Experience not to be worth its weight for shacks

PANJIM, AUG 13
The Tourism department which faced some anxious moments over shack allotment last year, has now proposed to remove the criteria giving weightage to experience in shack allotment.
As per the proposed shack policy for this season, applicants having one to ten years experience will be considered together while allotting 90 per cent of the shacks. Whereas balance ten per cent will be allotted among new entrants, told Swapnil Naik, Director Tourism while speaking to Herald on Friday evening.
Both the associations of Shack owners have given in writing that they have no objection with the new arrangement, he said.
The policy for the last season provided that 90 per cent of the shacks were to be allotted by giving weightage to past experience in operating shack.
Accordingly, applicants having ten years experience was given first preference. Whereas applicants with six to nine years experience were considered second and applicants having one to five years were to be considered last.
This provision in the policy led to controversy as fresh entrants as well as shack owners with less experience who were put at disadvantage objected to the allotment.
As a result of this discord between shack owners allotment was delayed. Fresh applicants and shack owners with less experience joined hands and moved High Court against arbitrary provision in the policy. They got relief in the form of interim relief wherein the court directed the government not to make allotment purely on the basis of experience.
While petition is still pending before High Court, the department had decided to play it safe this season by not giving weightage to experienced shack operators in shack allotment and, has forwarded the file for cabinet approval with amendment in the policy.