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The Goa government recently approved the ‘Goa State Shack Policy 2023-2026’, for the erection of temporary seasonal structures, beach shacks, deck beds and umbrellas along beach stretches for the next three tourist seasons.
Beach shacks — typically built from eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, wooden poles and thatched palm leaves — have become a popular attraction for domestic and international tourists visiting Goa.
The shack policy allows unemployed persons of Goan domicile to operate ‘temporary’ shacks on the beachfront during the peak tourist season from September 1 to May 31. By June 10, the shacks have to be mandatorily dismantled. According to the policy, 259 shacks are permitted on nominated beach stretches in North Goa and 105 shacks are allowed in South Goa. The licences for operating these shacks are allotted based on categories of experience by draw of lots, and one shack is permitted per family.
What changes in the new policy?
In the draft policy, the government inserted a contentious clause, stipulating that the age of applicants for allotment of beach shacks should be between 18 and 60, sparking outrage among traditional Goan shack holders. The previous beach shack policies had no bar on age.
In another move aimed at “encouraging newcomers” in the business, the government has relaxed the eligibility criteria for experience, with 90 per cent of shacks to be allotted to applicants having at least one year of experience running a shack and 10 per cent to those with no experience.
Citing complaints from tourists about Goan food missing from shacks, the new policy makes it mandatory for shacks to serve Goan cuisine.
A “Digital Coast” has been proposed at the beaches, where shack allottees will be provided POS (point of sale) machines to facilitate digital transactions for customers.
The penalty for subletting a shack has been hiked from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. If a toilet is found “unhygienic”, a fine of Rs 10,000 will be levied. No beach shacks shall be allotted at South Goa’s Keri beach in the 2023-24 season, due to the Water Resources Department’s ongoing work for protection against beach erosion at the stretch.
What are some of the concerns raised by shack owners?
After objections and protests by shack owners, who termed the government’s decision to insert an age cap for allottees an “agenda to drive out shack holders” and “encourage outsiders’ entry”, the government has now decided to scrap the clause.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, after a meeting with shack owners’ associations and coastal MLAs last week, said, “Some shack operators had claimed that when an allottee is aged 70 or 75, there are chances that they may sublet the shack. This is the reason we came up with an age limit… If a traditional shack owner is aged between 65 and 70 years, they can apply and allow their next generation to take on the business.”
The tourism department said 194 applications were received previously from shack operators who were above the age of 60, and 90 applicants were allotted licences.
Cruz Cardozo, president of Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society, an umbrella body of shack owners, criticised the government for not discussing issues with the stakeholders.
“How can there be a retirement age for operating a business? The intention was to render the traditional shack owners unemployed and displace us. Only after we protested, the government has agreed to remove the clause. Is there a policy for retirement age for politicians in the Assembly?” he said.
In the previous policy, 90 per cent of licences were allotted to those with at least three years of experience or more running a shack, while 10 per cent of licences were given to new entrants.
Cruz said, “The government is claiming that the experience criteria have been relaxed to help new entrants in the business. But it will be difficult for a newcomer to operate a shack. Shack business requires a certain expertise and know-how.”
John Lobo, secretary, Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society, said the policy says the allottees are responsible for keeping the beach and area surrounding the beach shack clean at all times, but it doesn’t define what is meant by clean. “These things are kept arbitrary, so the department can conduct surprise inspections and collect fines by claiming that something in the shack is filthy,” he alleged.
Lobo said as per the policy, the applicant cannot have any employment or pension and he/she should not be directly or indirectly engaged in any business or a vocation.
“The cost of putting up a shack is at least Rs 15 lakh and can go up to Rs 1 crore. How will an unemployed person come up with this sum? This is the reason shacks are often sublet to people from other states. The government should ideally provide a subsidy or come up with a loan scheme,” he said.
“An ideal policy would be to allot licences for longer than three years. If a shack owner has invested a large sum of money, what if they do not get a licence in the next draw after three years? They will be forced to shut shop,” said Lobo.
Shack owners said as per the policy, in case of the death of a shack allottee, the legal heir of the deceased shall be allowed to operate the shack for that particular tourist season and from the next season, the shack will be allotted to the next waiting list applicant.
“This is unfair. The licence is allotted for a three-year period subject to renewal, so, the legal heir of the deceased allottee should be allowed to run the shack for three years,” said a shack operator, requesting anonymity.
Picket fencing and disposal of sewage waste are among other issues, which the shack owners are likely to discuss with the government in the coming week.
The policy says that deck beds, tables, chairs, umbrellas and sofa sets must be placed within 15 metres [subject to the high tide line] from the frontage of the shack area, which should be picket fenced. Shack owners said a picket fence would hinder the movement of tourists and fishermen at the beach.
By when are the shacks likely to come up?
Shack owners said ideally, the tourism department is supposed to issue a provisional licence to the shack owners at least a month before the season begins.
“September is about to end and the process is yet to begin. The draft of the policy was only shared with us last week and certain aspects are still being discussed. After the scrutiny of applications and issuing of licenses, we have to obtain permissions from several departments. It takes about 15 days to put up a shack. The process of demarcation also requires 8-10 days. We are running about two months late,” said Cruz.
