PRESS RELEASE: 19 March 2006, THRISSUR
'Groups from across Kerala call for cancellation of ADB loan;
will mobilise against upcoming ADB AGM in Hyderabad in May 2006'
Contact: Anivar Aravind, GAIA +91 9895803545
Sumesh Mangalassery +91 9447546584
Several groups from across Kerala gathered in Trichur to discuss the
implications of the ADB loan to Municipal Corporations in the state.
They also discussed activities towards and during the 39th Annual
Governors Meeting of the ADB to be held in Hyderabad from 3-6 May
2006. The meeting was organised by the Thrissur based Global Alternate
Information Applicatiions (GAIA) and Wayanad based Kabani.
'Arguments being made by the CPM leaders such as MA Baby that the
positive aspects of the loan outweigh the negative are fallacious',
said Professor Raviraman of the Centre for Development Studies. One
has to see the issue of the ADB and the loan in a more holistic
perspective. Kerala's agriculture sector is already suffering from
negative terms of trade and taking an international loan on top of
that will further worsen the situation.
'The MGP loan was not taken for any constructive purpose. The money is
being used to provide suggestions on how the role of the government
can be undermined' said activist CR Neelakandan.
While much recent attention has focused on whether the state
government or corporations will repay the loan activists at the
meeting looked at the issue from another perspective. 'The loan
repayment burden will fall on common citizens through increased user
fees and taxes' said CR Neelakandan. He said that people's
mobilisations should be focused to pressurize the next Government of
Kerala to default on the loan.
'There are several sources of alternate financing that Governments
are ignoring, said MC George from the Indian Farmers Movement (INFAM).
'Banks in Kerala have a surplus of funds that can be put to productive
use, but there is no political will to tap these resources', he said.
Gururaja Budhya said that the ADB Urban Development loan to Karnataka
has undermined local governments. 'They have forced municipalities to
operate as service delivery systems'.
Groups from across Asia have formed the Peoples Forum against the ADB
to hold protests and parallel events during the AGM in Hyderabad. 'The
Hyderabad AGM offers us the opportunity to work with the groups in
Andhra Pradesh; movements, communities, organisations and activists in
India and across Asia should come together and raise a collective and
unified voice against neo-liberalism. Whether through World Bank or
ADB projects, the net impacts on communities and societies are the
same, especially on the rural and urban poor, workers, agrarian
communities, dalits, tribals, women, peasants, fishworkers, hawkers
and slum dwellers', said Souparna Lahiri of the Peoples Forum against
the ADB.
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