Private investment brings clean water

By Penny Hawthorne | 21 September 2005

Reuters reports that factories and homes in Tamil Nadu, India, have clean, reliable water for the very first time thanks to private investment. Although private provision of water has received some criticism from anti-capitalist groups, the newly-built water treatment and delivery plant shows a practical way of extending clean water access to a country where 87 per cent of rural dwellers live without running water.

The plant is majority owned by private firms, and is operated by Mahindra Water Utilities, a 50-50 joint venture of Mahindra Infrastructure Developers and Britain's United Utilities.

State-backed, but majority owned by private firms and investors, the water treatment and delivery plant in Tirupur is the first of its kind in a country where almost half the urban population and 87 percent of rural dwellers live without running water. Before the plant was built, trucks delivered water from the river or wells - but unfiltered.

"The water systems in India need technology upgrades which can minimise wastage and theft and ensure a more efficient system of distribution and transparency," said Shreerang Deshpande, manager of network and maintenance for Mahindra Water Utilities. "You need private participation for the resources and expertise required."