PANAJI:
Shack operators
henceforth will not be required to obtain an excise licence afresh at the opening of every season. The government has extended the validity of such licenses issued to shacks to five seasons, counted from October to May.
Shack operators have been making this demand for the past several years.
While the announcement has come as a huge relief to the shack operators as they will not be required to run from pillar to post at the start of every tourist season to secure the excise permission, the development has put them in a quandary.
The validity of the license issued by the tourism department to an allottee - to set up a shack on the beach - is three years, while private shacks are erected in private spaces beyond the boundary of the beach. The allotment process has been clearly stipulated under the three-year beach shack policy. The shacks are allotted through a draw of lots, entailing different operators, and those who fulfill the eligibility criteria get a chance to operate a beach shack.
“Term of the licence issued by us (tourism department) to an allottee to set up a beach shack is three years, so the excise licence of five years will not hold good. When fresh allotment of beach shacks is done on the conclusion of three years, it is not necessary that the same (old allottees) people will be allotted shacks,” a tourism official said.
The notification issued by the finance department, he said, will need to be corrected, as the order will create a confusion. A licence, whether excise or for setting up a beach shack, is not transferable.
On the other hand, the primary authority to issue a permit to a private shack is a local body, which is issued at the beginning of the season, though clearance by Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is also mandatory.
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