The All Kerala Water Authority Employees Union has come out against the recommendation of the National Planning Commission to privatise water-delivery services in the country.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday to announce the 12th State conference of the union, beginning at Nalanda Auditorium on Saturday, its office-bearers said such a move would result in making drinking water inaccessible to a large section of people.
This document published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) warns of the growing perception of water as an economic good and argues that a new consortium of business and international finance is systematically trying to influence how the world’s water will be allocated in future.
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday observed that the government should take a policy decision to privatise the drinking water supply in the State.The Bench comprising Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice Babu Mathew P. Joseph made the observation while hearing appeals filed by the Kerala State Electricity Board against a single judge's order directing the KSEB to restore electricity connection to the water authority's offices in various districts.
PMK leader S. Ramadoss on Friday criticised the Draft National Water Policy 2012, alleging that the policy will only fatten multi-national companies and destroy farming in the country.
In a statement here, he described as “highly condemnable,” the suggestion that water-related services be transferred to the community and /or private sector with an appropriate public private partnership model.
‘Outsourcing supply will see tariffs skyrocketing’
Day Two of the Bangalore World Water Summit saw a parallel summit being organised by Peoples Campaign for Right to Water, which sees a move to privatise water supply in the agenda of such meets.
In a transparent attempt to offload the responsibility of providing drinking and potable water to the people, the Ministry of Water Resources has said privatisation of water supply is the way forward.
In its draft National Water Policy of 2012 released on Tuesday, the ministry has proposed that the State shift its onus of being a ‘service provider’ to being a ‘facilitator’ for supply of water to citizens.
Slum-dwellers, under the banners of Slum Janandalona and Jilla Kolageri Nivasigala Okkuta, on Tuesday lodged a protest against the move to privatise distribution of drinking water in urban areas, demanding that the Government stop the maintenance and distribution of drinking water by private agencies working on pilot basis.
Renowned for its majestic Himalayas, Nepal is rich in its geographic, natural, and cultural diversity. Nepal has a population of 25 million, with approximately 85% of its population living in rural areas. The population is growing at a rate of 2.3% per year, and the ratio of population to arable land is one of the highest in the world.
