'Goa beach shacks are being sublet to foreigners'
Palm thatched shacks allotted on the Goa beaches are being sublet to foreigners contravening the provisions of law, a court was told here.
A writ petition filed before the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court, alleges that foreigners are being presented as managers of the shack or employees on it by the locals.
The petitioner, a local--Vikas Bhagat has said that an agreement appointing a foreigner as manager is made to camouflage the subletting.
"At times, there is no formal agreement and upon inquiries, the foreigners inform authorities that they are employees of the shack owner," Bhagat told the court.
The beach shacks licenced by the tourism department are erected along the shores during tourist season which begins in October annually.
The division bench at Goa comprising Justice D G Karnik and Justice F M Reis admitting the petition on Monday asked the state government to monitor the situation properly.
The Judges asked the government lawyer in the court to ensure that no permission should be granted to shacks at Palolem beach, which is a fulcrum of the current petition, till the court hears it.
The next hearing is fixed three weeks.
A Palolem beach resident concerned by over-exploitation of beaches by shack owners moved the court pleading judicial intervention in fixing the various issues related to shacks.
He has pointed out an instance at Palolem beach in South Goa, where illegal subletting to foreigners continues in breach of the allotment orders.
The petition mentions that the size of the beach has been reduced since last five years due to outrage on the ecology by the shack operators. Bhagat has submitted several pictures which shows how the shacks are constructed in the water.
"The shacks are erected right in the sea water. There is complete commercialisation of the beach obstructing free movement of the people on the beach," the petition says.
