Goa beach shack owners struggle with fear of closure, dwindling business

The owners of these temporary beach shacks, several of whom received showcause notices in recent months for operating within the ‘No Development Zone’, have written to the Tourism Department, requesting its intervention to prevent the sealing of their shacks in North Goa’s Anjuna, Vagator, Ozran and Chapora beaches.

A recent representation from the Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society (GSOWS) to the Tourism Department, said, “These shacks have been allotted with due permissions from your department, GCZMA, panchayats and the GSPCB. The GSPCB has granted a blanket permission to your office under section 100 to establish shacks on the beaches of Goa.”

Over the years, beach shacks – typically built from eco-friendly material such as bamboo, wooden poles and thatched palm leaves – have become a popular attraction for domestic and international tourists visiting Goa.

The government 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, a total of 353 shacks – 255 in North Goa and 98 in South Goa – were allotted in 2023 for the next three tourist seasons, and a majority of shacks have been allotted at Calangute beach stretches (108) and Candolim beach stretches (84) in North Goa.

Shreedhar, who runs a shack on the Vagator beach, said, “The licences for operating these beach shacks have been allotted through a draw of lots by the government. We only have permission to run the shacks till May 31, following which they have to be mandatorily dismantled due to monsoons. How can these temporary shacks be included in the list of ‘unauthorised’ constructions or how are they deemed ‘illegal’ after clearances from government agencies? There has to be an exception for shacks.”

John Lobo, secretary of Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society, said, “The shacks have applied for all the requisite permissions and licences from the authorities. A majority of applications for ‘consent to operate’ from the Pollution Control Board remain pending. Only about 50-60 shacks have been granted the ‘consent to operate’. We could be looking at a scenario, where the remaining shacks will be issued a closure notice. The department of tourism should inquire as to why these permissions are being held back when these shacks are allotted as per government policy and are seasonal. We have written to the department to stop any sealing and harassment to shack owners.”

Anjuna-Caisua panchayat sarpanch Laxmidas Chimulkar said at least 26 structures, out of 175, have so far been sealed. “We are just complying with the orders of the Court,” he said.

Dwindling business

Shack owners have also been affected by dwindling business this tourist season, partly due to delays in allotment of shacks and fewer foreign tourists visiting the coastal state.

The allotment of shacks was delayed this season after the state government approved a new beach shack policy, with some “contentious” clauses that led to protests by traditional Goan shack owners.

“Apart from the New Year weekend, the shacks are running at half occupancy on most weekends. Due to the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, there are fewer flights to Goa now and hence, the number of foreign tourists visiting Goa has declined. Additionally, many travellers, who earlier visited Goa, now prefer going to Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka,” Shreedhar said.

According to data shared by the Ministry of Tourism in response to a written question by South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha on the arrival of foreign tourists in Goa, over 4.03 lakh foreign tourists visited Goa in 2023 (between January and November) – far fewer than in pre-pandemic years. More than 9 lakh international tourists annually visited Goa in 2018 and 2019. The number of domestic tourists has remained the same, however, with over 70 lakh domestic tourists visiting Goa in 2022, only marginally lower than in 2018, when 70.8 lakh tourists from across the country visited the state.