Residents' bodies put Dikshit on notice

MANDATE 2004/WATER

The setting up of a Water Regulatory Commission in March, on the lines of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission is threatening to boomerang on the Sheila Dikshit government on the eve of Lok Sabha polls.

Nearly 1,300 resident welfare associations (RWAs) organised into the Apex Association of Bhagidari RWAs, fear that the move "is the first step towards the privatisation of water.''

They have written to housing societies across the city not to vote for the Congress, instead, they are canvassing for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls.

The letter sent by apex association chief MK Mohanty says: "The hidden agenda of the regulatory commission is to privatise water supply in the city."

A 40 per cent increase in water tariffs is being feared if the privatisation goes through. The Delhi government has denied any move on its part to privatise water saying the regulatory commission was in place only to keep track of water pilferage.

The political repercussions of the issue are made clear in the letter: "Water is the basic human need and it is the duty of any government to supply water to its citizens. If the Congress government of Delhi is unable to provide us water we cannot repeat the mistake we committed during the Assembly poll working for the victory of the Congress."

The Bhagidari project, set up in 2002 to build a public-private partnership in tackling civic issues, seems to have been only too successful in its mission. Its efforts to raise civic consciousness in the city are now having uncomfortable repercussions for the Congress.

The project was the brainchild of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who found it a convenient way of reaching out to middle-class households on issues such as sanitation, and later during the Assembly polls as a captive vote bank. For years the Congress vote bank had been identified with slum clusters and squatters.

When Dikshit took over, her main political rivals like Sajjan Kumar, Choudhary Prem Singh and Jagdish Tytler projected her as an English speaking memsahib who was out of touch with the party's support base.

Enter Bhagidari. Through this Dikshit reached out to middle-class voters who had traditionally voted for the BJP.

By organising for a where apathetic government officials were asked to give answers to neglected civic issues, and involving RWA presidents in civic initiatives, Bhagidari made her an instant middle-class hero. She got her political base, and undercut rivals in one fell swoop.

The BJP too tried to jump onto the bandwagon, just before the 2003 Assembly elections. Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani invited all Bhagidari RWAs to tea, but could not offer them anything else besides. The setting up of the Water Regulatory Commission has given the BJP a much needed handle on the RWA carousal.

The party has been in touch with the apex association office-bearers and has promised them that a BJP-led government will stall any move to privatise water.

The BJP on its part has not just promised to follow the RWAs' line on this issue but has also chalked out a plan to develop a partnership with the central government. The partnership will mean that apart from the traditional water and sanitation, the RWAs can hold jan sunvais with police and DDA officials who are directly under the central government.

What really ticked off the apex association was the press conference held by Dikshit in the second week of April where she questioned the status of the association.

"When Bhagidari was set up, we were promised the standing of a statutory body, now she is questioning our existence. It is clear that we are just a vote bank," said Mohanty.