US water mission stirs a storm in Bangalore

Come February 28, a group of business executives from the US will arrive in the city for the India Water Tech Trade Mission. The mission statement: ‘To expose US firms to India’s rapidly expanding water and waste market and to assist US companies to seize export opportunities in this sector.’ A group of 16 companies is set to ‘tap the $50 billion Indian water market,’ in the words of the US Commercial Service that is promoting the event. While the business contingent can expect a warm reception from the state government, there is a large group of civil society organisations readying banners and posters to express their vehement opposition to what they term the ‘privatisation of water’. ‘America go back’, their slogans will go. A group of 48 organisations from across the state will coalesce in opposition to this new business scheme.

“The government is merely a custodian of commons. It cannot lease or sell resources like water. Who gave it permission to enter into agreements with foreign companies? This is an act of criminal intent,” said Leo Saldanha of the Environment Support Group. “If the US could declare war on Iraq for oil, there is no doubt that it will not hesitate to declare war on India for water,” said Kshitij Urs, of the People’s Campaign for the Right to Water, Karnataka. Members of the civic organisations argue that, on purely ethical grounds, water cannot be viewed as a commodity. It is a natural resource, and cannot be turned into a means to generate profits for foreign companies.

Vicky Walters, who researched water reforms in urban Karnataka for his PhD degree, said that basic services were bound to cost more when companies enter the market and perform operations with profit in mind. The business model proposed relates not just to the distribution of water, Walters said, but also to trading rights being handed over to the highest bidder.

If water is commoditised, there is a great likelihood that it will become unaffordable to the poor, who will then be deprived of something that is fundamental to life. “Everybody should have access to water, regardless of the capacity to pay. This is irrespective of private sector involvement,” Walters said. Supporting this view, Kathyayini Chamaraj of CIVIC said that provision should be made for free distribution of water to the poor.

“We have been asking the government for an urban poor policy. We have found, from filing Right to Information applications, that there is actually no such policy,” she said.

Farmers too have much to worry about in the water-as-commodity model. “If the government does not respond to the needs of the people, we will have to take to the streets,” said Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, all fired up by the recent protests in Egypt.

Walters is keen to gather more information and be prepared for the mission’s visit. “I will meet chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and explain the consequence of these developments, to him,” she said, adding that if the projects proposed are in the interests of the people and the government was honest in the matter, there would be no need for any opposition.

“Karnataka is at the forefront of water privatisation. It is progressing fastest, among other states in India. The project in four districts of North Karnataka is the first of its kind. But there is also a sense of the loss of ownership over resources. For a mere $3,000, this group of companies that comprise the mission will get access to the $50 billion Indian water market. When I tried to get information from the US Commercial Service, I was told that the confidentiality clause said that the information could be shared only with US citizens and US companies,” he said.

Walters added that the mission is lobbying the state government for access to policy makers and government departments. “This is a matter of sovereignty, of potentially undemocratic distribution of resources. And the citizens are largely excluded from the whole process.”

The People’s Campaign for Right to Water, Karnataka, has planned an SMS campaign to spread awareness about this
issue.