Lesina, no progress on separate waste collection: risk of revocation of 822 thousand euros from the PNRR

W hile urban waste collection is starting up again in Lesina, even for this summer season, there is yet another start with inconvenience, lack of innovation and, above all, no structural improvement of the service. In fact, there is no trace of the long-awaited smart eco-compactors and the promised reorganization: a wasted opportunity, according to the civic list “Nuova Lesina”, led by group leader Salvatore Antonio Trombetta , who presented a question to shed light on the use – or rather, the lack of use – of funding of over 800 thousand euros from the PNRR.

Funding obtained but never implemented

With municipal council resolution no. 34 of February 14, 2022, the Municipality of Lesina approved the technical-economic feasibility project called “Improvement of the separate waste collection service with supply of equipment and software”. The intervention, with a total value of one million euros, was approved for financing for the amount of 822,375 euros. Precious funds, aimed at purchasing intelligent systems for waste collection and efficient urban management.

But, according to the opposition, none of the planned objectives have been achieved. The deadline for identifying the implementing entity – as established by the financing decree – was set for December 31, 2023. Failure to comply could now lead not only to the definitive loss of the financing, but also to administrative and accounting liability on the part of the institutional entities involved, including the mayor and the sole person responsible for the procedure.

Query to know the status of the project

In the document presented by Trombetta , the administration is asked to report on the current status of the project: whether concrete actions have been started, whether the implementing entity has been identified, whether the progress still allows the deadline set for reporting expenses to be respected. Furthermore, the question asks for an account of any findings, prescriptions or risk communications sent by the competent ministries, and whether there have been disputes, counter-arguments and related outcomes.

No less important is the request to quantify the possible damage to the treasury in the event of definitive revocation of the funding. A prospect that, in addition to representing material damage, risks undermining the public image of the administration and of the city itself, already marked by the presence of micro-landfills and a service considered inefficient by both citizens and vacationers.

A political and environmental battle

“It is unacceptable,” writes the Nuova Lesina group, “that in a territory with an extraordinary environmental heritage, we continue to tolerate old, inadequate and harmful waste management. The funds were available, the deadlines were known, the opportunities were clear. Now we demand written and transparent answers.”

While waiting for the municipal administration to provide official clarifications, the heaviest doubt remains: yet another missed opportunity to transform an essential service into a virtuous tool at the service of the environment and citizens.

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