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Water is elixir of life - Those handling water are only trustees

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Dear All,

Have a look at the following cut and paste from Deccan Herald dated 22-5-2013. 

Question is: How far the Finance Minister is right in creating a Regulator for water? 

While he may have the prerogative to create Regulators for minerals, ores and other natural resource in the land that belongs to India, how far is he right in creating a Regulator for water that belongs to the entire world?  Water has to be shared between every living being on earth and is not owned by any one nation or person. 

Water on earth is millions of years old.  There is nothing like fresh water. Just because it comes through taps or is supplied in plastic bottles, it cannot be deemed to be fresh.  Water particles keeps circulating around the world and water cannot be manufactured even by scientists in such large quantity.  Water on earth evaporates, goes up, gets converted into clouds, with the help of wind keeps moving around the world in the atmosphere and depending upon the blow hot or blow cold man-made climate change, the clouds simply pour their stock of water on such spots - anywhere in the world.  Movements of the clouds cannot be controlled by man.

Then how can our FM create a Regulator for water?  Those who are empowered to handle the available water are anywhere in the world are only trustees of water and they have no right to allieniate or sell or lease or commercialise water.  They are empowered only for ensuring equitable distribution of water to all living beings on earth.

There should be a limit for man's authority to take over nature.  We need a good system to ensure proper demand and supply for this elixir of life - water, without earning profits by selling it.  Insects, avions, greenery and animals also need the natural god given resource - elixir of life water, we the rational animals must be really rationale and provide them also their life's support water through some means without issuing bills.

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Deccan Herald dated 22-5-2013

Separate regulators for water, power on cards, says FM

NEW DELHI, Annapurna Singh , May 21, 2013, dhns:

Move to ensure reasonable profits for producer

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The government is considering taking steps to set up separate regulators for power and water sectors after unshackling their distribution from public sector monopoly.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has stressed the need for the same for these sectors, days after asserting that independent regulators for road and coal sectors will come up by August-September this year.

“We need separate regulators for such sectors (power, water),  whose role will be to keep the private producer working for the public interest while ensuring the producer makes reasonable profits and that the public sector does not transfer undue risk on to the private sector,” Chidambaram said.

The move may be part of small steps the finance minister recently promised the UPA will take, in order to carry forward economic reforms in the absence of Opposition support in the Parliament to push through big ticket reform measures. Also, such measures can tackle problems faced by the public utilities, including their tardy distribution.

The new National Water Policy too suggests that the government withdraw from its role as a service provider in the water sector. Instead, it says, communities and the private sector should be encouraged to play that role.

Power and water are two main public utility services remain under state monopoly in India. But, the finance minister is of the view that with advancement in technology, multiple producers can be involved in distribution of power from the same grid. But when it comes to water distribution, not much headway has been made for privatisation, Chidambaram recently said, acknowledging though much of India has moved towards privatisation of different sectors.

“Fortunately, there are fewer and fewer situations where pure natural monopolies exist. For instance, power distribution… nevertheless, there are still a number of areas, many of them involving services to the public such as water distribution, which are natural monopolies,” Chidambaram said.

A working group of Planning Commission recently recommended privatisation of water distribution saying it would ensure efficient water supply and help plug water and revenue leaks. A similar move by the Delhi government to privatise water distribution was opposed by experts but Karnataka recently became the first state in the country to privatise water distribution with several towns being managed by private companies under a 24X7 water supply scheme.

Promising separate regulators for road and coal sectors, Chidambaram had last month said, “There are often problems during implementation of road and coal projects. The government hopes to make the process easier with separate regulatory authorities that will be able to place effective mechanisms”.

Comments

srinidhi's picture

Disturbing..

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Indeed the FM is playing to the tunes of big corporations..if govt plans to give away everything..wonder what will we be paying their salaries for!

We hav already seen reliance in Mumbai for power distribution and Mysore water distribution really not living up to the promises y were originally projected for!

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath's picture

Making profit by selling water is unethical

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@Srinidhi, you are right.

The following sentences from FM's statement is most disturbing:

“We need separate regulators for such sectors (power, water),  whose role will be to keep the private producer working for the public interest while ensuring the producer makes reasonable profits and that the public sector does not transfer undue risk on to the private sector,” Chidambaram said.

Question is: Is the Government so incapable of ensuring equitable water supply to the common man?  Outsourcing appears to be the name of the game to escape transparency and accountability.  

Regarding Karnataka's record of privatising water distribution successfully, as stated by the FM, has to be taken with a pinch of salt.  JUSCO in Mysore has failed miserably (the TATA company) and has been levied a fine for not having met the targets.  Hardly 2 per cent of people in Mysore are getting some water through JUSCO agreement at exhorbitant cost. There are many socio-economic reasons for its bad handling and had they known the ground realities of water supply through VVW, Mysore, they would not have ventured into this field.

All said and done, privatising water and creating a Regulator for water would be a bad idea.  Instead, as a responsible Government with socialism at its core, it must ensure that their officials work towards better demand and suppy system for water.    

vatsan007's picture

Situation in Mysore is getting worse by every single day..

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...As I'm writing this comment from my home in Mysore, things seem scary as people are making brisk business selling a water -- now that water mafia has taken over -- from other mafias like sand, etc..

This is the first severe summer after JUSCO was made responsible for distribution and billing, but it has not gone down well -- especially fo the citizens.

A water tanker is being charged Rs 600/- in Mysore in places like Vijayanagar II Stage where taps have gone dry for almost a week now. However, some residences it seems have received water arbitrarily  == making me believe that there is something fishy in the water lines laid by JUSCO. Some areas it seems (near Thonachikoppal, Hinkal..) where our current CM's -- karmabhoomi are, running water full for most hours of the day and are being wasted.

When we call the local corporator to supply water through corporation tankers, the pipes they have are not sufficient enough to run till the water cisterns in the houses, and in turn ask the citizens to have them to make up for the short fall in pipe length.

This is disgusting....

Even when there were severe summers in 2002/2003, water was efficiently managed by the corporation itself, leading us to the belief that JUSCO has indeed failed in its distribution task.

 

 

- Srivatsan

murali772's picture

pseudo-Socialist muck-raking!

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@ Srinidhi

if govt plans to give away everything..wonder what will we be paying their salaries for!

Simple - they should down-size (check this)

We hav already seen reliance in Mumbai for power distribution

Reliance in Mumbai is doing a fair job in power distribution. Tata's in Delhi are doing an even better job - check this

- - and Mysore water distribution really not living up to the promises y were originally projected for!

It was none other than the redoubtable Mr Manivannan who initiated the scheme in Mysore, after doing a fairly good background study. If it didn't come up to its expectations, it was plainly because it was sabotaged - check this

Please don't fall for this pseudo-Socialist muck-raking.

Muralidhar Rao
murali772's picture

request reduce clutter

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@Vasanthkumar sahibare'

Instead, as a responsible Government with socialism at its core

God God! Would you want to resurrect Indira Gandhi also?

Sir, we had 'discouraged' you once earlier from 'spamming' on PRAJA. We wouldn't like a situation where we may have to resort to it again. Can you atleast

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Muralidhar Rao

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