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World Bank official favours debate

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Putting the ball in the court of the Delhi Government, World Bank Country Director Michael F. Carter on Saturday said he was in favour of full release of documentation pertaining to the proposed Delhi Water Supply and Sewerage Project but would concur with any disclosure by the Delhi Jal Board and the Union and the Delhi Government on the issue as they were the stakeholders.

In his reply to the refusal by the social activist and Magsaysay award winner, Aruna Roy, to meet him over a "cup of tea'' to discuss the much talked about 24X7 project and other related issues, Mr. Carter said he fully agreed that public consultation must be an integral part of any major reform or investment project. "But we must be clear that consultations have to be undertaken by the Government with its citizens and not by the Bank bypassing any Government. As a responsible public institution, the Bank's role is to satisfy itself that a proper consultative process has been followed. It is for this reason that we have welcomed the public debate your colleagues have initiated and appreciated the Chief Minister's call for a thorough round of public consultation before proceeding with the project''.

"I have never stated," he added, "that the Bank has nothing to reconsider in the proposed project. Where we have expressed disappointment in the present controversy is in the persistent misrepresentation of facts despite our repeated clarifications alongside what are possibly genuine misunderstandings of some technical aspects of the proposals. Further, the public discourse has appeared to focus more on mis-characterising the Bank's role than on the substantive issues related to Delhi's water supply and sewerage problems and the accountability of its water service provider." .

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