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Corporatization of Water
Jack and Jill, went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water.. But if the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, WTO, and few of their cohorts (MNCs) are allowed to have their way, the going for Jack and Jill has got to be tough. The alliance of these foreign institutions has formed a vicious circle trapping the water thus making the life of consumers miserable. It is clear that post privatization drinking water will become a costly commodity, and the multinational companies will utilize this water to swell their bank balances. Under pressure from World Bank, the Government of India has received such preposterous proposals that if they are implemented, they will be proved disastrous for the people. It is an acknowledged fact that in the 21st century water sector has become a global industry where MNCs trade water at the cost of the need of the people. Indias stand on this issue has always been clear and transparent. In India quenching the thirst of a thirsty man has always been considered a noble deed. Rivers are portrayed as mother figure in Indian mythology and are worshipped by all. These rivers are part of our way of life and our culture. And now the same sacred rivers are being handed over to the multinational shylocks to establish their hegemony to squeeze profits. These corporates started their water business in the last decade of the 20th century by selling bottled mineral water. Now they are heading towards our rivers to fill their coffers. Today many rivers are under the control of multinational companies. They are trying to sell off every single drop of water albeit on astronomical prices. They are saying that they will provide the common people with clean water for drinking, washing and even for irrigating the fields. As far as agricultural sector is concerned, the last time round any multinational company tried to help, they did so with disastrous results. They sold hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers to our farmers promising them that these will enhance their harvest manifold. On this count they justified the cost of these inputs . But the ultimate result is that all these things only are leading the farmers to the doorstep of devastation and quite a lot of them have opted the easy way out by committing suicide. To understand the plan of action of these multinational companies to capture all the water resources of India, one just has to take a look at the detailed report compiled by the world Bank. The report titled Initiating and Sustaining Water Sector Reforms: A Synthesis, divided into six parts, was published in 1999 by a Delhi based publisher known as Allied Publishers. It was prepared by a leading authority of the Bank, Christina Wood, in cooperation with Keith Alwitas and Hala Kadumi. The report presents a horrifying picture of rapid growth of population, urbanization, industrialization and crisis of water resources in India. The report also says that if India wants to acquire continuous economic, social and environmental development, then some fundamental changes are required in water sector management. Great emphasis has been placed on the importance of underground water. It has been mentioned in the report that enough electricity is not being generated due to the inefficient system of underground water management, which has affected the agricultural sector severely. It seems that the report emphasizes the fact that the entire water sector management must be handed over to the multinational companies. It is really shocking that this report prepared in order to establish the supremacy of MNCs over water, which is a basic and important need of the people, had full support of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Rural Development and Employment and the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission. At the same time the Prime Ministers Council on Trade and Industry also prepared a report on water management. This council is headed by industrialist Ratan Tata. The suggestions given in this report regarding the improvement of urban water system and the purification of water are quite similar to the suggestions made by the World Bank. This report also suggests the privatization of water resources in India. All these actions indicate that basic and natural resources of our country are going to either be mortgaged or sold to the multinational companies. Now the situation in the country is such that many state governments are indulging in secret pacts on the privatization of water with MNCs,

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the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Though the privatization of water resources are already underway officially in 19 and unofficially in 40 cities, yet the NDA government kept on insisting in parliament that no such steps had been taken. The NDA government thus indulged in double-talk as it tried to underplay these figures. It is the naked truth that due to global economic decline and the shrinking of markets for luxury goods, the market players under imperialistic-capitalism are converting the natural resources of the developing countries into commodities in order to earn profits for their own benefit. To prove it the most profitable trade, they are formulating their arguments accordingly, through manipulations and influence. They also believe that a heavy investment is required to enter into the global market. It is quite obvious that this monopoly of water resources will have lots of unfavorable repercussions. Today, the most important question is who owns the water? Is it something owned privately, or is it a community resource? If we go deeper into it, we will automatically get the answers. But the international and professional organizations like- World Bank, International Monetary Fund, WTO, World Water Council, European Reconstruction and Development Bank, Water Aid among others have totally highjacked the plot and are trying to divide this world on socio-cultural heritage and their life line i.e. water. It is not so easy to believe when surveys done by different groups and every time carried out in different cities throw up similar results that people are suffering due to day by day worsening situation of water availability and are even prepared to pay more to get a better service. It is good to be true but actually it is not and is all part of the grand plan which has been masterminded by a few people. To know more about these surveys one should take a close look at the results. Take a look at this fantasy. The survey tells us that rich of Dehradun are ready to shell out 10 rupees more for per cubic centimeter of water and even the poor are happy to pay Rs.4.50 for per cubic centimeter of water whereas currently they are paying just rupees 2 for the same. The survey in Baroda reveals that people earning Rs.1500 a month are prepared to pay Rs.275 annually for water consumption and that the middle class is also prepared to pay as much as Rs.446 annually. But if we compare these rates with the present water-tax rates, these are ten times higher. Similarly, it is being told that people in a village in Kerala are prepared to pay five times higher water tax. Surveys in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are also said to have also given similar figures. And as far as the residents of national capital Delhi are concerned, the survey says that they are ready to pay as much as Rs.2000 annually as water tax. In this context one cant help but think of Goebble, who was the chief campaigner of German Chancellor Hitler in the second World War. He had said that, if we repeat a lie hundred times, it gets stronger than the truth. Goebble is not around, yet one can not help but think that his soul is still around inspiring these organizations and corporations. And these deceitful organizations and corporations are being helped by the corrupt bureaucracy.

Water, Water everywhere, Not a single drop to Drink,

---S. T. Coleridge The condition of Delhi Jal Board is in utter chaos. It was formed in 1926 under the supervision of Delhi Water and Water Sewage Board and since then the DJB has been meeting the water needs of residents of Delhi. Yet, today people of Delhi are facing acute water crisis. The big problem is that the peoples anguish remains unnoticed and instead of listening to their problems and rectifying them, the authorities seem to be content with their action. Now the question is whether DJB is having real shortage of water or privatization is just a part of long term planning of the Board. The answers to these questions are sure to surprise the public. One fact is for sure that the system of water distribution is completely inefficient and totally unplanned. It does not matter whether Delhi is provided with water from Yamuna, Bhakhra Nangal or even from Ganga, the problem lies with the water distribution network. Though it is true that recently in Delhi and its surrounding areas have seen the growth of residential
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complexes and colonies, which is an indicator of increase in the number of people leading to increase in the demand of water. Today, Delhis total area is 1486 sq. km. in which the fully developed area is just about 525sq.km. and outer Delhi area is spread around 861sq.km. Delhis total population is 137.8 lakh in which 128.2 lakh people live in the developed areas and just about 9.6 lakh people inhabit the vast open stretches of outer Delhi. If we calculate the population density, there are about 1300 people living in 1sq.km. area of South Delhi but in the slums and in Old Delhi about 80,000 people live in an area of 1sq.km. In Delhi a person requires about 240 litres of water (150 litres according to urban development ministry) to meet his day to day needs. This gives us massive figure of 332 crore litre of water a day whereas the average availability is around 263.4 crore litre of water , including both surface as well as underground water. On the basis of given figures it can be said that the DJB is actually facing a severe shortage of 690 litres water every day, because of which it is under tremendous pressure. But the given chart forces us to change our perspective about this and to give a second thought about it. According to the given graph Delhi Board has enough water to meet the demand of the people. Delhis water purifying capacity is more than that of many European countries and other metropolitan cities of India like Kolkata and Mumbai. But Delhi Jal Board has its own limitations and capacity, beyond which it can not go. But the irony of this situation is that despite having all the resources at its disposal the Board is just not able to fulfill the needs of this city, the reasons being its conventional method of functioning, poor maintenance, old and worn-out machineries and last but not the least , lack of will power. And just by manipulating these points Suez-Degremont have lapped up the contract to quench the thirst of Delhi. Actually, DJB is trying to keep its relation with Suez company under wraps because it will benefit both of them. But clearly the DJB will not have the upper hand when the time will come to share the gains. It is surrounded by its own problems. The three main items in the agendaS of the Board are: emerging critical water scenario in the city, supplying water from urban areas to the areas inhabited by poor people and solving its departmental feuds. The fact is clear that when it comes to supplying the water from urban areas to the areas of the poor, the approach of the Board is always biased. Even some top officials of the Board agree that the distribution of water and supply of drinking water are not uniform. Under this scenario, one can easily imagine that how this system can provide sufficient drinking water to the underprivileged? There are about 44 re-habilitated colonies, 126 urban villages, 219 rural villages, 820 slum clusters, 567 disorganized colonies, 41 Dalits colonies and about 1071 non-regularized colonies in Delhi. Total number of water connections in these areas are a meager 14.5 lakhs. In rural areas total number of toilets are about 1.35 lakhs and in re-habilitated colonies the number is 1.13 lakhs. In Delhi the crisis of surface water has been for long. To meet this crisis the Board has been exploring new sources of water including Tehri, Kishau, Renukal and Lahawar dam projects but still it is not enough, that is why people living in Delhi as well as in outer Delhi have to depend on ground water. It is well known fact that the quality and level of ground water are very low, and contains contaminated elements which are harmful to the people. But people still drink this water despite knowing about the risks as they dont have any other option. This leads to depletion of water level and according to recently received information the level has gone down to 60 meters below the surface. The main tasks the Board has to undertake include supply of and distribution of drinking water, collection of sewage water and its processing , to which till date the Board is not paying much attention. The biggest problem to fulfill the tasks was shortage of electricity because of which the process of water purification was hit badly. Since the process of water purification is done under conventional methods using old low power motors, the quality of water suffers. Besides this, the water transportation system is in horrible conditions with open tankers carrying water which makes the water polluted. It also spills out lot of water on the streets. This is a sheer waste of such a useful commodity. The Water of Yamuna has become so polluted that the old machines are not able to purify the water are gradually becoming inoperative. The Delhi Jal Board itself concedes that privatization is not the solution of this problem and they also rule out the possibility of price hike. But one thing is sure, they will not provide any subsidy or concession to the poor. The role of Board remains the same .Though the consumers will not have to pay the Board or Suez Company directly for the water yet they will have to pay taxes as
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before. But the fact remains that wherever this step of privatization has been carried out the common man always has to pay for water and electricity at increased rate. For example, Enrons Power Project in Maharashtra and Orissas Lift Irrigation Corporation. And now it is Delhis turn to shell out as Suez Company will not let the water to flow without hiking the cost.

The Truth Behind Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant

It seems Delhis days of water woes are over. Ondeo Degremont, a sister concern of the influential French Company Suez-Lyonnaise des Eauz, has been given the contract of Delhis water supply system on the pretext of flooding the capital with drinking water.The contract is for 10 years and costs a whopping 200 crore rupees. On 21st of June, 2002, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, inaugurated Sonia Vihar water treatment unit , which will be in operation ifor the next 10 years and is being built on the basis of Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), and will have a capacity of around 635 crore litre. The contract has been awarded on the basis of the bids the DJB received from various multinational companies. In the past this multinational company was also involved in a similar project in Mumbai. In Delhi this company is working on two project simultaneously Sonia Vihar water treatment plant and Rithala sewage processing unit. Both these projects are joint ventures of Delhi Jal Board and Ondeo Degremont Company. But Delhi Government refuses to reveal much about this project saying that to reveal much about an international contract is quite unethical. But all this statement does is to strengthen the belief that somewhere, something is wrong. Now everybody knows that the contract between DJB and Suez-Degremont is shrouded in controversies. Three different companies were shortlisted for this project but despite the other two quoting lower-rates the tender went to Suez Degremont. Even the top brass of DJB is unanimous on this issue. It is widely known that the last two projects handled by this company, i.e. in Surat and Delhis Okhla plants, had their own share of problems and are also running behind schedule. The second point of dispute is that technology used by Suez is not as advanced as the technology used by other two companies in the fray. Also a lot of discrepancies have crept in the work of laying pipe lines from Sonia Vihar to Trans-Yamuna areas.According to Mr. Yogdhyan Ahiya, member of DJB, and Ms. Shakuntala Arya, former Mayor of Delhi, the cost of laying down this 33.948 km. long pipeline is around 85 crore rupees whereas the amount sanctioned to Suez is quite high, at 111.31 crore .

Height of Corruption:
This situation clearly reveals that there has been a secret pact between the DJB and the company Ondeo-Degremont but both the parties are not ready to accept the fact and are trying their level best to put the matter under carpet. It is a known fact that privatization leads to corruption. Even World Banks document confirms this fact. It states,-Privatization is such a process that gives birth to corrupt players. There is always likelihood that some companies might try to sneak in through back door or in other word they may bribe their way in. These companies which bribe the officials always get unfair advantage and expect that the bidding should not only go in their favour but the unfair subsidies also should go in their favour alone and try to acquire more regulatory concessions in future. To relate with this World Banks report there are quite a few incidents that will tell the whole story: in Britain most of the cases of corruption that are reported with British Police are mainly on contractual disputes. This is to be noted that in Britain public services are in private hands which generally leads to lots of scams and corruption. Even an ex-minister in the British Government, Atkon was once imprisoned on charge of corruption. He was accused of holding a secret meeting with British Multinational Company, GEC, and demanded 10% of the proposed sale as bribe. Similarly, the French e Communication Minister, Carrignon and a senior officer of the company Suez-Lyonnaise , Jyan Promparly, were sentenced to imprisonment for 4 and 1 year respectively.

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They were accused of accepting and giving bribes for helping a sister concern of Suez to get the contract for supplying water to Grenoble in France. A few years ago the then Mayor of Engloo was also imprisoned for 2 years for the same charges. He was striking a deal with a multinational company called General Dez Equix and this very company was again bargaining with the Mayor of Denis city but was caught and punished. In Karnataka, in India, Vivendi and Degremont, two French Multinational Companies are neck deep into corruption charges with respect to their joint venture on water projects. This is a great concern and some ministers are also accused of taking bribes during the deals. Besides this , many multinational companies of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland were punished many times for offering bribes to acquire the projects. Suez-Degremonts Misdeeds The multinational companies are playing this game without any hindrance. In some cases they are caught but most of the cases remains undetected. Then, how can the Sonia Vihar Water treatment unit remains untouched by all these malpractices? Already in this unit also there are malpractices which have not yet been noticed, but as time passes by they will definitely come to the fore. As we know the misdeed of Ondeo-Degremont would have gone unnoticed had the Trade Union leaders not taken the initiative to expose it. Besides the Sonia Vihar project, this multinational company is also managing another water sewage processing plant in Rithala in Delhi. In this plant no safety measures have been ensured for the workers thus putting their lives in continuous danger. This negligence has so far taken life of 5 people including one engineer and four workers last year within six months. In protest against this incident the workers union has filed a complaint with the NHRC. The unit processes about 8 crore gallon sewage daily. In the absence of adequate safety measures the poisonous harmful gases and chemicals like hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide emitting during the processing of the sewage can take the life of a worker instantly. Besides these, highly explosive methane gas and carcinogens like arsenic, nickel and chromium are being constantly emitted in the plant. The masks provided by the company to the workers and engineers hardly protect them from these poisonous gases as the filter of these masks become ineffective after 20 minutes of use. But what is more shocking is the fact that the same company follows all the safety measures in their own home land whereas in other countries in order to make more profit this company cuts down the expenses on safety measures. Due to this negligence in this unit the Indian workers and engineers meet untimely death. Voices of Protest Today the truth is that the Sonia Vihar Unit is trapped inside the four walls of concrete. The voice of resentment among the people of the neighbouring villages surrounding this plant including Pushta, Rajiv Vihar, and Sonia Vihar can be heard against this plant. Besides these villages, people of western UP are also staging a strong non-violent protest against this project. The protest is being led by former vice-president of Rural Front, Mr. Satpal Chaudhary. According to him the completion of Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant will ruin the fields of western UP. After the completion of the project only 30% of water will be available for the irrigation purpose. The protesters say , we will not allow this to happen to us. Now we will fight against it politically. A leader of the farmers association , Lorik Chand, Says,--it is very unfair that Delhi gets the water at our cost and we die of thirst and hunger. Whose justice is this?. Actually the opposition to the Privatization of Ganga water has religious connotation as well. According to Mr. Anshul Shreekunj of Jagriti Missiom Trust in Haridwar, the Ganga at Har-Ki-Pori is drying up due to this project. This is an unprecedented event. According to contract concluded between Delhi Government and Ondeo-Degremont the Ganga water from Tehri Dam in Uttaranchal will reach Murad Nagar in UP through upper Ganga canal. From Murad Nagar the water will be brought to Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Unit through huge pipelines. It is to be noticed that water from upper Ganga canal reaches Kanpur via Murad Nagar and the districts like Haridwar, Rurki, Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Bulandshahar, Mathura, Hathras, Mainpuri, Ghaziabad, GautamNagar and Etawa being in this area can avail this water for irrigation of around 9.24 lakh hectars land. Initially 6750 cu.c water was available from this canal and later on the amount of water received from this canal was 10,500 cu.c. The length of the canal is around 304 km. and the crops that are being produced here are mainly wheat, basmati and coarse rice, potato, grams, maize and sugarcane. The major issue is that water privatization is affecting the right of the local people to their
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natural resource and their access to it. On one hand,, the authorities are diverting the sparse and limited water from the poor to rich, from villages to cities, and from agricultural fields to industrial areas, causing terrible crisis of water among the poor. People of these areas are not in a position to buy water for their usage. On the other hand, water is made easily available to those people who have been either wasting the water or polluting it. Instead of spending lakhs of rupees on cleansing Yamuna river the water of this river still remains so polluted that it is not at all drinkable. Today, the Delhi Government demands that the people of Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh must forfeit their right to use Ganga water so that it can be treated and sold to the elite classes of Delhi. In order to implement the designs the Government keeps on changing its stands ( colors). On one hand, DJB states that it is not in favour of privatization of water, on the other hand, the Government itself flooded the market with its brand of bottled water. It is completely a different question where does this brand of DJB stands in the cut-throat competition of global market. But there is a need to take into account the fact that the way the population of Delhi is growing and the availability of water is also decreasing in the same rate which is in near future going to create real miserable conditions for the people to survive. In the box given below is given the data indicating the amount of water Delhi will require in future. Today privatization of Gangajal and the process of converting the Gangajal into saleable commodity are causing tremendous public wrath. People have come out into the streets, holding demonstrations in protest against privatization of water. People of 12 villages falling between Haridwar and Murad Nagar have always been resisting the process of laying out of pipelines through these areas. Besides this, on 9th August, 2003, many farmers organizations gathered in front of the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant and filled the air with slogan Ondeo-Degremint --- Quit India. The farmers are totally against the scheme of water privatization. They say water of river Ganga must not be put up for sale because the Ganga is just not a river to us but is like a mother not only to us but to most of the Indians.The river Ganga represents Indian civilization and culture. No matter what happens , we will not allow the multinational companies to destroy our civilization, our culture. They are committed, determined and ready to fight against the Government and the company Ondeo-Degremont in order to get the contract nullified. Taking this agitation forward and celebrating the 60th anniversary of Quit India movement, the agitating farmers, local residents, and the Ganga worshippers issued a Haridwar declaration which is as follows: We will never allow our Government to sell The Ganga river to any multinational company . We worship the Ganga river as our mother, and on its banks we perform all our rites and rituals associated with our life since our birth till death. The sacred water of the Ganga can never be a private property of any individual or any company. Our mother Ganga is not for sale. We boycott the scheme of converting our Ganga or any other water resource into commodity and of privatizing the resources. We take a vow that we will protect our own water resources and will use water in such a way that will help us protect our environment and ecology and protect the rights of our future generations so that they can live in good environment .We therefore take a vow and declare that local people will have complete right on their local water resources. Any outsider, be it an organization or corporation , will be allowed to use the water body only after availing permission from the local Gram Sabha . Today the Ganga is not only our cultural heritage but also our civilization. If any multinational company dares to snatch right from us by privatizing Ganga water, we will always fight against it.

Endangered: Water, Livelihood and Life

The elites of Delhi are delighted with the new achievement of the Government. They are waiting to have a new taste of water, i.e. Ganga Water flowing right from their taps.. This water will be brought to Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Unit from Tehri Dam in Uttaranchal and will be sold at high price under the supervision of Suez Ondeo-Degremont and Delhi Jal Board. Although the residents of Delhi are eagerly waiting this Ganga water but they are not aware of that in the states like Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and in Delhi itself the water, livelihood and lives of the local people are in great danger. They dont even know that in the name of development the lives

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of residents of these states are in great danger of massive devastation in future.. It is to be noticed that according to the contract concluded between the company SuezDegremont and Delhi Government the water from upper region of Tehi Dam will be brought to Murad Nagar through upper Ganga canal of western Uttar Pradesh and from Murad Nagar this water will reach Delhis Sonia Vihar Water treatment Plant flowing through pipeline of 3.25 m. diameter covering the distance of 30 km. The work of laying down of pipelines has already been completed. People are very angry about privatization of Ganga water. They just do not want that sacred Ganga Jal becomes a saleable commodity. People are aware that earlier the multinational companies had tried to destroy the civilization and culture of Egypt, Greece and Rome through commercial exploitation of natural resources. Today, they are trying to do the same in India. The people also have other reasons to protest against the project of Sonia Vihar. After completion of this project the conditions of farmers and villagers of Western Uttar Pradesh will go worse while they will face acute water crisis, the Suez-Degremont will supply this water to cater to the needs of the residents of Delhi .It is well known that Upper Ganga Canal starts from Haridwar and reaches Kanpur passing through Murad Nagar . This canal is the only source of water for the local people to irrigate their lands. After completion of this project daily 630 million litres of water will be extracted from this canal resulting in drying up of the source of water, resulting water crisis in this area. This water crisis will land the farmers and local people into miserable conditions threatening their survival. At present, while this project is in progress, already the inhabitants of Tehri region have reached to miserable conditions. In order to comply with the conditions of Suez Company the Government has forced more than one lakh people of Tehri region to leave their place and lead a life of refugee. The Dam in Tehri will be the fifth highest dam in the world with a height of 160.5 metres. The dam will also cover 45sq.km of Bhagirathi and Milangana valleys due to which 4200 hectares fertile land will be submerged in water and along with this the culture and civilization of capital Tehri of ancient Garhwal will be destroyed. This project was sanctioned way back in 1972 and since then against this project not only the local people but also many eminent scientists, environmentalists have been continuously agitating and holding demonstrations. In spite of warning the Government about the danger the dam is going to pose to the lives of hundreds of people living in that area the government is just not paying any heed. Instead it has been calling them anti-development elements. Now when the dam is gaining its height, the multinational companies are determined to block the flow of the Ganga. The situation is getting volatile day by day. The compensation awarded to the affected people of Tehri by the Government is quite small. Besides, before reaching the needy people a part of the amount is filling the pockets of middle men. In the name of implementing the scheme of helping the affected people the agents are making houses and demolishing them and this way they are making money for themselves . It has become difficult for the poor and simple inhabitants of hills to survive. When these people are busy in demonstration , the contractors come and demolish their houses. Moreover, the local water projects have also been closed down by the Government due to lack of funds. Every drop of water is being saved for Suez company. But the Company does not consider itself responsible for the harm being caused to the society, ecology and the economy. Their understanding is clear: they have total right on Gangajal which will bring them high profit on selling it in Delhi at high price. The Ganga is not the only river being targeted by the multinational companies. The Bhavani river in Tamilnadu and Sheonath river in Chhattisgarh have been secretly sold to the multinational companies by the Government. Bhavani river, a tributary of Kaveri river, was sold to Kinley company , an Indian associate of Coca-Cola, by Poonam Beverages Company. The Company will give 5 lakh rupees annually to the Government and in lieu of that it will draw 1,00,000 litre water daily from Bhavani river and will sell it in the market in the form of bottled water at high price. Similarly, the Sheonath river of Chhattisgarh was sold to Radius Water Limited Company. Mr.Kailash Soni, who is the owner of this company, claims that water has not been privatized butit is being purified to serve the people. He claims that in a way they are doing social work. This Company will have to pay to the Government 1.15 lakh rupees daily, i.e. 4 crore rupees annually to use this water . The company is almost on verge of completing the construction of a water purifying plant near Durg and is having its monopoly over an area of
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23.6 km. for storing water. Firstly, the crops in this area are being destroyed due lack of water as the local people are not allowed to use the water of this river, they are also not allowed to dig wells as well. The company also warns them if they secretly use the water of the river. The police is also in favour of the company. The local people are prohibited from fishing in the river. It has become very difficult for the local people to use the river water for washing their clothes, bathing their domestic animals and for other multiple purposes. The people of Western UP and Uttaranchal will also face similar conditions due to the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Project. But here the people are protesting so strongly against this project that the Suez company is operating very cautiously. The farmers and the local people of this area do not want that they also experience the same difficulties as the Chhattisgarhs people are passing through. The say that their Mother Ganga is not for sale so the Suez company must immediately leave India. Many farmer organizations, many leaders of farmer community, environmentalists, and worshippers of the Ganga are unitedly protesting against this project through continuous demonstrations. It seems that this agitation will go on for long. They will not allow the Government to mortgage the sacred Ganga to the multinational companies They feel that commercialization of Ganga is inhuman . It should be kept in mind that the Tehri Dam is being constructed in a place which has been earlier devastated 17-18 times by earthquakes occurring between 1861 and 1991. One should also not forget how Uttarkashi and Chamoli were completely devastated by earthquakes in 1991 and 1998 respectively. If the dam is damaged by earthquake or any other incident in future the scenario will be really devastating . Since, with the height of 260m the dam is one of the fifth highest dams in the world, it will take just 22 minutes for the water to flow out. Within 60 minutes Rishikesh will be submerged under 160cu. metres of water and in another 23 minutes Haridwar will be under 232cu.metres of water .And the neighbouring cities like Bijnour, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahar will be submerged within just 12 hours bringing havoc to the lives of the people .Surely, Ondeo-Degremont alone will be responsible for all these destructions . It is to be noted that International Commission on Big Dams has declared that the site of the dam is very dangerous , and it will not last for more than 30 years due to the rapid erosion of soil of this area. This will endanger the lives of the residents of this area in future. The officials associated with this project also claim that no such measures have been taken in relation to Tehri Dam which can protect the life and livelihood of the inhabitants of this area from flood. The authorities of this project do not have any humanitarian concerns. They think that every thing is justified in profit making project. They are just interested in making profit for themselves at the cost of the life and livelihood of common people.

Corporate Monopoly over Indian Water Sector

The multinational companies which have made maximum profit by selling water in the international markets are Vivendi Environment (France), Suez-Lyonnaise Des Eaux (France), RWE (Germany), Thames Water (Great Britain), Saur (Great Britain), and Seven Trent (Great Britain). Besides these companies, names of some more companies like Englian (England), Baygeez (France), Enron (America), Bechtel and Monsento are required to be mentioned in this context. The authorities of all these companies think that there is no other commodity apart from water which can bring them maximum profit. The higher authority of the company SuezLyonnaise , Mr. Gerard Mestrolet says ,-- Water is such an essential need without which people can not survive and is available in abundance free of cost, and they can earn huge profits by commercializing this product. Mr. Gerard is right in expressing the economic philosophy underlying the water. Previously as they used to earn huge profit by artificially hiking the price of crude oilin the market , similarly they are now using the essential resource like water by commercializing it in the global market at high price. No doubt , water is a basic need without which it is impossible to survive but the multinational companies considering it a commodity are engaged in the practice of buying and trading this resource in the global market on large scale in order to earn maximum profit. It is to
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be noted that in the convention held in the capital of Germany, Bonn, on water-issue , the view emerged was that the way oil is being traded through pipelines and tankers in the international market, now trading of water in the global market also needs the same method to be followed. There is very likelihood of a world war taking place on the issue of water in the 21st century. The then Vice-President of World Bank , Ismail Seragoldine , and the General Secretary of United Nation, Kofee Annan, have expressed the same view. All these statements are not sponsored. The fact is that water has become a global issue now. Today more than 1.3 billion people are deprived of clean water and around 2.4 billion people can not avail of the arrangement for purifying the dirty water. It is well known that seas and oceans cover 97% of the worlds water , 2.5% of water is available in the form of ice, and the rest, only 0.5% is available to the people of the world. In India a person gets only 2500 cu.m of clean water annually. In the year to come this quota will be reduced further to 1000 cu.m. It seems that by 2025, 56 countries including India will face acute water crisis. Today, Indias water market is worth 2000 million dollar which is monopolized by three big multinational companies like Vivendi Environment (France), Suez-Lyonnaise Des Eaux (France), and RWE of Germany. These three companies have control over 70% of water management in Europe and North America. Out of these companies, Vivendi in and Suez-Lyonnaise are engaged in operating the water projects in 90 and 120 countries respectively. These companies are operating in four different fields of water including water waste management, water purification, water related construction work, and accessing new technologies. Besides this, all these companies have started investing in the field of media, advertisement, and in gas-industry. Among these, Vivendi appears to be the biggest leader in the field of media, whereas Suez-Lyonnaise appears to be the most influential company in water sector. Delhis Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant and the Rithalas Sewage Treatment Plant are controlled by Suez-Lyonnaise. This company was known as Suez Lyonnaise Des Eaux before April 2001. This company, at first, started its operation in France by the name of Lyonnaise Des Eaux, and constructed Suez canal. Later on this company mainly started dealing with power, water, water purification , and communication sectors at the Municipal level. This is a leading company in support of privatization of the above mentioned sectors. Thats why the company has entered into several contracts in these fields with the support of World Bank and many other multilateral lending agencies. Suez company has many important branches, one of them is Ondeo-Degremont. It is engaged in the operations of water purification and turn-key engineering. It has been operating in India for the last 30 years. Firstly it started its operation in Mumbai by installing a filtration unit having the capacity of 1.9 million cu. m. Today this company is engaged in 30 more projects in India. It also has a sub-branch called Ondeo Industrial Solution which deals with the problems created due to sewages extracting from the factories. This sub-branch by the name of Hydro Plus is modernizing 8 dams in Gujarat. The company Ondeo Nalco is dealing with water purification for the factories and with chemicals required regarding water purification. This company is operating in India by the name of Ondeo Nalco India Limited. After taking over the Nalco Company of America the Suez had acquired control over Ondeo Nalco India. It has 80% share in Nalco. Besides this, the Suez Company has another sub-branch on environmental issues which is also operating at the municipal and local levels. The sub-branch which deals with water sector is known as Ondeo and garbage services section is known as SITA. In power sector it is operating by the name of Suez Tractwell. At present its focus is more on water. The way it is operating in India shows that days are not far away when water will be costlier than the blood.

Source of references
Poonjee ke nishane pe pani: INSAF Pani ke kuber: INSAF Thoughts and comments of Vandan Shiva Navdhanya Booklet IMF website Delhi Jal Board website

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