Sell The River Kosi

The River Kosi, the "sorrow of Bihar," has breached its embankments and flooded many districts of the state.

Manmohan has given the state government 1,000 crore rupees (10 billion) and much food aid. There are no reports on whether the people in the affected areas had flood insurance.

Yet, the river "belongs" to the government, and a specific central department is responsible for maintaining these embankments. There is no fixation of responsibility; the buck is being passed as usual. I will argue that this "collective ownership," which is, in effect, no ownership, is the real problem.

If the river had been private property, this flooding could have been treated as a "tort." If the river caused a flood and destroyed property, the owner of the river would have to pay. Today, the government is paying – but from the money of taxpayers, who are not really responsible for the tragedy. Thus, tort action against a government is meaningless. It would make sense only if the key officials involved in this negligence were held personally liable and forced to pay damages out of their own pockets.

Yet, water is a resource. Kosi water could be harnessed and sold by a private company that owned the river. This water could be used for irrigation, and the river itself used for navigation, transport, recreation, tourism, fishing and what not – all for a fee – if this precious resource was in private hands.

Although it seems that the people of Bihar are too poor to afford insurance, any private company that owned the river would insure itself against floods. The insurance company would then be closely involved in checking the condition of the embankments and the procedures employed for their maintenance.

Libertarians have for long been arguing for the privatization of rivers – and this flood gives us an opportunity to advance these arguments, an opportunity that should not be missed.

The people of the affected districts should be made aware of the fact that the government is not helping them in their hour of crisis; rather, it is the government itself that is responsible for their hapless situation.

The solution, as always, lies in the market and private ownership – and torts. And in insurance.

I look forward to bottled Kosi water being sold in our markets.

The ad-line could read: "Swallow the Kosi – before she swallows you."