PANJIM: Expressing concern on how the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) can create legal hurdles for erecting shacks on beaches, Shack Owners’ Welfare Society- Goa (SOWS) submitted written objections to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) on Monday.
Cruz Cardozo, SOWS president noted that there is no mention of the existence of beach shacks in the CZMP’s intertidal zone.
“Thus, a fear is created in the minds of the shack operators that shacks may not be permitted in the future as the CZMP is supposed to include all permitted activities along the beaches,” said Cardozo.
“The CRZ Notification 2011 has claimed that the interest of local communities shall be protected while finalising the CZMP. If that be so, it is just and proper that the beach shacks which have been existing since much before the CRZ policy came into force in 1991 be protected,” Cardozo added.
SOWS members also attached a copy of licenses issued prior to 1991, some even dating back to the 1970s. They added that the Centre and State had notified a study on beach carrying capacity of each village that also mentioned shacks.
Pointing out that beach shacks are erected in inter-tidal zones customarily from September to May, Cardozo said, “The CZMP should thus specifically mention this as permissible activity as per the official beach policy of the State.”
“It is necessary to avoid any ambiguity as doubts could arise in the future, if the legality of beach shacks, if no provision is made regarding the shacks in the CZMP,” he added.
Given that fishing boat parking and mending areas have been demarcated on the beach, SOWS demanded that final CZMP notification should clearly mention beach shacks and other tourism-related activities in fishing wards.
