YSRCP alleges ₹1,200-crore scam in Andhra Pradesh waste management, names Minister Narayana

Leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Sunday alleged large-scale irregularities in Andhra Pradesh's municipal solid waste management programme and accused Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Ponguru Narayana of involvement in what they described as a ₹1,200-crore scam.

Speaking at a media conference in Nellore, YSRCP Nellore district president Kakani Govardhan Reddy and MLC Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy raised 12 questions on solid waste collection, legacy waste clearing, equipment procurement and the viability of waste-processing plants. They demanded an explanation from the Minister and challenged him to an open debate on the issue.

Central to their allegations is the rise in official figures for garbage cleared. The two leaders asked how the recorded quantity had increased from 85 lakh tonnes to 163 lakh tonnes without the administrative approvals they said such a revision would require.

“The contractors were paid around ₹800 a tonne, which resulted in unauthorised payments of an additional 15% volume allowance. This cost the State exchequer a loss of ₹60 crore,” Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy claimed.

Mr. Govardhan Reddy said the exact quantity of waste excavated from beneath the ground across various local bodies should be made public. “We need to know who is truly benefitting from the cleanliness drive,” he said.

The allegations relate to legacy waste — garbage that has accumulated at dumping sites over the years and is now being excavated and processed under solid waste management programmes. Clearing such waste forms part of the national cleanliness mission, and urban local bodies are responsible for awarding and monitoring the contracts involved. How tonnage is measured, recorded and paid for is therefore central to both the cost and the accountability of these projects. The figures cited by the YSRCP leaders are their own and have not been independently verified.

At the time the party made its allegations public, neither the Minister nor the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department had issued a response. This report is based on the YSRCP's statements; the Minister's position on each of the 12 questions is yet to be heard.

The YSRCP is the principal opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, and Mr. Narayana is a Minister in the Telugu Desam Party-led government that took office in 2024. Such exchanges between a ruling party and the opposition are a regular feature of State politics, but the questions raised go beyond party rivalry: whether public procurement follows prescribed procedure, whether payments match work actually done, and whether the records are open to scrutiny by legislators, auditors and the public.

A response is expected from the Minister's office and from senior municipal administration officials on the specific issues raised — the basis for the revised tonnage figures, the volume allowance paid to contractors, the tendering process for equipment and the financial feasibility of the processing plants. Residents and elected representatives in the affected local bodies are entitled to a clear account of where public money was spent and on what.

Until the government responds and the relevant records are examined, the allegations remain allegations — unproven and unverified.