Team Herald
PANJIM: Tourism Department has decided to discontinue with the beach cleaning services which have been embroiled in controversy due to the high charges.
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulakar said the State Level Monitoring Committee has decided to discontinue the services in view of change in scope of work.
He said the department will serve notices to the company in two days that in a month’s time their services will be not required.
“We will retender the work shortly after it is approved by the technical wing studying the present scope of the work which is less than earlier,” Parulekar said. He said tendering would be done by Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) this time.
Parulekar said garbage would now be lifted from the beaches and transported to the North Goa garbage treatment plant at Saligao-Calangute plateau. Only collection and transportation work will be tendered whereas earlier it was collection, segregation, installing bins, dust bins and disposal.
There is a complaint pending before the Lokayukta alleging that the State’s coffers have been emptied under the guise beach cleaning.
The contract for the North Goa beaches had been awarded in September 2014 to Bhumika Cleantech Services Pvt Ltd at Rs 7,51,40,999 annually and the cleaning of South Goa beaches to Ram Cleansers & Developers Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 7,04, 87,999. Both companies are owned by Manish Mohata. Earlier the cleaning of Goa beaches cost the State an average of Rs 2 crore annually.
Former Tourism Director Ameya Abhyankar on December 11, last year had proposed that the beach cleaning contract be terminated for not fulfilling major tender conditions. In his four page note Abhyankar, giving detailed reasons, had proposed that the department go in for a fresh tender.
