Lesina, over €800,000 lost on separate waste collection: mayor's concerns erupt after Trombetta's question.

Nearly one million euros , earmarked for improving the separate waste collection service in Lesina , have vanished. This is the "extremely serious" conclusion of the question presented recently by Antonio Trombetta, leader of the "Lesina Nuova" group , who sought clarification on the fate of the "Improvement of the Separate Waste Collection Service" project, approved in 2022 by the municipal council but never completed.

The response, which came directly from Mayor Primiano Di Mauro , confirmed the opposition's fears in the bitterest way: the €822,375 in funding has been definitively lost , due to the failure to meet the deadline set for 31 December 2023 for identifying the contractor.

The project and its failure to be realized

The plan, included in the Three-Year Public Works Plan , included the supply of innovative equipment and software for waste sorting, with a direct impact on service efficiency and potentially also on reducing the Tari ( waste tax). The project, worth a total of €1 million, was funded almost entirely under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) .

As Trombetta emphasized in his question, the funding was tied to specific timeframes and rigorous reporting requirements , under penalty of forfeiture of the grant. And it was precisely the failure to appoint the implementing body in a timely manner that triggered the automatic revocation.

Responsibilities and accusations

Mayor Di Mauro blamed the delay on an internal administrative change , which would have caused a sudden discontinuity in the relationship with the municipal technical structure. This explanation, however, did not convince the opposition. "The reasons given are flimsy," Trombetta attacked. "The mayor, as head of the administration and politically responsible for implementing the guidelines , had the duty to monitor and ensure operational continuity."

Trombetta bluntly speaks of a " colossal missed opportunity for Lesina," both in terms of environmental improvement and the positive economic impact the project could have had on the community: "We have missed the opportunity to enter a virtuous cycle of recovery, cleanup, and civic participation. But above all," he adds, " we have denied residents a potential reduction in the Tari (waste tax). This is serious damage, not only environmental but also social and economic."

The consequences

According to the question, in addition to the loss of funding, administrative and accounting liabilities could arise for those responsible for overseeing and implementing the project on time. This issue risks leaving its mark on the political debate in Lesina and reviving the issue of local authorities' management of PNRR funds, often hampered by structural deficiencies, bureaucratic delays, and decision-making uncertainties.

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