After allowing free run for 20 years, tourism dept has work cut out to end beach shack violations

Panaji: Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte may have hinted at cracking down on illegalities on beaches once the new beach shack policy comes into force, but with the tourism department largely having looked the other way these past two decades, setting the house in order might prove difficult.
Though the department took some action in the just-concluded season, it was mostly confined to Calangute, Baga and Candolim.
“It is not as if at other beaches allottees did not put tables and chairs on the beach or did not do any illegalities. But the department came only after us,” said a shack operator from Candolim.
None of the beach shack policies of the past — since 2012, a policy was modified every three sea-sons, while prior to that, a new policy was released every season — permitted allottees the use of beach space beyond what was earmarked for setting up a shack and 15 deck beds.
But allottees across beaches use whatever space they can to lay tables and chairs in front of their shack, and some have sofas, lounges and decorative canopies to provide a private setting to their guests, but of course at an extra cost.
Having allowed beach shacks to do business in certain ways for the past twenty years, the tourism department can’t hope to undo everything suddenly. “It will be easier said than done to reform the shack business, but we hope there are no confrontations between them,” said a stakeholder.
A former government officer said that 10 years ago, the tourism department was pulled up by the high court over shacks blocking beach spaces with deck beds, tables and chairs. There was some action at the time, which slowed down in the subsequent years.
The tourism stakeholders said that the government must give this issue serious thought and allow each allottee a fixed number of tables and chairs. This must be mentioned in the policy in black and white, he added. “I don't think it will work if the government doesn't allow allottees to lay chairs and tables at all on the beach after being silent on the issue for almost twenty years,” he said, adding that the department should also take the issue of subletting seriously.
“While it may not be able to put a complete stop to subletting, it will not be as rampant as it is today,” he said.