Team Herald
PANJIM: The All Goa Private Shack Owners Association (AGPSOA) on Sunday has demanded that government should urgently start receiving applications from shack owners, soon after the beach carrying capacity report is tabled before the Cabinet.
“The season has already been started and tourists prefer other locations like Kerala and Hampi and we here have to bear huge losses. The delay has led to huge losses not only to the owners, but also to the government,” said Dharmesh Saglani, AGPSOA president,
Informing that the case has been going on before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and nearly 100 owners had gathered at the meeting to discuss the future course of action and by when would they be issued licenses.
“We are responsible citizens and we only want to carry out business legally. We are ready to submit any document before the government authorities. It was the government’s job to come out with the beach carrying capacity report in 2014, but it has been delayed for nearly three years,” he added.
Acknowledging that the government did address some of their grievances, he said that it has promised to find a permanent solution by framing a shack policy under which licences would be given for five years.
“We want to follow the rules and we need support from the government. Only then it will be possible for us to carry out business in a smooth and transparent manner,” he said
The AGPSOA has decided to meet the chief minister and other officials to submit their proposals and grievances.
However earlier, the shack operators had received a setback when the High Court of Bombay at Goa dismissed its plea that challenged the National Green Tribunal’s direction to Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to revoke permissions issued to around 335 private shacks. The NGT directions came following GCZMA’s failure to comply with its earlier order to conduct sand dune mapping and beach carrying capacity of different beaches in the State.
