Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Apr 18: Recent fires that gutted beach shacks at Arambol and Ashwem have exposed alleged irregularities in how beachside hotels are registering with the tourism department to avoid paying higher taxes and fees.

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has directed officials to form a team to examine records and conduct site inspections to identify anomalies in registration documents submitted by hotels and private beach shacks.

According to the minister, the establishment that caught fire at Ashwem was registered as a private beach shack under Category C, despite operating as a hotel. In another incident on April 4, seven air-conditioned cottages destroyed in a fire were functioning as private beach huts without any registration.

“Such issues happen when someone wants to run a business irresponsibly,” Khaunte said.

He added that a detailed report has been sought, including accountability for officials responsible for granting such permissions.

While the probe is still at a preliminary stage, the minister did not rule out the involvement of department officials in the alleged discrepancies.

Khaunte noted that powers to grant permissions were earlier delegated to deputy director-level officers but have now been shifted to the director level following repeated irregularities.

He pointed out that several four-star and five-star hotels, which should fall under Category A or B, were instead registered under Category C, raising serious concerns.

The tourism department will now inspect hotels, beach shacks, and guest houses that have recently applied for or renewed their permissions.

The minister also directed officials not to grant permissions for private beach shacks without proper due diligence, warning that misclassification results in revenue loss to the state.

“A private shack cannot function as a hotel. If establishments change categories after receiving permissions, it is a serious issue and requires intervention,” he said.