In August 2016, the Karnataka government gave Abu Dhabi-based businessman B.R. Shetty permission to privatise the iconic Jog Falls to make it a perennial waterfall and to develop it into a tourism hotspot. As per the newspaper report, Shetty is to invest Rs 450 crore towards the project and charge visitors a “minimal” fee.
Privatising natural water bodies is not new in the country with Madhya Pradesh (now Chattisgarh) setting the trend 17 years ago by selling the rights of the Shivnath river, that extends to about 23.5 km, to a private company, Radius Water Limited (RWL). Not just RWL, there are many private companies working in different parts of India in the water sector like Veolia Water India Limited (VWIL), Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (JUSCO), Vishwa Infrastructure Limited (VIL), MSK projects India Limited (MIL), Orange City Water Private Ltd (OCWL), etc. The state governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) encourage private parties to come forward and participate in the water and sanitation sector by opening up several opportunities like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for them.
This is surprising considering the privatisation of the Shivnath river was a big blooper on the government’s part. Though the shortage of government funds to supply water to the industries was cited as the reason for the privatisation of the river water, it didn’t really work out that way. In fact, it not only affected the livelihoods of thousands of people around the river with RWL restricting the villagers from using the water by fencing it, the arrangement also resulted in huge financial loss for the government.
The government and the industries had initially believed that privatising the Shivnath river will solve the water woes of the industries at Borai. The plan was to build a barrage on the Shivnath to supply up to 30 million litres per day (MLD) to the Borai industrial centre near Durg in Chhattisgarh on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis.
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Meghna Thapar 4 years, 11 months ago
In August 2016, the Karnataka government gave Abu Dhabi-based businessman B.R. Shetty permission to privatise the iconic Jog Falls to make it a perennial waterfall and to develop it into a tourism hotspot. As per the newspaper report, Shetty is to invest Rs 450 crore towards the project and charge visitors a “minimal” fee.
Privatising natural water bodies is not new in the country with Madhya Pradesh (now Chattisgarh) setting the trend 17 years ago by selling the rights of the Shivnath river, that extends to about 23.5 km, to a private company, Radius Water Limited (RWL). Not just RWL, there are many private companies working in different parts of India in the water sector like Veolia Water India Limited (VWIL), Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (JUSCO), Vishwa Infrastructure Limited (VIL), MSK projects India Limited (MIL), Orange City Water Private Ltd (OCWL), etc. The state governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) encourage private parties to come forward and participate in the water and sanitation sector by opening up several opportunities like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for them.
This is surprising considering the privatisation of the Shivnath river was a big blooper on the government’s part. Though the shortage of government funds to supply water to the industries was cited as the reason for the privatisation of the river water, it didn’t really work out that way. In fact, it not only affected the livelihoods of thousands of people around the river with RWL restricting the villagers from using the water by fencing it, the arrangement also resulted in huge financial loss for the government.
The government and the industries had initially believed that privatising the Shivnath river will solve the water woes of the industries at Borai. The plan was to build a barrage on the Shivnath to supply up to 30 million litres per day (MLD) to the Borai industrial centre near Durg in Chhattisgarh on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis.
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