[Urbanstudy] State privatising water in Bangalore via back door?

[Vinay Baindur]

As written about earlier in many mails ? The Thames water and Water aid
group led WSUP has now  got a foothold (news below). JBIC, USAID, IFC, WB,
ADB and DFID are all together in this . One hell of a multiple whammy to lay
low any Govt policy ?  Janaagraha was in it earlier.

Thames water is now w(f)ishing to get a leakage reduction project for the
whole of BWSSB area ( as it stands today) and later maybe in the GBWASP
area. So now water Supply and water leakage O & M will trickle into private
(profit) pockets?

Who says lobbying doesnt work?




   *Deccan Herald <http://www.deccanherald.com/> »
City<http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug162006/city.asp>»
Detailed Story
*


  * State privatising water via back door? *
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug162006/city2024472006815.asp
  By Prathima Nandakumar DH News Service Bangalore:
  * Is the State Government inching towards water privatisation in Bangalore
city municipal councils? *

 Is the State Government inching towards water privatisation in Bangalore
city municipal councils? At least, the recent government order (GO) gives
the impression that foreign private companies may have a role in 'managing'
the piped water supply to the eight urban local bodies around the City.

An Urban Development Department GO (April 20, 2006) approved a proposal of
UK-based 'non-profit organisation' - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor
(WSUP) - to "develop models for improving water and sanitation services" in
the Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Project (GBWASSP).

The order also states that WSUP will conduct pilot projects in three slums.
However, the GO does not elaborate on the role of WSUP, the nature and the
scope of the pilot project or the WSUP's stakes in the project.

The BWSSB - the implementing agency for supply of Cauvery water to the
municipal councils of Bommanahalli, Byatarayanpura, Dasarahalli, KR Puram,
Mahadevapura, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Yelahanka and Kengeri TMC - states it is
yet to work out details with WSUP.

"WSUP is yet to discuss with us where, why and how they intend to go about
the project. We are awaiting their inputs. Will they restrict themselves to
capacity building or involve in holistic development of slums is not clear,"
says BWSSB chairman Muniyappa.

While, earlier attempts to privatise water in Bangalore have been thwarted,
the GBWASSP has again created a flutter as citizens' groups fear a repeat of
1998-99, when the Vivendi group signed an MoU with BWSSB to privatise water
supply.

The proposal was dropped following opposition by BWSSB employees. Later,
Thames Water was contracted for leakage prevention, which, too, was stalled.
Now, the Campaign Against Water Privatisation (CAWP), a people's movement,
reads the government nod to WSUP as a threat.

*Why a foreign agency?*

"Why should we rope in an external agency to work out models for water
supply? Water is no commodity. BWSSB is a constitutional body to supply
water and it has a no-profit clause in its brief. Why would a UK-based
company be interested in a project without profits?" asks Y J Rajendra,
secretary of Jana Sahayog, a partner in CAWP.

*Expansion plans*

CAWP also claims that WSUP is hoping to extend its activities to all the
slums. "WSUP wants to expand its work to 340 slums in Bangalore," says Isaac
Selva of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). "We suspect WSUP, as it
toes the line of the World Bank on water privatisation. WSUP is mooting
individual metered taps for houses."

According to CAWP, nearly 85 per cent of the people in slums and 66 per cent
in the low-income groups cannot afford to pay for water.

"The government had excluded the urban poor from the gambit of GBWASSP.
Following protests, the Project Steering Committee incorporated a 'pro-poor'
policy (GO dated March 25, 2006) and exempted houses less than 600 sq ft
from paying user group contribution (of Rs 2,500 per household)," points out
Mr Rajendra.

* DETAILS*

Project location:

7 CMCs and 1 TMC

Area covered: 240 sq km

Population covered: approx 13 lakh

*Water supply component: Rs 340.5 crore

Beneficiary contribution from citizens: Rs 179.52 crore

Mega City Loan: Rs 46.82 crore

State govt grant: Rs 74.28 crore

Market borrowings: Rs 100 crore

Sewerage: Rs 318.1 crore

Total Cost: Rs 658.6 crores

(*Suffered escalation; Current estimation is more than Rs 400 crore)

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