The Hindu 18.04.2013
Order issued for water supply company
Aim is to prevent fleecing of public by private firms; KWA’s role not to be compromised
The government on Wednesday issued orders for the
proposed Kerala Drinking Water Supply Company Ltd, stressing at the same
time that there was no intention to privatise the drinking water supply
sector in the State and that the company was solely aimed at preventing
exorbitant prices that were being charged for drinking water presently.
In
an official communiqué here, the government said the number of people
depending on bottled water in the State’s towns was on the rise and that
water distributors in the private sector were charging excessive rates
for the same.
Moreover, the quality of the water too
was being compromised. It was in this context that the drinking water
supply company, modelled on Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL),
was being set up.
The company would offer water in
tankers and bottles as well. Water would be collected from abandoned
quarries, ponds, and brackish waterbodies and treated, with permission
from authorities, before distribution. No water source currently being
used by the Kerala Water Authority would be used by the company.
Share pattern
The
KWA would have a 23 per cent share in the company, in which the
government would hold 26 per cent shares. The rest would be available
for local governing bodies, consumers, residents’ associations,
institutions and individuals.
