Goa’s shacks started for hippies in 70s finally brought under law

In the seventies, with the arrival of hippies on the Goan shores, little huts with thatched roof of coconut palm leaves began appearing on the beaches. They were put up by local fishermen to serve food and drinks to the maverick foreigners, dressed casually and with unkempt, dreadlocked hair.  

These beach shacks operated informally, without any official permission or adhering to any government regulations. They thrived as more hippies arrived and tourists discovered the charm of these temporary structures. Soon, they were defining Goa’s beach-life – Sun, Sand, Surf and Shacks.

It was going well for everyone, but not for long. As shack owners prospered, they came under the scanner of the government. And, not long before, government officials began knocking on their doors compelling them to comply to rules and contribute to the State coffer.

In the meantime, the coastal State’s tourism picked up. In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, Goa’s beaches were the pivot around which its tourism revolved. Anyone landing in Goa would look forward to spending time at a beach shack to reinvigorate and feel its unique beach life.

The growth in the popularity of shacks led to its unbridled commercialisation. There was a scramble amongst Goans to get a slice of the shack pie. Their numbers grew and they began crowding the beaches. Many beaches in North Goa like Anjuna, Calangute, Candolim, Baga and others were packed to the brim with shacks and tourists.

It was time to bring in more checks to regulate this beach juggernaut, proliferating at a rapid pace, and pull it into the State’s formal economy. In the 80s, the beach shacks were governed by the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982 and Rules, 1985. This was easy to comply with for shack owners.

The notification of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), 1991 by the Central government, which considered temporary seasonal structures between 100 metres and 200 metres from the high tide line illegal, threatened to blow them away. They survived this when they got a relief with a revision in the CRZ Act that ensured their continuity.

Over the years, Goa’s shack business has drastically transformed. Till early this week, they were regulated by the rules framed for the erection of temporary seasonal structures, beach shacks, huts and others under the Tourism Policy brought out by the department of tourism every three years.

For some time now, there had been a demand for a law on shacks. That materialised early this week. On August 7, The Goa Erection of Shacks on Public Beaches (Regulation and Control) Bill, 2024 was passed in the State assembly.

This is a major milestone in the story of Goa’s beach shacks. It’ll become one of the many legislations regulating these structures. Though it is still early to assess its impact on the shack business and overall beach maintenance, it is expected it lifts the cloud of haze over the rules and systems pertaining to this beach activity.

A lot will become clearer once the rules and guidelines of the law are notified. Over time, the number of beach shacks has swelled. Today, it stands at over 350 public shacks across North Goa and South Goa. Considering Goa’s shoreline is just around 103 km, it means, on an average, there are three shacks per km.

That, however, is a simplistic calculation of the density of shacks on Goa's beaches. Most of these hut shelters on the beaches are concentrated on a few beaches of North Goa. There has been buzz about more shacks being invited on the beach. Any such move would be disastrous for Goa’s tourism.

A cap on the number of shacks on a beach would have gone a long way in addressing this issue. Pertinently, one has to also watch how much teeth the act has to compel shacks to adhere to norms relating to pollution, waste disposal and hygiene, in general, on the beach. Nonetheless, with the enactment of the law this week, a new chapter in the story of Goa's shacks has begun.