PANAJI
The Tourism Department has commenced hearings into 99 notices issued to shack owners, citing alleged violations of the shack policy, particularly the unauthorized subletting of these temporary beach structures.
Details obtained by The Goan reveal the crackdown has led to 80 notices being issued in North Goa and 19 in South Goa with violations found through surprise inspections carried out by Tourism officials.
“We have issued notices as per the shack policy and provided an opportunity for a hearing to the shack owners. The hearings began this week,” an official said.
The officials are also inquiring into whether the subletting is occurring within the Goan community or to outsiders, particularly North Indian businessmen.
A detailed breakdown of the violations reveals that Calangute and Candolim have the highest number of breaches in North Goa, with hotspots including Gauravaddo (10 violations), Tivaivaddo (9), Khobravaddo (8) and Vaddie (7). Other beaches include Anjuna, Ozrant, Vagator and Morjim, having three cases each; Arambol (5) and Mandrem (2) and Keri (1).
In South Goa, violations are primarily concentrated in Colva and Betalbatim (4 violations each), Benaulim (3), Arroxim and Cavelossim (2 each); Sunset, Utorda, Varca and Fatarde (1 each).
The issue gained prominence after a series of violent incidents in and outside the shacks, with two cases leading to murder.
In December 2024, a murder in Calangute exposed such subletting practices when an Andhra Pradesh native was killed after a late-night brawl. The altercation, which escalated over a food order dispute, erupted around 1 am. Similarly, another brutal assault involving a Mumbai tourist occurred in another shack in Calangute.
On January 26 at Arambol, a local businessman Amar Bandekar was killed after he confronted staff of Sea Lounge Beach Shack over the placement of chairs obstructing public pathways. This most recent case saw the Tourism Department imposing a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on shack owner Manuel Fernandes and forfeiting his security deposit. The decision was challenged by the allottee in the High Court which instructed the department to conduct a personal hearing.
