VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has emphasised the need for transforming Andhra Pradesh’s villages into clean and sustainable hubs through effective waste management. “Zero waste should be our goal. Every panchayat should implement an action plan to achieve it,” he said.
During a review meeting with officials at the State Secretariat on Thursday, he directed them to intensify efforts to ensure daily collection of waste from households, convert wet waste into compost, and hand over dry waste to agencies for processing.
Naidu instructed the officials to invite tenders next month to engage agencies for dry waste collection, and to entrust DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas) groups with managing wet waste, converting it into compost locally. He proposed the establishment of 52 waste management clusters across the State, with two per district, to grade and sell waste to agencies or transport it for further processing. “No panchayat should dump waste on the roadside,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister advocated for a ‘Circular Economy Policy’ to streamline waste management, suggesting a study of Rajasthan’s model, and the use of electric vehicles for waste collection. He directed the Panchayat Raj Department to coordinate with the Swachh Andhra Pradesh initiative, and the Pollution Control Board in this regard. Naidu also emphasised the need for studying agricultural and allied sector waste to support the circular economy.
To incentivise progress, he announced awards for panchayats and individuals excelling in waste management, to be presented on October 2, 2025, with a goal to fully streamline the system by October 2, 2026.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the progress of Waste-to-Energy plants being set up in Nellore, Rajahmundry, Kadapa and Kurnool, directing the officials to ensure timely completion.