Rs 15 cr Mumbai beach cleaning contract finalised by MCGM

In order to ensure cleanliness of the beaches of the Island city, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is set to issue the work order to select contractors by January 7. The contract is of Rs 15 crore for a duration of five years.

Three beaches-Dadar, Juhu and Versova- will be covered under the project. 15 contractors have applied for the project, out of which three have been selected. Antony, Bala and Bhumika are the three contractors have been selected for the three beaches, respectively.

The contract amount for the first two beaches has been fixed at Rs 5 crore each, whereas the Versova beach contract is for Rs 3.5 crore.

To make this initiative successful, the municipal body is forming a committee comprising the assistant commissioner of the ward, deputy chief engineer and two members of advance locality management (ALM) body.

This body will keep a vigil on the work by the contractors and will be giving points to them on their performance. This will be conveyed to the chief engineer of the solid waste management (SWM) department, MCGM.

"We have existing contracts which are temporary. By having these new contracts, the system will be more effective and hourly monitoring of the beaches will be possible," said a senior municipal official close to the development of the project. Beach cleaning machines, trolleys and litter bins will be used, to be arranged by the contractors.

"The beach cleaning machines are imported ones, two each for Dadar, Juhu and one for Versova. The clauses in the contract mention the fine to be paid by the assigned contractor if they fail to install the required machinery and litter bins on the beaches," the official said.

"But the objective is not to penalise the contractors rather to help beautify the beaches," he added.

Though the official could not tell about the present spending of the municipal body for maintaining the beaches, he said that the money to be spent on a daily basis during the five-year contract will be slightly up.