The words of lament that flowed from the writer’s pen (‘ >Water priorities for urban India ’, Jan.1) were akin to the tears a crocodile sheds for its prey. Inequitable distribution of basic resources, including water, is an existential reality all over India. The current Planning Commission, of which the writer is a member, has done little to change this abject situation. The anxiety that the writer and the Planning Commission seem to have is that water is looking to get established as a universal right and, thus, removed from the profit-making column.
G. Parameswaran,
Coimbatore
It is unfortunate that we are crying foul on the Aam Aadmi Party’s promise to provide 666 litres of water free of cost to the citizens of Delhi. Many, who show scant concern when lakhs of crores of rupees are siphoned off by our politicians, are suddenly more bothered about the tax-payers’ money when the poor man’s thirst is proposed to be quenched. Indeed, any sensible Indian would love to pay for their fellow countrymen’s basic needs irrespective of State or religion.
Bhaskar Neerugattu,
Hyderabad
Water is the elixir of life and the fundamental right of the citizen. The quantity that is to be allotted is the subject matter of discussion. Delhi seems to have realised this now. No right-thinking human being would oppose the provision of water to humanity. But in view of the scourges of differential supply and wastage, think tanks in the Delhi Jal Board and the Planning Commission must come together to make the sincere efforts of the new AAP government a success.
G. Swaminathan,
Coimbatore
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are a challenge for urban India, especially in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. The government must move towards sustainable solutions — withholding sanction for water schemes that do not have a sewerage component, investments in water supply with a focus on demand management, planning for reuse and recycling of waste at the beginning of the plan and not as an afterthought.
Dr. Rajeshvee,
New Delhi
