Puducherry LAD imposes penalty on solid waste management firm for lapses in collection of trash

The Local Administration Department (LAD) has initiated punitive as well as pro-active measures to streamline the management of solid waste in Puducherry after reports emerged of disruption in the services rendered by the firm involved in the collection and disposal of garbage in the Union Territory (UT).

The LAD imposed penalty of ₹4 lakh last month on Green Warrior, the firm entrusted with the task to manage solid waste in the municipality limits of Puducherry, for lapses in the collection of garbage from residential areas of Puducherry and Oulgaret Municipalities. The decision followed public complaints about non-removal of trash in a systematic manner by the agency, an official said.

“Our control room is closely monitoring the activities of the firm through a geo-tagged mechanism, and complaints from public are duly forwarded to the representatives of the firm. If a complaint is not attended to in 60 minutes, we are serving them a notice, as per the norms prescribed in the agreement between the government and the company. Last month, we imposed penalty to the tune of ₹4 lakh,“ said an LAD official. 

The LAD has two functioning WhatsApp groups with municipality officials, representatives from Green Warrior and residents’ associations as members to address public grievances. The WhatsApp number for Pondicherry Municipality is 9118181911 and Oulgaret, 9118383911, the official said. 

Further, the LAD will soon launch a programme under the Public Feedback System, in which officials will conduct an interface programme with the representatives of residents’ associations. There are around 120 associations in Puducherry with whom the LAD plans to interact, for feedback on the solid waste management programme. Besides, the department has directed the firm to step up their activities, including deploying more vehicles, machinery, and workforce, to provide better services.

Independent monitoring team

The department recently floated a tender to appoint an independent monitoring team for the evaluation of the existing solid waste management programme in the UT. “We are planning to appoint a reputed firm, agency, or institution as an independent evaluator of our programme in the Puducherry, Karaikal, and Yanam regions. The tender has been floated, and we hope to appoint a third-party auditor very soon,” said another official.