Puducherry municipality was constituted as a civic body in 1880
by a French metropolitan decree and attained its present form in
1973. It has a total area of 19.46 km2 and is divided into 42 wards
with a population of 220,865. The municipality government is
responsible for the collection and disposal of garbage in all 42
wards. During the study period, INR 25 lakhs (US$ 40,000) per
month was being allocated from the city’s budget for management
of MSW in Puducherry municipality. In addition, INR 17
lakhs (US$ 27,000) per month was spent on private contractors,
NGOs and self-help groups for collection and disposal of MSW