Bank rapped

terming all World Bank ( wb ) projects as being basically destructive, some of India's most important non-governmental organisations ( ngo s) boycotted a wb president- ngo meet in Delhi, unequivocally demanding that wb quit India. They stated that India was capable of raising funds required for development, and there was no need for wb 's presence in India, adding that all wb projects inevitably ran into trouble with the people. The Centre for Science and Environment boycotted the meeting, terming it as a farce, and severly critisising the Banks' underhand methods of pushing in the ecodevelopment project.

Prior to this meeting with wb president, James D Wolfensohn, hundreds of tribals and others demonstrated in front of wb 's Delhi office. Some ngo leaders later met with Wolfensohn to present an open letter to him. They briefed him on the effects of power projects, dams, urbanisation, and industrial development, on the common man.

Wolfensohn stated that he was distressed at the human suffering arising out of projects such as the dam on river Narmada. Wolfensohn said that one of the main reasons of his visit to India is to listen to all different opinions. "We are not here to ruin the lives of Indian people," he said. Reacting to the 'Quit India' call he said that the wb will remain in India so long as the government did not tell it to go.

In their presentations the ngo s were critical of the wb 's functioning, pointing out contradictions in its policies. "Their entire thrust is on the private sector. First they create poverty, then they design poverty aleviation programmes," says Walter Fernandez of the Indian Social Institute. Fernandez was among those who made a presentation.

Others questioned the social audits of the wb , asking it to examine how much assistance and aid actually reached the poor. There was consensus among this group that the wb was responsible for 'the mess' the country was in, and that despite wb assistance, the country was headed for an irreversible debt trap. They reiterated cse s public call, that the wb sponsored ecodevelopment project reflected a culture of participation, without the people.

Wolfensohn in his answer said, "The criticism in some cases is justified. But at the same time, you have to find a balance between ecodevelopment and economic progress."

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