Crack down on sub-letting of shacks: Owners’ body to govt

PANAJI: Expressing satisfaction with the new shack policy, traditional operators have demanded that government should crack down on licensees who sublet their shacks.
Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) has urged the government to form a committee to examine such illegalities.

Tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar, however, said that shack operators should bring to the notice of the tourism department if any allottee indulges in sub-letting.
“We will not allow sub-letting to happen. Action will be taken against such operators,” Ajgaonkar told TOI on Wednesday.
Cruz Cardozo, president, SOWS, said that with 50% weightage given for operators with ten years and more experience, the practice of sub-letting will be curbed. But this will not end entirely, he said. “That’s why we want a committee in place to take action,” he said.
He said some applicants seek licences with the sole intention of sub-letting the shack.
“They rent out their shacks and other businesses,” he said.
He also said that sub-letting is rampant in Candolim and Calangute beach stretches.
“I'm told that even up north at Arambol and Morjim beaches, the practice of sub-letting has picked up,” he said.
The rent for the season, Cardozo said, can be as high as Rs 5 lakh depending on the shack’s location.
Under the shack policy, it is mandatory for allottees that all employees at shacks possess valid identity cards.
A shack operator in North Goa said that while this should desist vendors from illegally operating on beaches, the violation persists. Necessary random checks on the part of the tourism department rarely happens, he said.
“There are instances of some vendors getting temporary jobs at shacks with no wages, but with a condition that they should be allowed to go on the beach to sell their goods when cops are not in sight,” he said.
When pointed out to these illegalities, tourism minister assured that there will be better checks in the coming season.