Beach cleaning contract should be re-floated: CM

PANJIM: In yet another setback to the Tourism Department after the Lokayukta order to stop payments to beach cleaning contractors, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has said he believes that tenders must be re-floated.

Goa Lokayukta, Justice (retd) P K Misra, has already directed the Tourism Director to stop all further payments to Ram Engineering and Construction Company and Bhumika Clean Tech Pvt Ltd, the contractors entrusted with the work of cleaning the State’s beaches.

“I am of the firm opinion that since the solid waste management plant is already come up at Saligao, the scope of work for the contractors has reduced,” Mr Parsekar told Herald.

He said, “The contractors are not doing mechanised cleaning nor are they segregating garbage or composting it so the beach cleaning contracts should be re-floated.”

Parsekar said that if the scope of work has reduced there is no sense in paying “exorbitant amount to the beach cleaning contractors”.

The complaint files against the beach cleaning contract by the Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte has stated that it was “embarked through an institutionalised scheme of corruption”. The complainant stated that the whole exercise was designed to siphon off crores of rupees from the public exchequer

Asked to comment on the allegations of scam in the contract, Parsekar said, “Well that has to be looked into. But I am looking into the matter and if there are any issues it would be sorted out.” Herald has extensively reported on the alleged beach cleaning scam.

The beach cleaning contract issued by Goa Tourism jumped by eight times from Rs 1.85 crore to Rs 14.70 crore, from the second to the third year.

Meanwhile, the Lokayukta on Tuesday rejected Tourism Department’s application to recall the order of July 6 to stop further payment to the beach cleaning contractors. Adjourning the hearing on the scam to August 2, Lokayukta P K Mishra said the order will stand.   Manish Mohata contractor of the beach cleaning services appeared before the Lokayukta and sought time to file his reply to the complaint.