CPI Opposes Privatisation of Drainage Systems in Madurai, Nagercoil
The CPI said that the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services (TNUIFSL) had called for tenders from the private sector for undertaking the two projects for which the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) had already been prepared
Chennai: Flaying the TVK government’s penchant to handover infrastructure projects to private companies at the behest of the Union Government and the World Bank, the State unit of the CPI urged the government to give up the plans to entrust the work relating to the construction of the underground drainage systems in Nagercoil and Madurai Corporations to private companies.
In a statement on Wednesday, CPI State secretary M Veerapandi said the Government had proposed to rope in private companies under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for the two projects costing a total of Rs 2527.30 crore – Rs 2337.48 crore for Madurai and Rs 189.82 crore for Nagercoil – and expressed concern over it.
The CPI said that the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services (TNUIFSL) had called for tenders from the private sector for undertaking the two projects for which the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) had already been prepared.
Now an advisor was likely to be appointed to study the feasibility of implementing the projects under the PPP model and also prepare reports and the company selected for executing the projects would study the projects, the CPI said.
In Madurai, the new scheme involved renovating the structures in the existing underground drainage and sewage system and constructing new structures for collecting sewage in the areas newly added to the Corporation limits and wastewater treatment plants, the release said.
The Nagercoil scheme involved constructing sewage collection facilities in the regions that did not have the system now, the laying of 111 km pipelines connecting households to the drainage system and pumping stations to push sewage through 19.93 km of pipes, it said.
The idea of handing over the execution of the two projects to the private sector should be given up completely as such a measure would only help the companies make profits, the CPI said, adding that privatization would only tantamount to neglecting public hygiene.
Allowing the private companies into public services like drinking water supply, sewage disposal, health, education, road laying, electricity production and distribution under the name of PPP model would only go against the welfare of the people, it said.