The Hindu : New Delhi News : Left writes to PM on water privatisation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Left writes to PM on water privatisation

Staff Reporter

Demands loan application to the World Bank be withdrawn immediately

NEW DELHI: Senior leaders of Left parties have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention over the issue of privatisation of water supply in the Capital and demanding that the loan application to the World Bank be withdrawn immediately.

In the letter -- jointly signed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan, All India Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party secretary Abani Roy -- the leaders stated that the World Bank-initiated project had raised a number of questions which have not been satisfactorily answered by the Delhi Government or the Delhi Jal Board.

"We are writing to you regarding the impending privatisation of water supply in Delhi. The DJB is undertaking a `Delhi Water Supply and Sewerage Project' partly funded by the World Bank which will lead to 21 zones of the Jal Board being handed over to various private companies. The terms and conditions associated with the loan given by the World Bank are onerous and one-sided," said the letter to the Prime Minister.

`Blatant interference'

For instance, the conditions enable the Bank to suggest any modifications to the list of pre-qualified bidders. The Government is obliged to make such changes. The consultancy contract decided in November 2001 showed blatant interference by the Bank, it said, adding that more pertinently, the experience of implementing such World Bank dictated privatisation of water supply around the world has seen huge increase in tariffs and deprivation of water for the poorer sections.

"In the case of Delhi, the cost of salaries for those who manage a zone (Rs.11 lakh per month) and the free writ given to the companies to spend on operational expenses and capital investments are certain to lead to massive tariff hikes. The Government invests close to Rs.1,000 crores every year in the DJB and the World Bank loan amounts to only Rs.120 crores annually for a period of six years. The Government does not require such a small amount of money at a huge cost of interest payouts and one-sided terms and conditions."

The Left leaders have also given a detailed note regarding the deleterious impact the water privatisation project will have on the citizens of Delhi. "They (citizens) have already suffered the consequences of the privatisation of power supply in the Capital. We request you, therefore, to intervene to see that the project is not implemented and the loan application to the World Bank is withdrawn. After wide discussions, it will be possible to ensure a public water utility which is both efficient and accountable," the letter added.

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