PANJIM: The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved the revised Shack Policy for the year 2023-26 for erection of temporary seasonal structures, beach shacks, deck beds and umbrellas for the current tourist season.
After the meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the Cabinet amended the shack policy following suggestions made by the shack operators last week. He said that as per revised formula, now 80 per cent shacks willbe allotted to those applicants having minimum five years of experience or more while, 10 per cent each shacks will be allotted to those having minimum one year and four yearsexperience and 10 per cent reserved to those who are without experience.
The government has already scrapped the age limit between 18 and 60 years to apply for the shacks.
The government had also accepted the shack owners demand and reduced the security deposit from Rs two lakh to Rs one lakh for “A” category beach shacks and from Rs one lakh to Rs 50,000 for “B” category shacks. In the earlier policy, it was Rs 50,000 for ‘A” category shacks and Rs 30,000 for “B category shacks.
The total number of shacks would be 364 i.e259 in North Goa identified beach stretches and 105 in South Goa beach stretches even as the joint survey by the Department of Tourism, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) for identification of beach stretches was nearing completion.
Meanwhile, Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS)-Goa president Cruz Cardozo demanded that the Department of Tourism should immediately start inviting applications from the interested applications for erection of beach shacks since the stating of the tourist season last week.