The State Cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance (The Goa Erection of Shacks, Temporary Structures on Public Beaches Regulation and Control Ordinance 2023) exempting construction licenses from the Town and Country Planning department and panchayat for temporary structures. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant disclosed that the ordinance will be applicable for existing as well as future structures, but adds that necessary trade licenses will be required for operating businesses.
The chief minister explains that the ordinance will apply to those structures, which are granted approval under Beach Shack Policy and were caught in a legal tangle in the absence of a law.
The ordinance comes against the backdrop of the recent directive by the High Court ordering the sealing of around 175 structures along the Anjuna coastline after it held that these business establishments had no consent to operate, no requisite permissions and were in clear violation of coastal regulation zone rules. While the court picked holes in the arguments of the local panchayat and held the secretary and Sarpanch guilty, the government, had in a swift move to salvage the situation announced that it will challenge the order in the Supreme Court.
It is apparent that the government has rushed with an ordinance to remedy the situation sensing that there could be an injustice done to a few. The Cabinet is well within its right to go ahead with an ordinance as and when it decides, and probably this was the only quick fix to help those who have been out of business due to the High Court order. But the timing does not bode well for the system when the Court is seized of the matter.
The ordinance may bail out a few who are trapped in a legal quagmire, but in a system that is smudged with corruption and illegalities where the thin line between temporary and permanent structures blur to a point where there is a fear that genuine violators could find this as a safety net to good effect. It is obvious that the coastline has been a hub of illegalities where laws are bent seamlessly and large-scale corruption rampant. It may be noted that even the court has been appalled at the level of violations.
While the government is giving backdoor sanctity through this ordinance, it must ensure that the ordinance is in sync with the policy in force, as mentioned by the chief minister. And if it matches the policy, we don't understand the need to put a veil of secrecy over it. The fine print of the ordinance has been a closely guarded secret with no details made available.
Nonetheless, the onus is on the Tourism Department and it will have to set the line between temporary and permanent and between legal and illegal. It is the guardian of the coast and has been entrusted with the major responsibility of a licensing authority for all temporary structures. On that count, it may be pointed out the tourism department has failed so far to reign in illegalities along the coast such as extended beach beds, hawking and other prevailing nuisances. The ‘cleanliness’ point in the shack policy appears to be long forgotten.
The question is not about who is the authority here, the question is whether illegalities can be curbed. The ordinance may open a new door for those in the grip of the court, but the government must understand that it is also showing a window of hope to others sunk in the sands of illegalities.
