The government and private shack owners in Goa have been butting heads for a while now. It all started when a case was filed before NGT regarding permissions to private shacks. The NGT asked for a beach carrying capacity study to be conducted and only then would permissions be granted. That did not happen. Now, with the NGT order, the government’s hands are tied, and have threatened to disconnect power connections to shacks, a notice that has the association up in arms. Tourism, which is in the middle of peak season, has been already hit by demonetisation. Any move to cut off power to shacks will badly dent Goa as a tourist destination. The government could have avoided this situation if the much-talked about beach carrying capacity study was out before allocation of shacks. To make matters worse, with the beach study elusive, the government showed no urgency in issuing shack licences. The government should come out with answers on why the beach carrying capacity could not be out in time, despite giving several assurances on the same. Secondly, the government also needs to explain why the shack allotment was delayed if it had to go ahead with the process without the beach study as mandated by the NGT. For now, they will have to face the music.
