Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Three major gateways through which visitors enter Goa have been brought under the state’s legal framework for protection and maintenance of tourist destinations.
The government has notified Dabolim International Airport, Manohar International Airport at Mopa and Mormugao Port in Vasco as tourist places with immediate effect.
The notification has been issued under the Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) Act, 2001, bringing the three locations within the scope of regulations applicable to notified tourist areas.
The designation means activities that can affect cleanliness, public safety or the condition of the notified premises can invite action under the law.
Goa’s tourist-place regulations prohibit 19 categories of unauthorised activities. Depending on the violation, offenders can face fines starting at ₹5,000 and going up to ₹1 lakh.
The restrictions include dumping or throwing waste, drinking alcohol in places where it is not permitted and obstructing emergency personnel from carrying out their duties.
The move places two airports and the state’s major seaport under a common statutory mechanism at a time when these facilities handle substantial tourist movement.
Officials enforcing the law will be able to take action against violations within the newly notified areas, with the penalties intended to discourage activities that compromise cleanliness, safety and the upkeep of these important public spaces.
The notification is effective immediately, making Dabolim, Mopa and Mormugao Port the latest additions to Goa’s list of legally protected tourist places.
