It took a tragedy for the state government to wake up and crack down on an illegality that has been happening along Goa’s beaches for several years right under the authorities’ noses. In a belated move, the tourism department has begun scrutinizing shacks that it had allotted before the start of the tourist season, and has issued show cause notices to 38 owners along the North Goa coast for subletting their units.
The knee-jerk reaction came after an irate and red-faced tourism minister ordered strict measures after Amar Bandekar, a local Arambol resident, died after allegedly being beaten by waiters of a shack on the beach there on January 26. Consequent investigations revealed that although the tourism department had allotted the shack to one Manuel Fernandes, it had been sublet to Lalchand Chauhan, a native of Himachal Pradesh. Rohan Khaunte went on to tell some sections of the media that the tourism department would not tolerate Goans subletting their shacks to Delhiwallahs and outsiders.
Although 38 show cause notices have been issued in North Goa, as many as 108 of the 265 shacks allotted in the district were found to be sublet, mostly to outsiders. Another 40 shack operators will shortly be served similar notices asking them to explain why their shack licenses should be cancelled and their structures dismantled. Hearings are likely to begin by the end of this month.
Jolted shack owners are now attempting to ensure that they don’t get caught by the long arm of the law. They have sought an assurance from the government – which they claim to have obtained – that beach shacks which have been sublet to locals will not be targeted. According to them, it is common for shack operators to make multiple applications in the names of their family members for shack allotment, which is done by way of a lottery system. In the event of a family getting more than one shack license through the lottery, the extra license is often given to another traditional beach shack operator who wasn’t successful during the allotment process.
However, Section 8 of the Goa Beach Shack Policy, 2023-2026, very clearly states, “The beach shack allottee shall not sublet the beach shack under any circumstances.” Therefore, if one goes by the letter and the spirit of the beach shack policy, it is amply clear that subletting of any nature is not allowed. Nowhere does the policy make leeway for transfer of shacks to other traditional shack operators who didn’t manage to land a license during the allotment process. Hence the ‘deal’ that shack owners’ associations are attempting to make is essentially flawed and comes across as a desperate move to protect their interests as a majority of shacks on government property along the state’s coast have clearly been sublet.
One association opined that this situation could have been prevented if only one member of a family is permitted to apply for a beach shack license. It went on to take aim at the tourism department by stating that the department makes more money if there are more applicants for shack licenses, particularly because the Rs. 10,000 application fee is non-refundable, even if one doesn’t land a license during the allotment.
It is obvious that the finger-pointing has now begun and it remains to be seen if the government will indeed accede to the request of the shack owners where subletting to locals is concerned, or if it will roll up it sleeves and come down uniformly on every shack that has been sublet. Laws and rules are made for a reason and must not be circumvented to suit one’s convenience or to save one from punishment.
Until the government and the shack owners understand this, nothing much will change on the ground, or in this case, along the coast.
© heraldgoa-main 2025
Beach shack operators in hot water – Herald Goa
