PANJIM: The Planning Commission has convened a meeting in New Delhi on December 27 to discuss salvaging of the motor vessel, the River Princess, and funds of about Rs 69 crore for removing the vessel lying grounded for over a decade.
Chief minister Digambar Kamat and some government officials will attend the meeting, which has been scheduled following correspondence from the Goa government to the commission, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Union ministries of shipping, tourism and environment & forests.
The Goa government has sought approximately Rs 69 crore or the balance of funds after recovery of the scrap value to salvage the River Princess. "While the scrap may fetch about Rs 25 to Rs 30 crore, we are asking for the balance left over from the Planning Commission directly or the NDMA, commission and other Union ministries as consortium funds," a source said. Kamat informed the council members that he had written to the Central government for funds.
The issue of the grounded vessel figured at the first meeting of the reconstituted Goa State Environment Protection Council (GEPC) chaired by governor S S Sidhu as chairman at Raj Bhavan on Thursday. Tourism secretary M M Modassir briefed the council about the process of getting the beach cleared of the grounded ship.
The salvaging process has been awarded to Mumbai-based Arihant Ship Breaking Company, which offered the lowest bid of Rs 99 crore for the job. An evaluation is being carried out and a report is likely to be submitted within a few days. Allegations have been rife that the ship has been clandestinely stripped of some parts.
The grounded vessel had been declared a state disaster some time back and this entitles the state to avail of central funds to remove it. Extensive damage to the shoreline, including erosion and a loss of 100 metres of the beach for just over a length of 1 km of Dando and Sinquerim beaches due to the presence of the vessel has been confirmed by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). (TNN)
The River Princess will never be removed and now this meet is a new trick to rob government money by Digamber Kamat
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