NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Aggrieved shack operators from the North Goa coastal belt staged dharna outside Paryatan Bhavan, Patto, on Tuesday, demanding with the government to immediately release the shack policy and grant them licences to operate shacks.
Around 50 shack operators, carrying placards, raised slogans against the government for delaying issuance of permission and demarcation of area for erecting beach shacks. The shack operators also protested the delay in releasing advertisement on allotment of shacks despite assurances made by the Chief Minister to release the same by last Saturday.
Speaking to this daily, president of Goa Shack Owners’ Welfare Society (SOWS) Cruz Cardozo said that “we were assured by the Calangute MLA Michael Lobo and Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar that the beach shack policy would be approved and advertisement would be released within next two days.”
Cardozo said, “If the government fails in doing so, then we will take out a morcha from Sinquerim to Baga stretch and request the tourists to leave the state.”
He further said that even though the season has already started but there has been inordinate delay in the issuance of licences to us.
“Hence, we the genuine shack operators are left with no other option but to go to the beaches and start erecting the shacks without waiting for approval,” he added.
He said that as illegal shacks are still in operation, we assume that there is no need for getting permission from the GCZMA or the tourism department.
“The last tourism policy was announced on time. There has been almost a delay of one month in releasing the shack policy, and still they are not able to do it. We don’t understand the reason behind such a delay,” he added.
“The NGT order was related to shacks and allied structures in private properties,” he said while commenting on the NGT order directing the GCZMA to carry out beach carrying capacity study before granting the permission for erecting beach shacks and other temporary structures.
The NGT directive has come following Utorda resident Aleixo Arnaldo Pereira’s petition that shacks cannot be permitted in a no development zone (NDZ), particularly, where there exists a sand dune.
The earlier beach shack policy 2013-16 that expired in May, the government has permitted as many as 347 shacks on the government land along the coastline from north to south.
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar informed that the department has received in principle approval of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) for the shack policy.
“The shack policy has been approved in principle by the GCZMA and we will receive the formal approval soon. Meanwhile, it has been cleared by the Chief Minister and will be placed before the cabinet during the next meeting,” he added.
He further said that the process of shack allotment will be completed before Diwali.
