PANJIM: Disgruntled shack operators on Monday met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant over issues with the newly approved shack policy for the year 2023-26. Calangute MLA Michael Lobo was also present during the meeting.
During the meeting, the members of both – Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) Goa and the Goan Traditional Shack Owners Association (GTSOA) raised several changes in the shack policy issues such as increase in security deposit from Rs 50,000 to Rs two lakh, steel skeletal structures not being permitted, sewerage facility etc.
The operators urged the government to either rectify the new shack policy or revert back to the old policy, which was in force from 2013 to 2023 and termed the old policy as the best policy.
After the meeting, SOWS Goa president Cruz Cardozo said that the Chief Minister has assured them that he would resolve their issues by convening a meeting of all the stakeholders including officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) within next two to three days.
Cardozo said that they brought to the notice of the Chief Minister the hike in security deposit and that he would be difficult for unemployed youth to pay exorbitant security deposit. He said that the then Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar had allowed them to use steel, synthetic, nylon fabric, etc for the purpose of frame work dueto unpredictable weather conditions and also after he was convinced that the every year large number of trees were cut to erect temporary seasonal shacks and that it was affecting the environment.
The beach shacks be erected out of eco-friendly materials like bamboos /wooden poles with thatched palm leaves/ thatched bamboo mat rooting as far aspossible. However, in case of paucity of wood the same may be erected out of the other modern materials like steel skeletal etc. or the purpose of frame work.
Cardozo said, “The proposed changes in the policy are nothing but a slow death for the traditional shack operators. The new terms and conditions were not discussed with us nor were they informed to us. Our humble request would be that you should intervene in this matter and resolve the same.”
He said that the government should define the domicile certificate as residence certificate in the application for ashack licence.The shack operators be allowed to undertake the sale of cooked food items and beverages only to the visitors and that the licensee should ensure that the beach shacks menu contains freshly cooked Goan cuisine, he added.
Cardozo said that application processing fee should be retained at Rs 8000 and also to maintain the annual beach shack fee of 2019-20 policy which was Rs one lakh for “A” category and Rs 75,000 for “B” category shacks. Also deck beds charges should be maintained as last season 2019-20
Cardozo demanded that the sub-letting of shacks to non Goans and foreigners be strictly dealt with. Thanking the government for omitting the age limit for the applicants, he said that in case death of the applicant during the current policy term, the licence be transferred to the next legal heir in the family upon request of the member of family of such deceased shack allottee and after careful consideration of the facts by the Department of Tourism.
