Govt to coastal body: Let shacks, huts have swimming pools

Panaji: The tourism department has approached the Goa coastal zone management authority (GCZMA) seeking implementation of the revised beach carrying capacity report of state govt. The recommendations include allowing temporary structures such as beach shacks and private beach huts to have 50 sqm swimming pools, landscaping of open area with ‘appropriate vegetation’, and two-floor structures with a height of 9m.The GCZMA has also been asked by the tourism department to include these recommendations in the draft coastal zone management plan, 2011.“During the process of public consultation, state govt has made the following recommendations which may be included in the draft CZMP report. ‘Temporary structures in no development zone along the coast and along the bank of river/estuaries shall be permitted except in ecologically sensitive areas shown in CZMP plans with following conditions: Floor space index should not exceed 0.33, open area shall be suitably landscaped with appropriate vegetation cover, and the overall height of the temporary structure shall not exceed 9m and shall not be more than two floors (ground plus one). Swimming pool not exceeding 50 sqm in area shall be permitted’,” the tourism department has told the GCZMA.The GCZMA, however, after holding discussions at its meeting last month, has decided to call the tourism department for detailed discussion.Meanwhile, the authority has also received a representation from the all Goa private property shack/hut owners’ association and has decided to call the body too for deliberations.The GCZMA noted at its meeting that it has already granted permissions to the temporary structures in private land based on the recommendations made by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in the beach carrying capacity report. This includes the exercise of geocoding all shacks and huts/tents/cottages in private areas to be undertaken by the GCZMA through an expert agency ‘in order to monitor the area occupied’.The association has asked the GCZMA to consider all state govt recommendations like “33% FAR, 9m height with two floors with distance between structures 2-3m, and provision for a swimming pool of 50 sqm”.