PANAJI: The Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) (Amendment) Act, 2019, that will fine people between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for drinking in prohibited areas has recently been notified following assent from governor Mridula Sinha.

The Act will prohibit consumption of liquor in open, cooking food in open, littering waste including used material, empty bottles etc; breaking glass bottles and other such activity as may be specified by the government by notification in the official gazette. The objective of the legislation is to protect and preserve the tourism potential of tourist places in Goa and keep such places clean and free from nuisance.

Finally, to the relief of locals the Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) (Amendment) Act, 2019, has been notified. In the past few years, public drinking and resultant rowdy behaviour, and cooking in the open, among other aspects covered by the law, have become a nuisance. But whether the law will provide relief or not depends on how effectively it is implemented. Earlier, too, public drinking was a punishable offence, but the authorities failed to clamp down on it. TimesView

The government had recently passed a bill at the ongoing assembly session to ban drinking, littering and breaking of glass bottles at tourist spots in the state.

"Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Goa Act 6 of 2019), which has been passed by the legislative assembly of Goa on January 31, 2019, and assented to by the governor of Goa is hereby published for the general information of the public,"

Raut Dessai, joint secretary (law), said.

"Any person found violating shall be liable to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 to the competent authority or any other officers authorised by it in this behalf. Where such violation is committed by more than one person in a group, such group shall be liable to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. In case such person refuses to pay such amount, he shall be liable to punishment," the bill had stated.

"No person engaged in business of sale of liquor shall allow its customer to carry bottles/cans containing liquor in tourist place," the bill had further mentioned.

Tourists drinking on beaches and making a nuisance of themselves has become a major problem in the state. Recently, deputy speaker and

MLA Michael Lobo had even blamed chief minister

for letting the problem grow to such massive proportions.