carried out little development in the Andamans, which is blessed with pristine beaches and a rich variety of wildlife, to protect its five Stone Age tribal groups from modern diseases their immune systems may not be able to handle.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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