As I had commented on your petition, PPP does not at all reflect the Nehruvian philosophy of mixed economy. It is in fact a backdoor entry of neoliberalism that will subvert and sabotage the Nehruvian ethos that the ruling party is claiming itself to follow and protect. PPP is based on greed - the capitalist profit-making that has already turned academic institutions into shops. Leave along academic institutions, PPP has not worked even for an obviously revenue earning metro railways - nowhere in the world. Scrap this model or it will be very difficult later to retrieve ourselves from it. It will be an unforgivable fraud on the people of this country.
What E Sreedharan, Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says should really attract our attention, and that of the ruling party's. I quote from an interview with him - ref. The Idea exchange, the Sunday Indian Express, 21 November 2010. Exceprts:
Quote:
A PPP model has never succeeded anywhere in the world. Some countries had experimente with it, particularly Malaysia. They had two metro systems in Kuala Lumpur by private parties.After five-six years, both the private parties declared bankruptcy and the government had to take voer. Once a metro system is established, you can't wind it up, so when the company wraops up and all the liabilities have to be taken on by the government. In India, we started this in three regions. Mumbai line number one was awarded almost four years ago and today, not even 50 per cent of the work has been completed. They are facing a lot of hurdles in the process, the cost has gone up by at least by 50 per cent. It will take another one and a half to two years for completion. How are they going to make it viable? In Hyderabad, it took them almost three-and-a-half years to get the first concessionaire, Maytas, then it floppoed.
Our PPP modelis for the airport line because on this line we could haev a ticket fare that is almost ten times the normal fare. An air traveller is prepared to pay Rs.150-200 for the journey, otherwise he has to pay Rs.400 by taxi. Even here, we failed the country - this line did not open in time for the Commonwealth Games.
Unquote.
The signal is clear. Leave our academic and training institutions such as the FTII from the PPP model and therefore from greed whose eye is obviously somewhere else; landgrab could be one of them.
People of India need better education and cheaper, which is possible by all means if the elected governments have faith in themselves and them. Every citizen of the country, and particularly the poor, has stake in such academic institutions.
I am sure you have already read the above text.
Amrit Gangar
http://www.pragoti.org/node/2464
This link could be used to read another article he has written for PRAGATI called C3G: Cinema. Culture. Capital. underscore globalization dot com
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