Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has reiterated that his government’s beach policy would be finalised a week after the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal
Management, Chennai submits its report. The stand taken by the government gives us reason to hope that a better and more enjoyable holiday awaits tourists and Goans alike. This stand taken by the government is likely to give beach shack owners nightmares, but there is very little room for manoeuvre now that the case is being monitored by
the National Green Tribunal. On the face of it, the stand taken by the government might
seem firm, but would the government have undertaken a study of beach carrying capacity and enforced the findings of that study without the presence of the NGT in the background?
We do not believe any government has the spine to implement
a decision that could go against shack owners and by extension
against potential voters, and certainly not in an election
year. But sometimes, given the
weaknesses of democracy and the
even greater weaknesses of elected
representatives, intervention of the
court is essential to ensure rule of
law, and in this case, protection of
a fragile eco-system.
Goa’s beaches are under threat
from the government’s policy of
encouraging mass tourism. The number of tourists has gone
up from approximately 23 lakh in 2005 to around 50 lakh last
year. This enormous jump has put considerable pressure on
resources, infrastructure and the beaches which are still the
main draw. Once the Mopa airport is constructed the figure is
expected to jump even further. Ideally, a study of beach carrying
capacity should have been undertaken at least three to
five years ago when the numbers indicated a steep rise. It took
some prodding from the NGT to kick start the process.
According to the UNWTO, the tourism carrying capacity is
defined as “the maximum number of people that might visit
a tourism destination at the same time without causing destruction
of the physical, economic and socio-cultural environment
and an unacceptable degree in the quality of visitors’
satisfaction”. This is a fair definition and the study underway
by the NCSCM will bring more clarity to the carrying capacity
of each beach. It is on the basis of this study that the government
hopes to formulate its shack policy which should bring a
greater degree of sanity to the chaos that now masquerades as
beach tourism. The number of shacks and their location used
to be decided by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority.
However, being a government body it was amenable to pressure
and therefore, its decision on number of shacks was accepted
with a spoon of salt. Now that the government has been
forced to adopt a scientific approach to determine the number
of shacks, there is hope that Goa’s beaches will breathe again.
In a way, the NCSCM, could redefine beach tourism.
