What is the issue?
- The Special Committee for Inter-Linking of Rivers has recently submitted its progress report.
- In this backdrop it is essential to understand what interlinking seeks to achieve.
What was the committee for?
- The SC directed the Centre to set up a special committee following writ petition on ‘Networking of Rivers’ in 2012.
- The court directed the committee to submit a bi-annual report to the Cabinet.
- It also directed the Cabinet to take appropriate decisions.
What is the mandate?
- The status reports are meant to be in accordance with the National Perspective Plan.
- This plan was formulated in 1980 by the Ministry of Irrigation (now Water Resources).
- The plan was in relation to inter-basin transfers.
- It comprises of two components: peninsular rivers development and Himalayan rivers development.
- India also has a National Water Development Agency (NWDA) (1982).
- It conducts surveys and sees how feasible the proposals for interlinking river projects are.
What is Inter-Linking of Rivers programme?
- A national water grid aims to connect various surplus rivers with deficient rivers.
- It aims to transfer excess water from water-rich to water-deficit regions.
- This is to help improve irrigation, increase water for drinking and industrial use.
- Mitigating drought and floods to an extent are also part of the objectives.
What are the contents of the recent report?
- The status report of three priority links was shared with the Cabinet. These are:
- Ken-Betwa
- Damanganga-Pinjal
- Par-Tapi-Narmada
- Ken-Betwa - The project aims to link the rivers Ken (in the Bundelkhand region) and Betwa and thereby divert the surplus waters of Ken to Betwa.
- Both the rivers are flowing through Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
- It goes for meeting the water requirements in the water-deficit Betwa basin.
- Dams will be built across the Ken for storing and transferring water through the link canal.
- Damanganga-Pinjal - The project aims to divert excess water from rivers in western India.
- It is to meet the domestic and industrial water requirements of Greater Mumbai.
- It proposes to move available water at the proposed Bhugad reservoir across the Damanganga and also at the proposed Khargihill reservoir across the Vagh (a tributary of the Damanganga).
- Par-Tapi-Narmada - This proposes to transfer water from Western Ghats to water-deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.
- This would be done via seven reservoirs proposed in northern Maharashtra and southern Gujarat.
- It is an attempt to save water at the Sardar Sarovar project.
- The recent committee report also talks on the status of other Himalayan and peninsular links.
What are the concerns?
- There are significant environmental concerns associated with inter-basin transfer.
- The ecology of every river is unique.
- Letting the waters of two rivers mix may affect biodiversity.
- Besides, it involves construction of a massive network of canals and dams, which would lead to large-scale displacement of people.
- It may make changes to agricultural patterns, and affect livelihoods.
- In addition, rainfall patterns are changing due to climate change.
- So the basins now supposed to be surplus, might cease to be so in few years.
- There are financial concerns as well, related to the projects.
- In 2001, the total cost for linking the Himalayan and peninsular rivers was estimated at Rs 5,60,000 crore.
- The cost is now likely to be substantially higher.
- Also, the cost-benefit ratio might no longer be favourable.
Source: The Indian Express
