Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Sep 8: The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has revised its scrutiny fees for projects in coastal areas, with applications for beach weddings and events now attracting a fee of Rs 1.10 lakh, up from Rs 1 lakh earlier.

The authority has also introduced scrutiny fees for several categories of coastal projects, including bridges, river dredging, roads, watch towers, beach beautification works and internal modifications to hotels, restaurants and villas.

For beach weddings and events, the fee has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.10 lakh per event.

The scrutiny fee has been revised several times in recent years. In 2024, GCZMA increased the fee for processing beach wedding applications to Rs 1 lakh for five days.

In 2025, the authority had proposed a one-time permission valid for three years for a particular stretch of beach, at a fee of Rs 7 lakh. The permission holder could host up to 40 weddings on the designated stretch.

The authority has now reverted to charging the scrutiny fee on a per-event basis.

For bridge projects, the scrutiny fee will range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, depending on the project cost. Projects costing more than Rs 50 crore will attract the maximum fee of Rs 5 lakh.

Government departments will now have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh for proposals involving dredging of rivers or the sea. No scrutiny fee was previously charged for dredging proposals.

Beach beautification works and construction of ramps undertaken by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation will attract a scrutiny fee of Rs 700 per square metre.

Projects involving watch towers or observatories in coastal areas will also attract revised scrutiny fees. Projects costing Rs 50 crore or more will be charged up to Rs 5 lakh, while those costing up to Rs 5 crore will attract a fee of Rs 35,000, with fees varying according to project cost.

No scrutiny fees were earlier applicable to such projects.

Internal modifications proposed in hotels, restaurants and villas located in coastal areas will now attract a scrutiny fee of Rs 800 per square metre. Such projects were previously exempt from scrutiny fees.

Applications for new sewage treatment plants will attract a scrutiny fee of Rs 2 lakh for projects with a capacity of more than 10 million litres per day (MLD).

The revised fee structure is applicable to proposals requiring scrutiny by the GCZMA under coastal zone regulations.