Goa’s beach shack business faces NGT heat

The shacks on the beach that draw tourists to Goa by the droves could soon become a thing of the past.

Hotels, guest houses and beachfront restaurants face an uncertain future after an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on September 7 decreed that all traditional dwellings within 200 metres of the High Tide Line cannot be used for commercial purposes. The order, issued in connection with two demolition cases and details of which were made public only late Tuesday, is unlikely to affect five-star hotels and resorts as these aren’t “traditional dwellings”.

While dismissing appeals against two separate demolition orders passed by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority, the NGT ruled that “a structure being used for commercial purposes whether prior to 1991 or subsequent to it cannot be regularised or allowed to be continued to run”. The No Development Zone under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) covers a distance of 200 metres from the water line during the high tide.

“It is clear a structure which has been raised prior to 1991 is to be regularised subject to the condition that they are being used as dwelling houses and by the traditional coastal community,” ruled the NGT principal bench of Justice Raghavendra S Rathore and Satyawan Singh Garbyal.

The NGT also ruled that lease, sale or transfer of such dwellings to members not of the traditional fishing community is illegal. That may affect those who have bought holiday homes from members of the fishing community. The Goa tourism industry, which has been built on the foundations of dwellings of traditional fishermen and thrives primarily on the beachfront commercial activity, has urged government to intervene in the matter to allow for at least ‘part commercial activity’.