As Drishti Marine’s contract with the government over cleaning the garbage from beaches, has come to an end, the agency is awaiting payment of Rs 3.17 crore approx to be paid by the Pramod Sawant-led government.
Drishti, that used its manpower and expertise for clearing the coast collected 39,75,880 kgs of waste from the date of its appointment in December 2016 till the last day of its contract October 1, 2019.
With the new agency Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Pvt Ltd taking over the project, payment to the previous agency - that also offers lifesaving services on the beaches - is pending. “CEO Drishti Marine Ravi Shankar has confirmed that an outstanding amount of Rs 3.17 crore including GST is to be paid by the government.
Drishti was awarded the work for beach cleaning by the then State government on an emergency basis in December 2016 as a lot of garbage was piling up on the beaches. The situation arose after the government terminated the contract of two agencies for an alleged scam. Drishti started the work the day it got instructions to start work, with no official work order. The first work order was issued in May of 2017, post five months of the commencement of work.
The agreement ended on November 12, 2018 until when the agency collected 2779409 kgs waste. The company withdrew its services as no intimation on extension of contract was served. The government then granted approval to continue services of 'Comprehensive Management of Cleanliness on the Beaches of Goa' from November 27, 2018 to March 31, 2019. The agency continued its service till October 1, 2019 as per another agreement.
“We began cleaning the beaches of Goa on a 24-hour notice and never looked back. Today with 25 million recorded man hours of beach cleaning Drishti Marine would like to thank each of our 280 crew on the ground who have worked every single day to remove over 39,75,880 kgs of garbage from Goa’s coastline,” said CEO Shankar while adding, “Our attachment to the 106km shoreline of Goa runs deep, and has always reflected in our work. Over the last 15 years, we have built a dependable system for coastline safety with our 620-lifeguard team that stands on guard to protect human and marine life in distress. We will continue to protect Goa’s beaches with as much commitment as before.”