Swachh Goa! State’s Tourism Development Corporation to clean beaches on their own

Panaji: After the Goa Tourism department faced allegations of lapses in awarding beach cleaning contract to private firms, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has decided to do away with the private contractors and instead clean the beaches on their own.

"The GTDC Board of Directors which met on Monday unanimously decided the work for cleaning beaches should not be allotted to the private firms, but be done by us," GTDC Chairman Nilesh Cabral told reporters today.

GTDC decided to form a cadre of local workers who will be recruited through Goa Recruitment Society, a state government venture, and be trained in keeping the beaches clean, Cabral said.

"Over 300 workforce would be trained for keeping the beaches clean. They would be taken up on contract basis and would keep the beaches garbage free across Goa's 105 km long shore," he said.

The state tourism department was embroiled in a controversy after social activist Aires Rodrigues and Independent legislator Rohan Khaunte petitioned Goa Lokayukta over the lapses in awarding beach cleaning contract to two private firms.

Cabral said GTDC has moved a proposal to the State Tourism Department requesting their consent to handle the beach cleaning work.

He said the corporation is contemplating to form a beach cleaning policy.

"We have to take all stakeholders into confidence to keep the beaches clean. There are some measures that would be adopted including a bar coded bags to the shacks where they will dump the garbage after segregating it," Cabral added.