The Puducherry Municipal Services Private Limited, which is entrusted with the task of garbage management in the town and suburban areas from January this year, has expressed optimism that the solid waste management rules will be implemented fully in the coming days.
Interacting with the media on Friday for the first time after taking over garbage management from the local bodies, Lieutenant Colonel (retired) C P Prem Vas, chief operating officer of PMSPL, said that once the litigation over establishing a waste disposal yard at Kurumapet was settled, the company would take only 18 months to construct the plant, which would have advanced technology to process the waste.
Till the yard gets ready, the company is contemplating to set up a transit point, probably in the unused Mettupalayam truck terminal, where they can dump garbage collected from houses and then transport the waste to the temporary landfills such as the one in Karuvadikuppam.
When asked about the controversy surrounding allocation of work to the firm, he said they have been awarded the contract after a global bidding.
The PMSPL is a joint venture between Puducherry Urban Development Agency and Bangalore based Kivar Environ Private Limited, he said adding as per the agreement the capital investment was shared by the government and Kivar.
When asked further about the financial side of the agreement, he said that for procuring vehicles and other infrastructure needs the government had paid around Rs 19 crore and the company had mobilised more than Rs 20 crore.
The PMSPL had deployed 14 compactor pick-up trucks, 79 tippers, 300-plus tricycles and 300 plus pushcarts for collection and transportation of solid waste, he added.
On the operational cost, he said the government would have to pay the company around Rs 1. 7 crore every month, which includes the salary part.
