India's eastern West Bengal state is preparing a detailed plan to develop the coastal Sundarbans area, the world's largest mangrove forest, as a global tourist destination, news reports said today.

The Sundarbans lies on the delta of Hooghly, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, partly in India's West Bengal and part in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site, the mangrove forests are home to the royal Bengal tiger, the estuarine crocodile, a variety of snakes including the Indian python and over 260 species of birds.

The forests, with the breathing roots of mangrove trees along innumerable distributaries of the rivers, is ecologically fragile and environmentalists have expressed reservations over developing it as a major tourism site.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation conducted a study in 2007 on development of coastal tourism and a masterplan for the Sundarbans delta, West Bengal's Tourism Department's top official Bijoy Chatterjee was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

A particular site has been identified and a detailed masterplan was being drawn up for developing the area without disturbing the wildlife, Chatterjee said.

India's federal Planning Commission and Tourism Ministry had cleared a proposal to conduct a further detailed study with the support of UNDP.

The Sundarbans project was likely to draw global investment once it secured environmental clearance, Chatterjee said.

"We have to showcase the potential before the tourists to draw global attention to this UNESCO world heritage site," he said.

The West Bengal government would facilitate the project by providing infrastructure including roads, water and power, he said.