L-G convenes meeting to discuss Puducherry’s solid waste management issue

Lt. Governor of Puducherry holds meeting to address solid waste management issues, withholding funds for cleanliness improvement.

A day after he raised concern over the handling of solid waste in the town, Lieutenant Governor C. P Radhakrishnan on Saturday held a meeting with senior officials belonging to the departments of Public Works and Local Administration to discuss waste management in Puducherry.

The Lt. Governor while giving his inaugural address at an orientation programme on Friday disclosed that he had decided to hold back the file pertaining to the release of funds for solid waste management.

“I am not in favour of keeping files pending. But I have decided to keep aside the file pertaining to payment on waste management as garbage could be seen strewn on the roads,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.

Sources in the government told The Hindu that payment to Swachatha Corporation and HR Square, the two firms involved in collection, transportation, and disposal of waste in the urban and rural areas of Puducherry, has been withheld for want of financial sanction by the Lt. Governor.

The Lt. Governor directed the officials to find out the reason for waste being dumped on road side despite involving the firms for collection and disposal, and come out with an action plan for making Puducherry look “neat and clean.”

He also directed the officials to have a coordinated approach in cleaning the storm water drains and canals. All the departments have to work in a coordinated manner to de-silt the drains. The Lt. Governor wanted visible improvement on handling of solid waste in urban and rural areas, said an official who attended the meeting.

The payment issue comes at a time when the contractual obligations of Swachatha Corporation for management of waste comes to an end next year. The government has already given the work order to another firm, Green Warrior, for collection, transportation and disposal of waste in Puducherry and Oulgaret Municipalities from May 2025.