FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Bowing to the pressure from the MLAs and shack owners, the State government on Thursday was compelled to ‘relax’ and effectively roll back the provision in the new beach shack policy, the age criteria which debarred shack owners from applying for the licence.
Addressing a press conference at Paryatan Bhavan at Patto, here after holding separate meetings with the MLAs from coastal areas and the representatives of shack operators to discuss the newly introduced Goa State Shack Policy 2023-26, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said the age restrictions in the policy are now relaxed.
“Even if the shack owner is above 60 years old, he can apply and let his next generation carry forward the business. His experience will be counted along with his fathers,” the Minister said.
Khaunte said the idea behind age relaxation was to prevent the subletting of shacks to others.
He, however, pointed out that in the past total number of applications, which were 60 and above, was 194 and only 90 were allotted through lot system.
Stating that the aim of the shack policy was to ensure that the traditional business remained with the Goans, Khaunte said, “We have made it compulsory that every shack should offer Goan cuisine. The shack operators are the main ambassadors of tourism. We are coming up with the concept of Digital Coast in which the shack owners will be given POS machines,” he said.
The Tourism Minister said there would be a separate policy for private shacks which will be introduced within a month.
On subletting of shacks, he warned that the fine has been increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said, “The best thing in the policy is to have Goan cuisine. Goan cuisine was the most important, but lately, Chinese and other stuff have been introduced.”
“However, lately, we have seen that Goan cuisine was missing in certain shacks. The decision to make it compulsory is a critical decision. There are many who run shacks and their children do not care for them. I am happy that the minister took it into consideration. There should not be disturbances between the associations,” he said.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said, “The idea was not to allow the subletting of the shacks. As we go ahead, we will come to know how it is to be executed. Goan cuisine is a welcome step. Let us move ahead. A major thing has been sorted out. The government first brought the age limit bar and later removed the same as it was doing a great favour to the people. It was an act of distraction to hide the real issues.”
Cruz Cardozo, president of Shack Owners’ Welfare Association, Goa said, “We thank the government and the Tourism Minister for the policy and we will make sure that we will follow it.”
“There were certain shortcomings which we brought to his notice and they were sorted out. We had a problem with the age limit but that is sorted out now,’’ said Manuel Cardozo, president of the Traditional Shacks Owners’ Association (TSOA).
The coastal MLAs first met and discussed the policy in which the issue of subletting also cropped up. Issues of garbage and policing were also discussed. However, the shack owners came up with only an age bar issue and that dominated during their meeting with the minister.
