Since 1990, We the People of Largest Democratic (!) country, India, have come across several Heart-breaking Incidents and real pathetic stories of the Poor and down-trodden people.

These NEWS are very rarely broadcasted under the title “BEAKING NEWS” or “FLASH NEWS” by our biased English News Media. Millions of people voices are not at all echoed in Parliament or in Media or elsewhere.

These all done in the name of LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) initiated by the so-called soft spoken Politicians and MONGRY (meaning : very much money hungry) MNCs

One of them is the Anguish Real Story of SHEONATH RIVER in Chhattisgarh

 To the best of my knowledge, Sheonath River is the first one in the world to be Privatised.

The project, was handed over to Radius Water Limited (RWL) by the Madhya Pradesh government, The Rs.9-crore project was formalised on October 5, 1998, between Madhya Pradesh Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (MPAKVN) and RWL on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis for the construction of a BARRAGE on the Sheonath to supply up to 30 MLD(million litres of water per day) to the Borai Industrial Growth Centre in Durg district. The barrage construction was completed in two years and operations began in January 2001.

The agreement, which was carried out by the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Corporation (CSIDC) when the State was formed out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, which gave RWL exclusive access to a 23.6-kilometre stretch of the river for a period of 22 years (including two years for project construction). RWL secured monopoly rights over the supply of water to all sectors and all land for the project was provided free of cost.

RWL began harassing villagers near the river and held self-laudatory press conferences in Delhi.

The contract clearly states:

 "Minimum guaranteed purchase of 4 MLD water quantity by the Corporation... in case the demand reduces below 4 MLD, the payable bill shall be for 4 MLD from the applicable first tier of tariff." Early termination of the agreement was possible only by "reimbursing all outstanding loans and credits of the Project [estimated at a minimum of Rs.6.5 crores] ... and by compensating the likely profit that the project company is expected to earn in the balance concession period. The irony the Exit penalty which could be as high as Rs.400 crores. "

So ,the corporation has been trying to ensure the profitability of RWL inspite of its own losses.CSIDC Chairman Rajinderpal Singh Bhatia. Admitted that this Project is a loss-making enterprise for the Chhattisgarh government.

A major problem is the lack of sufficient demand. Borai has only two large and medium-scale industries, and their combined water requirements is between 1 and 1.5 MLD - while the CSIDC pays for 4 MLD as per the contract.

The government claims to be pushing hard to attract more industry, but that might force the CSIDC deeper into debt. "We purchase the water at Rs.15.02 a kilolitre (1,000 litres). However, we sell it to industry at only Rs.12 a kilolitre," explains a senior official in the Accounts Department of the CSIDC. Thus, the CSIDC makes a loss of 20 % on every unit of water sold, and an increase in demand will simply mean increased losses

In March alone, the Chhattisgarh government suffered a loss of Rs.12 lakhs. "You could say we have lost Rs.6 crores in the last five years," concludes the official.

The Sheonath River Project illustrates the tremendous risks involved in the privatisation of common property resources, especially water.

Apart from the ethical issues involved, Companies like RWL can only succeed in markets heavily in their favour, when the state offers them the luxuries of Monopoly, Minimum purchase guarantees, Tax holidays, Generous exit clauses and complete protection from people's protests.

Unfortunately, the Sheonath project is not the only such project in Chhattisgarh. In a working paper on Chhattisgarh's water sector, lists four other projects –

• on the Kelo and Khurkutt rivers in Raigarh,
• on the Mand in Jagjir,
• on the Kharoon in Raipur,
• and the Savri in Dantewada.

where water rights to rivers have been handed over to MONGRY private groups on the name of attracting industry to the State.

While the people of Durg fight to regain their rights to a river that has sustained them for generations.

The Government of Chhattisgarh finds itself financing a private water supplier and subsidising a private water consumer on the basis of an agreement that it never signed.

 Ah ! GOOD GOVERNANCE.

-- L  EZHILAN