More than Rs. 800 million had been spent by the end of 2023 to clear the beach of plastic pebbles following the X-press Pearl maritime disaster, says the National Audit Office.
In a report with regard to the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), it says payments for collecting the plastic pebbles with community participation amounted to Rs. 248,192,250, while a further Rs. 553,824,237 was spent on related equipment, transport, food and other needs.
In 2022, 44 kgs of plastic pebbles on average were gathered each day, which declined to 20 kg by 2023.
But, the parallel reduction in expenses was Rs. 18 million only, from Rs. 124 to Rs. 106 million, due to higher costs on goods and services, the MEPA has said.
The audit report recommends proper supervision for a better efficiency of the task.
The ship ‘MV X-press Pearl’ with hazardous chemicals caught fire and sank near Colombo port in 2021.
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