Team Herald
VAGATOR/ PANJIM/ COLVA: Let’s start with a lament from one shack owner, the son of the soil. “Last year, the Tourism Department reduced the licence fee to 50 percent which is around Rs 85,000. However, all of a sudden, this year the fee was doubled and the charges for beach beds were increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000. The garbage fee was earlier included in the main fee but we were charged an additional Rs 10,000 as garbage fee. This also led to an increase in GST. And if the commission is included then the total amount went up to Rs 1.85 lakh”, said Shridhar Goltekar, a shack owner from Vagator.
Cavelossim-based Cruz Cardozo, President of the Shack Owners’ Welfare Society modifies these figures a bit, but that doesn’t change the overall picture.
He said, “The fees for beach beds had initially been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000. That has been brought down to Rs 15,000.”
“Plus there was no garbage tax earlier. They started charging us Rs 10,000 which has been cut to Rs 5,000. So overall it’s just a Rs 15,000 reduction in these secondary charges,” he said.
If this is the pain of a son of the soil, a shack owner, and one of the ambassadors of Goa’s tourism, then it needs to be addressed as a critical issue. Because offering a good tourism experience is dependent on our “hosts” being happy.
With the tourism season already underway in the State, the shack owners from both North and South Goa districts appear a disgruntled lot. Despite paying all the fees to the authorities concerned, these operators complain that the lack of facilities at beaches with regard to changing rooms, toilets, proper parking, and proper access roads has affected their businesses.
Shridhar Goltekar, said, “The CM assured us to reduce the charges for beach beds to Rs 10,000 and to include garbage fee in the main fee. For almost a month, the file was pending with the Finance Department, and the officer gave negative remarks and reduced only Rs 10,000.”
The shack owners said there are 13 shacks operating in Vagator, Anjuna and there is no proper access road, toilet, and changing room facilities. Most access roads are blocked by the clubs.
Daniel D’Souza, a shack operator from Arambol said, “For the last three years we incurred losses due to the Covid pandemic. Many refrained from setting up their shacks while those who did, suffered losses. However, it appears that the government wants to recover its three-year loss in just one go.”
SOUTH GOA
Cut to South Goa. The entrance to Colva beach, once considered to be an iconic tourist destination, plunges into darkness due to the non-functional streetlights.
A tourist from Jaipur died after coming in contact with a live wire of an electric pole in the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) property. Tourists had a lucky escape when a lamp fixture from a post came crashing down.
In Benaulim, the Tourism Department had inaugurated various facilities before the Assembly elections. However, with the exception of the parking lot, the rest have not been put to use much by tourists on account of lack of maintenance.
The shack owners said they paid Rs 1 lakh in 2019-20 for the licence fee and there was a 10% hike since then. However, it was reduced to almost 50% due to the Covid pandemic, as they paid Rs 67,500 in 2020-21.
“All of a sudden it jumped to Rs 2 lakh, which is just for the licence fee and there are other charges like GST, fees to the excise, power department, etc. Shacks are a means of livelihood for locals and this is financially affecting us badly. This is not the end of our woes. The authorities are ever ready to take action against us but don’t seem to be ready to hear our pleas,” complained Shankar Nagvenkar, another shack operator.
Meanwhile, Team Herald contacted the Tourism Department officials who said the allotment of shacks is a transparent process that is done after undertaking a proper study of the beaches.
Tourism Deputy Director Dhiraj Wagle said, “The department relies on the CRZ study of beach carrying capacity. The department has not received a complaint from Vagator. If there was no business, basic facilities like electricity or access, shacks would not have been allotted to those operators.”
He said almost all the allottees have paid their fees towards shack allotment. The last date for payment of fees was November 4.
It may be recalled that due to the Covid-19 pandemic several shack owners had sought for fee extensions.
“The department had given four extensions to shack owners. However, most shack owners from North Goa and some in South Goa did not pay the fees. They were blacklisted and were not allowed to participate in the recent auction,” Dhiraj added.
But the all-around cries of pain by these sons of the soil are indicative that the torch bearers of tourism are hurt on their home turf.
