Team Herald
PANJIM: Over 10 days after allotting shacks, the tourism department has finally completed the demarcation of 373 temporary structures along the beach belt in North and South Goa on Monday.
Although shack operators have lost nearly one and half month since the commencement of the tourist season, they are hoping to make up for lost business during the peak season. “Most of the shacks will be ready for visitors within eight days. We are gearing up for a good season, despite losing the past few weeks,” All Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society President Cruz Cardozo told Herald.
The tourism department had received 950 applications – 758 in the North and 192 in the South – for beach shacks across Goa. In the draw of lots held on October 30, 270 shacks were allotted in North Goa while 103 in the South.
The shack allotment process was caught up in litigation after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed the implementation of the Beach Shack Policy pending finalisation of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The government and shack operators had then challenged the order in the High Court and got the stay vacated.
In another petition challenging the reservation criteria, the High Court had directed that 90 per cent of the shacks be reserved for those with a minimum of three years experience in operating shacks and that the balance 10 per cent are allotted to those with less than three years experience. The department thereafter called for fresh applications and finalised the allotement through draw of lots.
