NEPAL: 'Privatisation' Violates Right to Health - Activists by Marty Logan

KATHMANDU, Feb 9 (IPS) - Hiring a private firm to manage the drinking water system in Nepal's capital violates the right to health guarantee in the country's interim constitution, activists are set to argue before the Supreme Court.

Four groups are opposing a plan to break up the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) in the Kathmandu Valley and disperse its work and assets among three new agencies, one of which will hire the British firm Severn Trent to manage water delivery in the Valley's five municipalities for six years.

The scheme, which has been approved by Nepal's new legislature, is a condition tied to building the huge Melamchi project that will divert river water to the capital. It is led by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB).