The Centre's decision to grade the States based on the speed of water sector reforms and to give incentives to “reform friendly” States is disheartening to say the least (“States to get incentives for water sector reforms,” June 7). For the last few years, the Central government has been pushing for water sector reforms, even though at that time water was a state subject. A couple of months ago, The Hindu had brought out the Centre's plans to privatise water supply through the new national policy. The present decision should be seen as a continuation of this approach. That this policy is the brainchild of the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the World Water Council is no secret.
Byju V.,
Thiruvananthapuram
