Regional and National Press Release dated Tuesday, March 06, 2012
All's not well People gather to get water from a huge well in the village of Natwarghad in Gujarat
Say no to water supply privatization / privatisation and commodification of water as an economic good - petitions
Links to the two online petitions that were/have been created by Syed Tanveeruddin, Resident of Siddharthanagar, Mysore-570011, Karnataka, India on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 @ 06:20 hours
Created on: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 @ 06:20 hrs Last updated on: Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Contents of this Combined 0.99 MB and 52 paged PDF File (Say no to water privatisation and commodification 02 petitions with 146+28=174 signatures as on Tuesday, March 06, 2012) contains
01) Press Release containing a brief description of the petitions - Page 01-05
The 785 KB and 38 paged PDF File (Anti-water privatisation petitions' details UN GC-15 - Nov 2002, GA Res 64-292 - Jul 28, 2010, HRC Res 16-2 - Apr 08, 2011) contains
01) Press Release containing a brief description of the petitions - Page 01-04
05) UN news stories - Page 36-38
UN resolution passed during the United Nations Water Conference in 1977 is as under:
"All people, whatever their stage of development and their social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantum and of a quality equal to their basic needs."
Access to safe water and basic sanitation is a legal entitlement / right / guarantee / obligation, rather than a commodity.
Water as a public, social and cultural good
Water is a limited natural resource and a public good fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. The elements of the right to water must be adequate for human dignity, life and health. The adequacy of water should not be interpreted narrowly, by mere reference to volumetric quantities and technologies. Water must and should always be treated as a public, social and cultural good and not/never be treated as an economic good.
UN Independent Expert's appreciation of universal access to water and sanitation in Japan
Ms. de Albuquerque (UN Independent Expert) after wrapping up a nine-day official visit to Japan on July 28, 2010 praised it for its nearly universal access to water and sanitation and for its use of innovative technologies to promote hygiene and treat wastewater.
Hon'ble Supreme Court judgments/judgements
01) The Hon'ble Supreme Court (SC) in the Narmada Bachao Andolan Vs. Union Of India and Others judgment on 18/10/2000 (Hon'ble Justice Kirpal, J.) observed that "Water is the basic need for the survival of human beings and is part of right of life and human rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India and can be served only by providing source of water where there is none. The Resolution of the U.N.O. in 1977 to which India is a signatory, during the United Nations Water Conference resolved unanimously inter alia as under: All people, whatever their stage of development and their social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantum and of a quality equal to their basic needs.
02) In its judgment of Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum Vs. Union of India & Ors. on 28/08/1996 the Hon'ble Supreme Court (SC) held that "The constitutional and statutory provisions protect a person's right to fresh air, clean water and pollution-free environment, but the source of the right is the inalienable common law right of clean environment."
03) In M.C. Mehta Vs. Kamal Nath & Ors. judgment on 13/12/1996 the Hon'ble Supreme Court (SC) declared that 'our (Indian) legal system - based on English common law - includes the public trust doctrine as part of its jurisprudence. The State is the trustee of all natural resources which are by nature meant for public use and enjoyment. Public at large is the beneficiary of the seashore, running waters, air, forests and ecologically fragile lands. The State as a trustee is under a legal duty to protect the natural resources. These resources meant for public use cannot be converted into private ownership.
Article 39 (b) of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)
The Indian Constitution declares to be nonjusticiable, recognizes the principle of equal access to the material resources of the community. Article 39 (b) mandates that 'the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.
· 884 million (884*106) people in the world do not have access to safe drinking-water.
· 2.6 billion (2.6*109) people lack access to basic sanitation, 40% of the world's population.
UN commitment
Votes In Favour: 122
Against: 0
Abstentions: 41
Absent: 29
| |
| Votes In Favour | 122 | |
| Against | 000 | |
| Abstentions | 041 | |
| Absent | 029 | |
| Total | 192 | |
Importance
Access to safe water and basic sanitation is a legal entitlement / right / guarantee / obligation, rather than a commodity.
Meaning
Universal access to sanitation is, "not only fundamental for human dignity and privacy, but is one of the principal mechanisms for protecting the quality" of water resources.
Sufficient
The water supply and sanitation facility for each person must be continuous and sufficient for personal and domestic uses.
("Continuous" in the above context means that the regularity of the water supply is sufficient for personal and domestic uses.)
Safe
The water required for personal or domestic use must be safe, therefore free from micro-organisms, chemical substances and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to health. Everyone is entitled to safe and adequate sanitation.
At any one time, close to half of all people in developing countries are suffering from health problems caused by poor water and sanitation. […] Together, unclean water and poor sanitation are the world's second biggest killer of children. […] It has been calculated that 443 million school days are lost each year to water-related illness.
Acceptable
Water should be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste for personal or domestic use. […] All water and sanitation facilities and services must be […] culturally appropriate and sensitive to gender, lifecycle and privacy requirements.
Physically accessible
Everyone has the right to water and sanitation services that are physically accessible within, or in the immediate vicinity of, their household, workplace and educational or health institutions.
Affordable
Water and sanitation facilities and services must be available and affordable for everyone, even the poorest.
Worldwide
More than 2.6bn (2.6*109) lack access to basic sanitation. 884 to 900m (884*106 to 900*106) people do not have access to safe/clean drinking water. 2.2m (2.2*106) children under the age of five/05 die every/each year due to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and the lack of hygiene. 1.5m (1.5*106) children under the age of five/05 die each/every year of diarrhoea (water and sanitation-related disease). 443 million (443*106) school days are lost because of water- and sanitation-related diseases.
Impact of diarrhoeal disease in children under 15 is greater than the combined impact of HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Better water, sanitation and hygiene - collectively known as WASH - could reverse the trend of nearly 300 million (300*106) school days being missed worldwide due to diarrhoea. Improved hygiene will lead to less risk of disease, which in turn will result in stepped up school attendance and ultimately nations' economic growth.
(31 August, 2010) Anne Le Strat, Deputy Mayor of Paris and President of the Eau de Paris, (the city's new public water company) has contributed a chapter to the Reclaiming Public Water book. The chapter, titled "Paris: an example of how local authorities can regain control of water management". The water services of Paris were remunicipalised in January 2010. The operations of the private companies (Suez and Veolia) were transformed into a single public operator, Eau de Paris. In her article Le Strat argues that public management has significant advantages, such as transparency and reinvestment of profits. She details which cost savings have been made.
The petition author (Syed Tanveeruddin) resides in the Ward Number 63 (Siddharthanagar) of the Mysore City Corporation.
When ward number 16 to ward number 65 of Mysore City Corporation (MCC) are facing severe water crisis as per the statements made by the officials themselves the MCC officials and some politicians desperately want to increase the number of wards by including the surrounding villages / localities in Mysore Rural District as part of Mysore Urban District. Greater Mysore City Corporation (MCC) obviously means more/greater urbanisation, corruption, maladministration / misgovernance, incompetence and inefficiency.
Syed Tanveeruddin
Siddharthanagar,
Mysore-570011, Karnataka
Member Karanji and Siddharthanagar Tax Payers' Association (KSTPA), Mysore.
The petitions and the PDF files have been created by Syed Tanveeruddin in his personal / individual capacity only.
Tanveer / рддрди्рд╡ीрд░ / р▓др▓и್р▓╡ೀр▓░್
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