A study on the process of privatization of water supply in K (East) Ward : May 22, 2006

Privatization of water supply is high on the political agenda after the developing countries accepted the General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS), which is one of the corner stones of the WTO regime. Water as a global commodity, aimed at establishing control over natural resources for profit, posits a major paradigm shift in the use and access to these life resources transforming it into an object of trade and commodities with a price determined by the logic of market competition and profit.

The World Bank has come out with a “National Water Policy” in order to operationalize private sector participation and the implementation of this policy in India. The under lying policy assumption is that private sector participation will bring in the much needed financial resources, managerial skills and technology to the water service sector.

The World Bank has approved a $ 325 million loan to Maharashtra for initiating wide-ranging water sector reforms in the state. The BMC is in the process of handing over the water distribution to MNCs. Several MNCs from France, Netherlands, Germany, UK and India have filed for tenders. The World Bank sponsored water privatization project is underway in K (East) Ward on an experimental basis. The pilot project includes undertaking feasibility study to determine if the project will succeed in the city.

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