PANJIM: Charter tourists have already started landing in the State, but the
government’s Shack Policy is yet to be finalised, leading to a delay in setting
up shacks on the beaches. The delay is set to get longer as shack owners will
have to apply afresh for Consent to Operate from the Goa State Pollution
Control Board (GSPCB) once the shacks are allotted.
Tourism Department has blamed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the
delay in allotting shacks. “The cases pending before NGT delayed the shack
allotment process. Some private shack matter was pending before NGT. There is
no delay as such from Tourism Department,” Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar
told Herald.
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He said they are already in process of allotting shacks. “If required
to speed up the process, I will deploy extra officers to demarcate and allot
shacks,” the Minister said.
However, allotment will not solve the problems of the shack operators
who will have to apply afresh for Consent to Operate from GSPCB, as the
three-year consent period expired last season along with the shack policy term.
Following the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in 2013, GSPCB had
made Consent to Operate under the Air and Water Pollution (Control) Acts
mandatory for the temporarily erected beach shacks. The consent was granted for
a period of three years based on the Tourism Shack Policy (2013-16).
“There are few shacks that were granted permissions in 2013 for three
years and others for two years in 2014. The term period was based on the shack
policy license. The shack owners will have to now apply afresh for the consent,
without which they will not be allowed to undertake operations,” sources said.
GSPCB grants consent to operate to the temporary structures on
condition to maintain proper sanitation and tackle waste.
When contacted, President of the Shack Owners Welfare Society Cruz
Cardozo said the delay happens every year. “We lose out on one and a half month
of the peak tourism season due to the government’s delay in allotting shacks.
This year, the delay was due to non-finalisation of the new Shack Policy.”
Cardozo said that post allotment of shacks, they have to obtain other
licences like CRZ and consent form various departments leading to a delay and
adding to their expenses.
The beach shack policy 2013-16 ended on May 31, 2016. Though the
government has drafted a new policy, it is yet to be cleared by the Cabinet and
hence Tourism Department decided to continue with the existing shack policy,
under which shacks would be allotted by October 15.
