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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thursday, June 5, 2014
Putting a price on water
BY Ruwan Laknath-June 4, 2014
Jayakody
The government is attempting sell water to the farmers through the Irrigation Charter/Convention, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) alleged.
The Irrigation Charter/Convention, which was tabled at the Wayamba Provincial Council recently states that if any group or organization is maintaining or conserving any irrigation system, it could be purchased by any multinational or the operator may collect a fee for services rendered.
Since an Irrigation Committee will come into being as a result, existing farmers’ organizations will be rendered faceless, the JVP alleged.
Maintenance fee
This Committee will draw up an annual maintenance fee estimated at 70% of the farmer’s harvest, the Marxist party alleged. However, the proposed Charter doesn’t specify such a percentage.
Farmers will also be called upon to make additional contributions for the maintenance of irrigation systems.
Currently, certain irrigation maintenance work, like the cleaning of canals and small dams are presently done voluntarily by the farmers themselves through farmer organizations to which they belong.
Additionally, farmers also give a portion of their harvest as a goodwill gesture to the ‘wel widanes’ who are the operators of the sluice gates and canals.
JVP Wayamba Provincial Councillor Namal Karunaratne said, the promulgation of the Charter would result in the entire weight and burden of maintaining the irrigation systems falling on the shoulders of the farmers.
Guilty
He alleged that in such a situation, if the farmer fails to comply with the tasks, then he will be asked to pay the equivalent amount of the labour which he failed to comply with, within 14 days, failing which he will be produced before a magistrate, and if found guilty will be fined Rs 50,000 or sentenced to six months in jail.
Under the proposed Charter, all water sources (‘ela,’ canals, streams, ‘dola,’ rivers, ‘pathahak’- small abandoned reservoirs, ‘kadurak,’ ‘ovitak’ – meadows, water reserves, water bunds, embankments and tanks and ‘thavullak’) will be given a legal context, resulting in permission having to be first obtained from the authorities before making use of them.
No one will be allowed to block a stream or canal and obtain water, or to dig a well or build or even maintain one, without the permission of the Irrigation Committee proposed under the Charter, said Karunaratne.
Charged
Any activity, including farming, will charged for and if anyone violates the rules and regulations in place, he or she would be charged, he alleged. There is also a clause in the Charter saying that the Magistrate will have no right or power to query the evidence submitted, the JVP member claimed.
“Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva will thus have unlimited power. Under the guise of the banner and label of protecting the environment, agriculture, conserving and managing water, the government, under the proposed Charter, will charge farmers for using water,” Karunaratne said.
In Bolivia, when water was being sold to Monsanto, an American company, people who protested were shot and had to sacrifice their lives to protect their rights to have free access to water. Although two thirds of our planet is water only 0.0003% of it is fit for human consumption. Therefore, most of the countries in the world have to import water. In Sri Lanka a litre of water is Rs 70 while the retail price of 500 millilitres of milk is Rs 70.
Karunaratne, who is also All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation’s National Organizer, alleged, “The government is attempting to make water a commodity to which a price is attached. This Charter/Convention will bring global multinationals into our country. It is being instigated at the behest of the World Bank (WB). This decision was made on 10 February 2014 at a secret Ministerial Cabinet meeting No. 14-0194-504-026 through a ‘sandeshaya’ to get a US$ ($) 100 million WB loan. This was approved by the Cabinet under the guise of minimizing adverse environmental impacts, with the intention of the loan being to manage and control of the administration of water sources. The WB has said it’s against their policy to give water free, especially to farmers. The government will bring a Water Selling Act.”
MNCs having free run
This situation is similar to the scenario of who owns 90% of seedlings? Where Sri Lanka earlier owned about 3,000; however, at present the country has rights to only 75 seeds, with multinationals (MNCs) having a free run in the seeds market, the JVPer alleged.
Karunaratne further alleged, “The government and MNCs are grabbing the island’s land, water, seed and food resources. They will then buy labour for a song. The paradox is that in their own lands, farmers will soon become slave labourers. This is a death trap. It is also sad that the Opposition has not stood up against this.”
Deputy Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister W.B. Ekanayake however said, “This accusation is a lie as if such a thing is to be done it must come in the form of an Act which must be approved by Parliament.”
Ministry Secretary K.W. Ivan de Silva said, “It is not the government’s policy to charge money for water resources. The Central Government has never discussed such a thing, let alone having had taken such a decision.”
BY Ruwan Laknath-June 4, 2014 Jayakody
The government is attempting sell water to the farmers through the Irrigation Charter/Convention, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) alleged.
The Irrigation Charter/Convention, which was tabled at the Wayamba Provincial Council recently states that if any group or organization is maintaining or conserving any irrigation system, it could be purchased by any multinational or the operator may collect a fee for services rendered.
Since an Irrigation Committee will come into being as a result, existing farmers’ organizations will be rendered faceless, the JVP alleged.
Maintenance fee
This Committee will draw up an annual maintenance fee estimated at 70% of the farmer’s harvest, the Marxist party alleged. However, the proposed Charter doesn’t specify such a percentage.
Farmers will also be called upon to make additional contributions for the maintenance of irrigation systems.
Currently, certain irrigation maintenance work, like the cleaning of canals and small dams are presently done voluntarily by the farmers themselves through farmer organizations to which they belong.
Additionally, farmers also give a portion of their harvest as a goodwill gesture to the ‘wel widanes’ who are the operators of the sluice gates and canals.
JVP Wayamba Provincial Councillor Namal Karunaratne said, the promulgation of the Charter would result in the entire weight and burden of maintaining the irrigation systems falling on the shoulders of the farmers.
Guilty
He alleged that in such a situation, if the farmer fails to comply with the tasks, then he will be asked to pay the equivalent amount of the labour which he failed to comply with, within 14 days, failing which he will be produced before a magistrate, and if found guilty will be fined Rs 50,000 or sentenced to six months in jail.
Under the proposed Charter, all water sources (‘ela,’ canals, streams, ‘dola,’ rivers, ‘pathahak’- small abandoned reservoirs, ‘kadurak,’ ‘ovitak’ – meadows, water reserves, water bunds, embankments and tanks and ‘thavullak’) will be given a legal context, resulting in permission having to be first obtained from the authorities before making use of them.
No one will be allowed to block a stream or canal and obtain water, or to dig a well or build or even maintain one, without the permission of the Irrigation Committee proposed under the Charter, said Karunaratne.
Charged
Any activity, including farming, will charged for and if anyone violates the rules and regulations in place, he or she would be charged, he alleged. There is also a clause in the Charter saying that the Magistrate will have no right or power to query the evidence submitted, the JVP member claimed.
“Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva will thus have unlimited power. Under the guise of the banner and label of protecting the environment, agriculture, conserving and managing water, the government, under the proposed Charter, will charge farmers for using water,” Karunaratne said.
In Bolivia, when water was being sold to Monsanto, an American company, people who protested were shot and had to sacrifice their lives to protect their rights to have free access to water. Although two thirds of our planet is water only 0.0003% of it is fit for human consumption. Therefore, most of the countries in the world have to import water. In Sri Lanka a litre of water is Rs 70 while the retail price of 500 millilitres of milk is Rs 70.
Karunaratne, who is also All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation’s National Organizer, alleged, “The government is attempting to make water a commodity to which a price is attached. This Charter/Convention will bring global multinationals into our country. It is being instigated at the behest of the World Bank (WB). This decision was made on 10 February 2014 at a secret Ministerial Cabinet meeting No. 14-0194-504-026 through a ‘sandeshaya’ to get a US$ ($) 100 million WB loan. This was approved by the Cabinet under the guise of minimizing adverse environmental impacts, with the intention of the loan being to manage and control of the administration of water sources. The WB has said it’s against their policy to give water free, especially to farmers. The government will bring a Water Selling Act.”
MNCs having free run
This situation is similar to the scenario of who owns 90% of seedlings? Where Sri Lanka earlier owned about 3,000; however, at present the country has rights to only 75 seeds, with multinationals (MNCs) having a free run in the seeds market, the JVPer alleged.
Karunaratne further alleged, “The government and MNCs are grabbing the island’s land, water, seed and food resources. They will then buy labour for a song. The paradox is that in their own lands, farmers will soon become slave labourers. This is a death trap. It is also sad that the Opposition has not stood up against this.”
Deputy Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister W.B. Ekanayake however said, “This accusation is a lie as if such a thing is to be done it must come in the form of an Act which must be approved by Parliament.”
Ministry Secretary K.W. Ivan de Silva said, “It is not the government’s policy to charge money for water resources. The Central Government has never discussed such a thing, let alone having had taken such a decision.”
