The Goa tourism department Thursday ordered the closure of 23 beach shacks for illegally subletting shacks to non-allottees, including people from outside the state, and violating provisions of the state’s shack policy. The department said an inspection was conducted after several reports of illegal subletting across beach shacks. “Based on reports of the inspection drive, 110 show-cause notices were issued, out of which 54 proceedings have been concluded. As many as 31 notices were disposed of as no violations were noticed, while 23 operators were directed to close their shacks. Among those required to shut down, six were non-Goans,” a spokesperson for the department said. Beach shacks, typically built from eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, wooden poles and thatched palm leaves, are 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. As per the Goa State Shack Policy 2023-2026, 361 shacks – 263 in North Goa and 98 in South Goa – were allotted on nominated beach stretches in 2023 for the next three tourist seasons. The licences for operating these shacks are allotted based on categories of experience by draw of lots. The department said that during the inspection, it found that the point of sale or UPI payments at the beach shacks had been conducted under the names of individuals who were not the original allottees and had no blood relation with them. “Additionally, deck beds had been placed without license numbers painted on them, and no GST registration was found,” the statement said. “The department issued an order terminating the shack license allotted to the concerned operators, directing immediate cessation of all activities conducted by the allottee under the Goa State Shack Policy 2023-2026, forfeiting the security deposit submitted by the allottee to the government treasury, and instructing the allottee to remove the beach shack within 15 days from the date of the order,” the spokesperson said. The crackdown comes in the aftermath of some incidents of violence at beach shacks in recent months. On January 26, a 37-year-old businessman from Goa was killed after an altercation with a beach shack worker over the placement of benches at Arambol beach. A subsequent probe found that the allottee of the shack had sublet it to another person. On December 30 last year, a 28-year-old tourist from Andhra Pradesh was killed after an altercation with a beach shack owner and workers over placing a food order in Calangute. The department said that steps have been taken “to maintain the integrity of Goa's vibrant tourism sector and ensure a fair operating environment for all stakeholders”.
