The Hindu       11.07.2016 

‘Waste disposal: Focus is on awareness, not fine’

Local Administration Minister A. Namassivayam on Sunday said that fine of Rs. 500 will not be imposed on people who fail to segregate waste.

“First, awareness will be created among the public on the importance of segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. We will streamline the process of collecting the garbage from households,” he said.

He added that a meeting on segregation of waste will be held with the Local Administration Department (LAD) officials on Monday. The issues discussed in this meeting will be presented to the Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Monday evening.

Mr. Namassivayam had accompanied the Lieutenant Governor on Sunday to inspect the garbage dumping yard at Kurumampet.

Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy, Secretary to Government (Local Administration) P. Jawahar, Director of Department of Science and Technology and Environment M. Dwarakanath and Puducherry and Oulgaret municipality commissioners R. Chandirasekaran and M.S. Ramesh were also present.

During the inspection, Ms. Bedi said that a meeting with the Local Administration Minister and officials will be held on Monday.

She said that people should start segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. They should not throw the garbage on the road. The contractors will collect the segregated waste. Union Territory of Puducherry should bag the first place for cleanliness.

Replying to Mr. Namassivayam’s question as to who would segregate the waste, the Lieutenant Governor replied that it was the responsibility of the contractors to collect the segregated waste from public. Though the contract does not stipulate to collect segregated waste separately, the contractors said that they were doing it on the instructions of the Lieutenant Governor.

He added that a meeting on segregation of waste will be held with the officials on Monday