In Kerala, ADB takes a loan of 2511 crores, creating a debt trap for the exchequer. The same CPM party that burned Kerala earlier because of the ADB loan is now taking a loan of 2511 crores from the global bank ADB. This huge amount is being borrowed to upgrade the drinking water project in Kochi and change the drinking pipes.
2500 crore debt is taken from abroad to upgrade existing projects and not for new water projects. But according to the Jaljeevan Mission drinking water scheme implemented by the central government, it will be a trivial amount. As part of the Kochi Smart City project, the state government is taking a loan from the World Bank, stating that Kochi does not need the central plan of 752 crores allocated for the drinking water project.
There are reports that there will be a huge burden on the exchequer under the cover of this. These works are being contracted to a foreign company at an additional cost of 21% of the estimated cost. That means the foreign company Soyuz Projects Pvt. for an additional 21% of the estimated amount. The contract was awarded to Ltd. By this alone i.e. adding 21% to the estimated amount, when the contract was awarded to a foreign company, the loss to the exchequer was Rs 525 crores. If it had been planted locally, there would not have been so much loss. 525 crores more than the estimated cost, the Kerala government awarded the work to a foreign company and allocated more.
In this way, the state-level empowered committee also gave permission to take a loan of 2511 crores from ADB in the name of Kochi drinking water project, which is causing a huge burden and financial loss to the exchequer.
Kerala is already in debt of more than 4 lakh crores. It is said that the debt is 5 lakh crores, but the exact amount will be known only after the government issues a white paper. In this way, there are many advantages when a foreign company is brought to Kerala to replace the water pipe by taking a loan of 2500 crores from the World Bank.
First of all, as mentioned earlier, 21% of the estimated amount was overpaid. Now when the work is in progress and when it is finished, the additional charges can be increased again. In this way, the work done by the foreign company will not be looked upon by the central government. That is, there will be a clear inspection at each stage of the contract works in the scheme provided by the central government. According to this, the amount will be allocated to the next stage. But there will be no monitoring by the central government in the global bank scheme called ADB.
Another is that in the future, allegations of corruption and bribery may not be proven like Lavalin. Even if the Pinarayi government changes and the UDF government comes, there will be no investigation by going abroad. Hence the transactions will be strictly confidential. Many documents are not available through RTI as they are foreign transactions
Intermediaries get 10 to 20% commission by opting out of the central government scheme and entrusting it to private companies. Also pointed out. This will be split between the project helmers and the party leaders. Neither ear knows…because every secret is safe abroad. Loans and contractors from abroad..
Now people need to know one thing. This project is mainly to eliminate water loss in Kochi and other areas. Who is better off if we take a loan of 2500 crores and update the water pipes we currently get. If the water loss is reduced, it will be beneficial to the government, but the revenue will not increase in terms of productivity. Income is the free hand given by the people. If you take a loan for so many thousands of crores to update water pumps etc., that amount will be included in the water bill tomorrow. Currently not able to afford the water bill. 2500 crores plus interest will be added to your water bill. It is not possible to pay the debt by printing fake notes. This amount will be taken from the hands of the people. If the debt is 2500, then 3000-3500 crores should be repaid. When the water supply is given to a private company under the terms of the loan, the commercial value of the water will increase and the cost of the services will become unaffordable for the common man. Existing drinking water pipes are replaced with new pipes. With this, consumers will have to pay double the price and public supply.
At present, the public debt incurred by this government is up to 4 lakh crores. Along with that, borrowing from abroad and again this fire to the people..The water loss in Kochi is 51 percent. The plan is to reduce water supply efficiency by 20 percent. Doubts and accusations of corruption have already surfaced over the authenticity of the study. The water loss in Kochi is about 35 percent. There is also concern about the provision to go to Singapore for arbitration proceedings if there are any disputes regarding the project.
It should be mentioned here that Jal Jeevan Mission is a project implemented by the Central Government for all the people of the country. It is a project launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti of the Government of India in 2019 under Jal Jeevan Mission, to provide 55 liters of tap water to every rural family regularly. It is being implemented by the central government on a long-term basis till 2024. It is a relaunch of the National Rural Drinking Water Scheme launched by the Modi government in August 2019. According to this, the government of Kerala has rejected about 750 crore rupees and
is now taking loans from the global bank. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the scheme in the Union Budget 2019. This scheme has significantly improved domestic access to clean tap water in India.
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Central Government, the number of potable water connections provided in the state so far has crossed 70 lakh. 6.03 lakh connections were provided in rural areas in 2021-22 and 4.04 lakh connections in 2020-21. Because of this, the Malayalis do not have any debt. The Jal Jeevan project is being implemented on the basis of roadmap and planning, with the central and state governments sharing the project share equally. That means 50% will be given by the central government. Don’t lick this money back.
Kerala government goes to ADB Bank and takes a loan of 2500 crores when there is a big project of the center and 50% of the amount is to be given free of charge. And even to change the pipe, contractors are brought from abroad
This not only destroys the Jal Jeevan project but also the May No India project and the Atma Nirbhar Bharat concept. India manufactures warplanes, missiles and helicopters. Since the atomic bomb, the world has produced the most mobile phones. At that time, the Pinarayi government sent people from abroad to Kerala to water the white water. But taking into consideration the water consumption pattern and lifestyle of the people of Kerala, 100 liters of water per capita has been fixed.
From the newly undertaken comprehensive drinking water projects in the state through the Jal Jeevan Mission project, the speed of providing drinking water connections will be increased significantly in the coming period. It is the central government’s projects of this type that are causing a coup in Kerala. In this project, the Narendra Modi government and the state government have joined hands to deliver water to 20 crore households across the country.
In the first phase of the Jal Jeevan project, priority has been given to provide maximum possible drinking water connections from existing drinking water schemes and to provide drinking water connections through expansion of existing schemes. Along with this, new projects have been envisaged for the areas where there are no projects at present and the approval of the central government has already been obtained. Projects have been envisaged based on surface water resources that have ensured quality and sustainability in the state. Moreover, it has also been aimed to avoid over-exploitation of underground water.
