World Banks response to the depositions presented at the Tribunal in New Delhi

In response to some of the depositions at the Independent Peoples Tribunal (IPT) on the World Bank( 21-24 September) at JNU in New Delhi), the World Bank has uploaded a document on their website.

Its an interesting read. It includes answers such as 'The World Bank definitely has not recommended the privatization of water supply services in India'.

To read in detail, click here.

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Q. Does the Bank promote the privatization of basic services like water supply, electricity, healthcare and schooling?

The World Bank believes that there is no single approach that can improve basic services as varied as water, power, health, and education. However for these services to improve, especially for the poor, we do believe that greater accountability of service providers – whether public or private - is a key element.

•Electricity: The World Bank believes that it is neither desirable nor possible to have a single solution for improving the delivery of electricity services. Countries will need to leverage skills, financial resources and techniques which are available in the public and private sectors, and indeed in communities themselves, to meet the growing demand for electricity services. As is already happening, optimal delivery of electricity services will need to be tailored to the existing circumstances and will require a suitable, and evolving, form of public, private and community partnership.

•Urban Water Supply: The World Bank definitely has not recommended the privatization of water supply services in India. In fact, the reality on the ground is that provision of drinking water supply services in India has undergone a de-facto privatization. Urban residents make their own private provision for water by digging tubewells, adding storage tanks and infrastructure for pumping and purifying water in their homes, as well as buying bottled drinking water and water from tanker trucks. Residents are paying a high price to augment unreliable, inefficient and unsafe water as it is currently supplied, and it is the poor who suffer most from the current state of affairs.

•As it does for other urban services, the World Bank recommends that water supply utilities be run in a professional manner, are financially sustainable, and ensure affordable supply for those who cannot pay. It recognizes that the public sector must retain primary responsibility for ensuring reliable, affordable and safe water supply to India's citizens. For this reason, the World Bank recommends that the government retains ownership of water supply infrastructure and regulates water resources. The government has a long history of contracting with private sector firms to design and construct water systems and to provide goods and services. Hence, direct engagement by the government of the private sector to help improve efficiency, reliability and quality of water supply services would be much more effective and affordable than the de facto privatization that is now the norm in Indian cities.