Delhi Jal Board’s plan to privatize supply in deep water

NEW DELHI: Murmur against Delhi Jal Board’s proposed public-private partnership for 24x7 water supply projects is growing stronger. On Thursday, the Water Privatisation-Commercializtion Resistance Committee and representatives of several other organizations working on water issues met to thrash out a plan of action against the involvement of the private sector in Delhi’s water distribution system. The group will write to the chief minister shortly to ask for a white paper on DJB’s plans.

Dipak Dholakia, general secretary of the committee, said a joint front of persons against the PPP model will also be formed. “The government is not at all clear about the reasons it has decided to bring in private investment . We are also going to launch a major mass movement against this proposal in the coming week,” he said.

The primary concern, said sources, was if plugging leaks was all that was needed to ensure 24x7 water supply, why is DJB not doing the work itself.

“How will privatization ‘generate’ water? It will only redistribute the same water. Actually a private company will not even get into the problem areas. If 22,000 DJB staff cannot handle water, how will a few hundred private company people do it? If the government is paying for the infrastructure anyway, why is it bringing in a private party to take the profits?” asked Jyoti Sharma, director, NGO FORCE.

Centre for Science and Environment , too, has spoken out against the proposal, saying they are opposed to it not on ideology but on the rationale and cost of outsourcing work to private players . Nitya Jacob, programme director , Water, said: “The whole idea behind involving the private sector in water supply has been in the hope of financing the gap, mobilizing quality expertise to become agents of reforms, resulting in conservation of water . In the PPP models in India, the private sector is not willing to take on any financial risk. The question that must be answered is what expertise the private player is bringing to the table that DJB is incapable of acquiring ,” he said.

The resistance committee added: “The National Water Policy says that water is to be treated like an economic goods only after it satisfies its basic right to life requirement. Privatization is in conflict with this principle. If DJB still does not know how much water is needed in an area, how will it ensure that adequate water is available to all?”

People are demanding that DJB should first strengthen its existing supply system before thinking of privatization.