Tourism department reluctant to grant private shack policy

The Goa private property shacks/hut owners association have been demanding a separate beach shack policy.

The tourism department is not inclined to have an independent shack policy for private shacks for a want of jurisdiction.

Tourism director Sanjeev Gauns Dessai told TOI that although there has been a demand for a separate policy for private shacks, they have not much say in the matter as private shacks are erected on private properties where jurisdiction lies with the respective village panchayat.

In fact, tourism department issues an NOC to a private shack applicant only after he has obtained permissions from all other authorities, most significantly, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and the village panchayat.

The association of private shacks and huts has been demanding a separate policy for quite some time on the grounds that tourism department collects fees from private shack applicants.

A tourism official who did not want to be named said, “Some persons erect private shacks even before asking for permission from us, thanks to their understanding with a local civic body”.

In the past, shack owners had obtained NOC from GCZMA. Some even had shacks operational without a permission due to delays in the part of GCZMA in issuing NOCs on time.

The private shacks have also demanded a single window system of clearance to avoid the time-consuming task of availing permissions from several authorities.