Goa’s tourism department plan to redevelop the public toilet block at Miramar beach with a cafe, refreshment area, shops and a co-working space has faced opposition from Panaji MLA and Revenue Minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate, who has asked that the commercial components be dropped.
The tourism department had invited bidders to develop, operate and maintain the toilet block and allied services at Miramar on a public-private partnership basis. Monserrate opposed the proposal in a letter to Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, arguing that a public toilet at a public beach should remain a freely accessible civic facility.
Monserrate said there was a clear public need for a clean and properly maintained toilet block, but no justification for combining the essential facility with a commercial establishment. He said access could become restricted if the toilet were incorporated into a cafe or other commercial premises, particularly during peak periods, when the establishment was crowded, closed or operating under its own rules.
The minister also raised concerns about the proposed site’s location opposite a school. According to his letter, a cafe, retail outlets and co-working facility could bring additional visitors, deliveries, service vehicles, waste generation, noise and other commercial activity into an area immediately adjoining the school.
Monserrate said the proposal could create problems related to access, crowding, noise, waste, traffic and the general use of the beach. His objection extends beyond the design of the toilet block to the proposed operating model, under which a public amenity would be developed and managed alongside commercial services by a private partner.
The tourism department’s tender covers the development, operations and maintenance of the toilet block along with allied services. The proposal therefore places the management of a basic public facility within a wider PPP package that includes revenue-generating uses. Monserrate’s intervention challenges whether those uses are necessary to meet the stated requirement of improving facilities for beach users.
He said Miramar is a public beach and should not be treated as a location where every available public amenity must be converted into a commercial opportunity. His alternative is a modern public toilet block with appropriate supporting facilities, without the cafe, retail and co-working components.
Monserrate has requested Khaunte to drop the commercial elements from the proposal. The tourism department’s response to the objection and the status of the bidding process were not stated in the report.
