Team Herald
PANJIM: The failure of the Tourism Department to enact a proper policy framework to monitor and regulate shacks on private land, is likely to have a major impact on the business of private shack operators, with Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) refusing to grant permission for erection of such temporary structures, at least, for the time-being.
For the tourism season 2015-16, GCZMA received as many as 171 applications seeking permissions under coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification 2011 for erection of temporary seasonal shacks on private properties.
During the recently held Board meeting of the GCZMA, the authorities noted that there is no specific policy framed by the Department of Tourism in respect of the effective management and regulations governing temporary seasonal structures on private properties along the coastal belt.
The observations were made following inspections of the areas by the expert members of GCZMA and its officials.
The Authority after detailed discussion and due deliberation, decided to defer all the applications pertaining to grant of permission for erection of temporary seasonal structures (shacks, huts, tents, cottages and stalls) on private properties and further decided to refer the matter to the Department of Tourism seeking clarification on its failure to have a policy in place in lines with the beach shack policy.
As per the GCZMA guidelines for private shacks, shacks cannot be allowed along turtle nesting sites and on coastal dunes as clearly designated in the CRZ 2011.
The structure should be purely temporary and shall not have anything permanent in nature. The shack should be located on private plots along the landward boundary of the plot.
(farthest from the high tide line). The members of the sub-committee also suggested that a case-by-case study needs to be done by conducting inspections and carrying out analysis with proper scientific documentation.
Guidelines also stated that one purely temporary seasonal shack may be allowed per plot, irrespective of the area of the plot; the shack should be removed by May 31 of the year.
