CALANGUTE: The Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) has said that the new beach shack policy should give preference to beach shack operators, who have been in the business for more than 10 years.
“Beach tourism in Goa was pioneered by beach shacks. It is because of them today there is tourism in Goa. Those shacks which have been there for a longer time should get a licence automatically,” SOWS General Secretary John Lobo said.
He said, “In the present system where licences are decided by drawing lots, many of the experienced shack owners are left without a shack.”
“This becomes a loss for them as the shack material and the investment they have made goes to waste and shack owners are also hesitant to invest more in their shacks because they don’t know if they will be allotted a shack. If they know for sure that they will have a shack for the next season, then they can invest more and their staff also will know their jobs are secure,” Lobo said.
Shack owners said, “The government’s decision some years ago to increase the shack licence period from one to three years has helped, but the policy needs to be further tweaked to take into consideration the role played by established beach shacks in promoting beach tourism.”
“The current policy reserves 90 per cent of shacks for those with at least three years of experience in running the beach shack while 10 per cent is for the newcomers. This needs to be changed,” the SOWS said.
“Those with more than 10 years experience of running a shack should come in the 90 per cent category and the category for newcomers should be reduced to 5 per cent,” Lobo said.
According to long time shack owners, many of the people who currently get shack licences in the lottery system rent them out at a huge profit as they are not genuine shack operators. The rented shacks also become hubs for illegal activities, they said.
