the goan I network
PANAJI
The Government of Goa is paying Drishti Marine, which has been asked to clean Goa’s beaches as an interim arrangement between after the contracts of the controversial agencies was terminated by the earlier Goa government, a total of Rs 2.63 crore for a hundred-day period, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar revealed.
In a written reply to a question by Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa, Ajgaonkar said that “w.e.f 17/12/2016 the work was assigned to M/s Drishti Lifesaving Pvt. Ltd. for North and South Goa beach stretches for a period of 106 days for an amount of Rs 2,62,67,051.”
“The contract is now extended upto 12/09/2018,” he added.
During the tenure of the previous government, the tourism department had through a tender process selected M/s Bhumika Cleantech Services Pvt. Ltd to clean the beaches of North Goa and M/s. Ram Cleansers & Developers Private Limited for South Goa at an annual cost of Rs 7.59 crore and Rs 7.12 crore respectively.
Extrapolated for 365 days, the State Government is paying Drishti around Rs 9 crore per year for keeping the beaches clean, which is significantly less than the Rs 14 crore it was paying to the two agencies for keeping beaches in both North and South Goa clean.
Drishti Marine has completed 16 months of service in offering its assistance and mobilized
manpower and equipment for clearing garbage from the beaches of Goa which began on December 17, 2016.
In a bid to improve the cleanliness on Goa’s beaches, the state government had reached out to Drishti Marine over a year ago in December 2016 to step in and assist with garbage collection along the beaches on a temporary basis to support the effort of the government. The agency has an existing framework which includes infrastructure and management capability to effectively carry out the exercise along the beaches.
Presently, Drishti Marine have employed approximately 300 persons on a daily basis to clear the garbage from the beaches. The garbage collection process takes place twice a day, once in the morning and then again in the evening. At all beaches, the first round of collection takes place at 9 am according to the circuit route followed by the garbage collection vehicle. Considering that the quantum of garbage is a lot more than otherwise during the peak season, a second round of collection is done at the coastal belt, if required. The teams are in touch with each other with regards to the collection of garbage that has been done. If the need arises, a third round of collection will be done before 6 pm to ensure all the garbage is collected and transported to the waste management plant. The garbage collected is transported to the Saligao Waste Management plant once or twice a day.
The government terminated contract of the earlier contractors after complaints of corruption reached the office of the Lokayukta and the Government which was on the backfoot after accusations of corruption decided to terminate the contracts.
