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Payment dispute may bring Colombo’s garbage collection to a halt: Mayor
View(s):Colombo city’s garbage collection could come to a grinding halt following a dispute over payments to the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation Development Corporation (SLLRDC) which manages the Kerawalapitiya garbage disposal site, Mayor Rosy Senanayake warned yesterday. She said the council’s efforts to maintain a clean city had contributed to bringing down the number of dengue case by 62 percent in the city in the past six months but the council would not be able to maintain the momentum if the garbage remained uncollected.
“It is not my doing if epidemics spread due to garbage accumulation. The SLLRDC will be responsible for the issue,” Ms. Senanayake said, claiming that the SLLRDC had refused to allow garbage to be dumped at the Muthurajawela-Karadiyana area until the council paid more for the garbage. She said the CMC had paid Rs 3,000 a metric tonne of garbage until July, but the SLLRDC wanted Rs 5,000 per metric tonne. The total amount worked out by SLLRDC was Rs. 207 million.
“This is unfair. They are behaving like they are asking for a ransom. Suddenly yesterday evening they announced that they would not allow to unload garbage at the site,” she charged. She said she had been unable to contact the President; neither could she notify the Prime Minister who was overseas. However, she said she contacted Megapolis Minister Champika Ranawaka and he had asked her to meet officials to sort out the dispute.
The mayor said she had no authority to take a decision at such a short notice regarding payments. She added that if the council spent such a big amount on garbage, it would not have enough money for other council activities.
SLLRDC chairman Roshan Gunawardena said they stepped in when the CMC could not find a disposal site after the Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster. “We provided our land but we did so according to an agreement. We told the CMC to make payments until July. They have to pay Rs 207 million before September 31,” he said.
He acknowledged that the CMC had paid the SLLRDC Rs 50 million but there was still Rs. 157 million to be paid.
“We said we would give them time until October 2. But due to their lack of response we have decided to halt accepting garbage,” he said. “If the council pays, we will allow them to dump the garbage,” he said.