VASCO: Shack owners are questioning why they have to seek a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) to erect beach shacks at Arossim beach when they have been obtaining necessary permissions from concerned authorities and doing business there for years.
Shack Owners Welfare Society of Goa president Cruz Cardozo has urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to intervene and resolve the issue immediately.
The issue of a NOC from MPT came to light last year. When contacted, a shack owner from Arossim told Herald on condition of anonymity that last year some MPT officials asked them to seek permission/NOC from the MPT for erection of shack at the beach since it comes under MPT’s port limits.
The shack owner received a notice from MPT’s chief engineer, asking him to seek permission from the MPT to erect shack. To this the shack owner replied stating that the shack has been erected on the beach as per the provisions of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and with the permission of the Government of Goa issued through the office of the Tourism Director. The letter had other details too.
The shack owner also said that necessary permissions to erect the shack on the beach have been taken from various government departments such as Directorate of Health Services, Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Electricity, GEL, Panchayat, Tourism etc.
“Since 1991 we are in the shack business and we do all the paperwork, pay government fees and do business. We were surprised when MPT officials asked us to take permission from them. How are we supposed to do business, when there are no proper facilities at Goa’s beaches, less tourists on some beaches and have to pay heavy fees to various departments to seek permissions?” the shack owner asked.
When contacted, Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim sarpanch Ferwin Saldanha said that for years they were receiving letters from GCZMA and Tourism Department on permissions to shacks. “Recently I read in the newspaper that shack owners will have to take permission from MPT. We have not received any official correspondence on this from any government authority. Around three to four applications for erection of shack were received by the panchayat,” he said.
Cardozo said that he read in a newspaper that MPT is asking shack owners to take permission from them for erecting a shack. “We want the Chief Minister to intervene and resolve this issue as soon as possible. Otherwise shack owners will meet and decide the future course of action,” he said.
Cardozo also suggested that the Chief Minister should convey to the MPT not to interfere with the people, who are doing traditional business.
When contacted, MPT deputy chairman Guruprasad Rai said, “We (MPT) are not against shacks but we want to see the place, whether it is safe because sometimes there might be some pipelines, it might be near vital installations etc, in such cases we won’t give permission. If the place is safe then based on Tourism Department’s permission, we (MPT) will give our NOC and levy nominal off-shore charges which the shack owners will have to pay to MPT.”
Rai also cited an example wherein last year MPT had denied permission to erect a shack at the Baina beach due to the Zuari pipeline. But after discussion and considering the safety of the people, the permission was granted by MPT to erect a shack at a safe distance from the pipeline.
“We are not hindering any development of the State, but we are doing our duty in our port water limits, our safety. We give permission by looking at the feasibility i.e by taking safety and security into consideration,” Rai said.
