the goan I network
PANAJI
Stating that the BJP government should stop any attempts of giving illegal extensions to the beach safety and beach cleaning contracts and should engage the services of Goans, the Congress on Monday slammed Tourism Minister Babu Ajgaonkar for renewing both the contracts with Drishti.
In a press conference in the city, Congress chief Girish Chodankar alleged that the Rs 141.50 crores was handed over for beach safety in five years and the Rs 26.20 crores for beach cleaning in two and a half years was illegal.
“M/s. Drishti Lifesaving Pvt. Ltd. respective contracts expired on July 15 and June 30, 2019. Yet the government is attempting to protect the vested interests of a top BJP official, through the Tourism Department,” Chodankar said.
If the government continues, the Opposition will approach the Lokayukta and the High Court, he added.
Citing documents from the recently-concluded monsoon Assembly, Chodankar said that Ajgaonkar furnished information that the contract given to M/s. Drishti Life Saving Pvt. Ltd. for beach cleaning work under GFR-184 expired on July 15, 2019.
According to Chodankar, the Tourism Minister has further stated that the said contract was renewed nine times and the government has paid an amount of Rs 2.62 crores a day for 106 days making it a whopping Rs. 26.20 crores for the entire period of the contract.
The Congress claims that M/s. Drishti Life Saving Pvt. Ltd. had no experience in beach cleaning, yet the government illegally extended their contract nine consecutive times depriving local Goans who had efficiently carried out similar work in the past.
In a statement released by Drishti last Monday evening, the company denies all allegations, and claims to have instead saved the government Rs 20 crore on beach cleaning.
New tender floated on defective estimates: Girish
PANAJI: The Congress on Monday demanded that the new beach cleaning project report needed to be scrapped immediately as the tender was floated on defective estimates.
Chodankar said that the Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar in his reply in the Assembly stated that the new tender floated for the beach cleaning work will be awarded to M/s. Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Pvt. Ltd. based on the estimates prepared by M/s. Darashaw Consultants.
“This company has no experience in comprehensive management of beach cleaning nor has it any qualified persons like environmental engineers to undertake such work,” alleged Chodankar.
Drishti refutes allegations
PANAJI: In a press note issued on Monday, Drishti Lifesaving Pvt. Ltd has refuted the allegations made against them by the Congress. “Drishti is doing the work for the last 2 years at half the price and has saved the Government over Rs 20 crores. There has been no enhancement of our rates to even combat basic inflation of prices,” the press note said.
“Our beach cleaning contract expired on 15 July 2019. From July till date, we have extended our work purely on the verbal commitment and assurance of the minister that work order will be released for the interim period of work by revised work order at the earliest. We would be glad to stop work from tomorrow if the government says so. Government has to pay us our pending dues which is in arrears of 8 months,” Drishti said in the statement, adding that while the non-payment of arrears has put severe financial strain on operational processes, Drishti has continued to pay its team of 1400 to keeps the beaches safe and clean. Since December 2016 till date, the agency claims to have collected and transported 3858400 kgs of garbage from along the state’s coast.
