PANJIM: Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Tuesday said that payment to Mumbai-based M/s Arihant Ship Breakers will be released after verifying that the all the scrap of M V River Princess is removed from the seabed.
“I don’t want even half-a-kilo to remain under the sea…We won’t pay the company a single rupee…” Parulekar told a press briefing in his chamber at Goa Secretariat.
The government will rely on the survey report of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to subsequently decide about releasing the payment to Arihant.
“Once the agency submits its final report about removing the debris, we will seek NIO’s assistance to conduct a survey. If the report is positive, chief minister (Manohar Parrikar) and I will decide on the payment. We have to reconfirm that not an ounce of the wreck remains at the seabed,” he added.
Asked whether the company would be granted extension if it fails to complete the task within the stipulated time considering the monsoon in Goa, Parulekar said it is for the monitoring committee to take a decision on the issue.
