Shacks owners face an uncertain season as National Green Tribunal has stayed Goa government’s shack policy, clouding the tourism season ahead. The NGT has cited absence of a mandatory Coastal Zone Management Plan while striking down the policy, and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s worst fears have come true.
While the shack lobby was grappling with the huge hike in shack licence fees and the stringent stipulations enshrined in the policy document, the NGT order comes as a huge blow threatening to wipe off their peak season. And the concessions in deposits and allotment by lots, at this point in time, appear to be pointless since there is uncertainty looming in the first place. The tourism season is set to kick-off in a fortnight and with the NGT stay, it appears highly unlikely that shacks can take positions any time soon.
Government’s request to NGT to recall its order or even seek more time to comply with coastal plan is unlikely to find favour, because this is not the first or second time Goa has defaulted. We remain the only State not to comply, despite the fact that Goa is known to be one of the major tourist destinations in India.
However, it is intriguing why government took a gamble with the shack policy knowing well that the CZMP is not in place. The government knew the NGT was coming and it appears that the early allocation this time was to pacify the shack lobby and convince them of government’s benevolence. Or was it an attempt to deceive? The coastal plan is a major exercise and with a string of failures and missed deadlines, the government should not have taken such risks that has a ripple effect on tourism.
The Goa coastal plan work order was issued to the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management on March 29, 2016, with a completion deadline of six months. It is surprising that Goa, despite being a small coastal state, has not finished the task even three years later. Goa, which was asked to take up the draft for approval by September 2018 missed another deadline of August 31, 2019.
Knowing well that coastal plans have gone way beyond schedule, government opened up the public consultations and hearing process only in July this year. To make matters worse, the plans were rejected by the people across villages over discrepancies and glaring errors. The late urgency and hurry is pushing through an erroneous plan was showing.
Government has to own responsibility for such delays. The shack owners appear to be at the receiving end year after year raising strong suspicion of lobbies working in the background. Protest by locals cannot be used as a reason to defend the NGT rap. People had solid grounds to fight for their land and by now everyone should get it clear that Goans are not going to be silently watching the loot, plunder and destruction of their pristine landscape.
