Starting from July 18, households in Puducherry will need to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, failing which residents will have to pay a penalty of Rs. 500.
P. Jawahar, Secretary to Government, Local Administration, told a press conference on Friday that 300 to 320 tonne of solid waste was generated every day in Puducherry.
“It has become difficult to process the waste as both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste is mixed. If separated, at least 150 tonne of biodegradable waste could easily be composed and the rest could be recycled,” he said.
Swachata Corporation workers will carry two containers to collect the segregated waste. These containers will be painted in red and green. The red container will be used to collect non-biodegradable waste while the green one will be for the biodegradable waste.
Approximately 1,460 Swachata Corporation workers would be engaged in collecting waste from the one lakh households in Puducherry and Oularget municipalities and Villianur and Ariyankuppam commune panchayats.
Mr. Jawahar said that municipalities had the power to bring in amendments to Solid Waste Management Rules – 2016 to introduce penalties to residents who fail to segregate waste. At least two vehicles for a block would be deployed to collect segregated waste, which later be transported to the garbage dumping yard in Kurumampet. If the public fail to pay the penalty, there are provisions to impose fine up to Rs. 1 lakh.
The Local Administrative Department (LAD) is planning to process bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste separately in Kurumampet dumping yard.
The LAD is also planning to introduce portable toilets at the beach road and bus stand.
Secretary to Government, LAD, had held a meeting with commissioners of municipalities and commune panchayats on Friday to discuss this issue.
Swachata Corporation workers will carry two containers to collect the
segregated waste
