Lok Sabha Question No. 404 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-17
Subject: Inter-Linking of Rivers
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: KURUPPASSERY VARKEY THOMAS, C. N. JAYADEVAN, MEKAPATI RAJAMOHAN REDDY, NANABHAU FALGUNRAO PATOLE, ALOK SANJAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  †404

ANSWERED ON 17.11.2016

## INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS

SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN SHRI M. RAJA MOHAN REDDY SHRI NANA PATOLE

## 404. PROF. K.V. THOMAS SHRI ALOK SANJAR

Will  the  Minister  of  WATER  RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased to state:

(a) the current status of inter-linking of rivers under the National Perspective Plan of the Government, river/Statewise,  along  with  the  expenditure  estimated  to  be  incurred  in  linking  of  each  river  including  the  details  of committees constituted for the purpose with their findings and reports;

(b) whether any suggestions/requests/ objections have been received from certain States in this regard and if so, the details thereof including the action taken thereon;

(c) the quantum of funds allocated/ released/spent, if any, for the purpose so far, State/UT-wise;

(d) whether the Government has conducted or plans to conduct a social impact and environmental assessment of the effect on the livelihood of the people living in those areas and likely to be affected due to the project, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the time by which each river linking is likely to be started/completed and implemented along with the benefits likely to accrue therefrom?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  WATER  RESOURCES,  RIVER  DEVELOPMENT  AND  GANGA REJUVENATION (Dr. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

(a) & (b) Under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water resources development through inter basin transfer of water prepared by this Ministry, NWDA has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports. After survey and investigations feasibility Reports of 14 links under Peninsular Component and 2 links in the Himalayan component have been prepared. Present status  of  Inter  Basin  Water  Transfer  Links,  the  States  involved,  name  of  rivers  and  status  of  Feasibility Reports/Detailed Project Report is given at Annexure - I.

Based  on  the  concurrence  of  concerned  states  four  priority  links  for  preparation  of  Detailed  Project Reports  (DPRs)  have  been  identified  viz;  Ken-Betwa  link  project  Phase-I  &  II,  Damanganga-Pinjal  link,  ParTapi-Narmada link and Mahanadi-Godavari link.  The DPRs of Ken-Betwa Phase I & II, Daman-Ganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada have been prepared and shared with the States. The DPR of Ken-Betwa link project Phase-I has  been  accepted  by  the  Advisory  Committee  of  MoWR,  RD  &  GR  and  its  statutory  clearances  are  at  an advanced  stage. The proposal for  Wildlife  Clearance  in  respect  to  Ken-Betwa link project  Phase-I  has been

accepted by the Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (NBWL). The Government is planning to start implementing this National Project as a model link project of ILR programme, which will benefit the drought prone areas of Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The projected cost of Inter-linking of Rivers as per National Perspective Plan (as per Task Force Report Base year 2002) is as follows:

| Peninsular Component   | Rs 1,85,000 Crores   |
|------------------------|----------------------|
| Himalayan Component    | Rs 3,75,000 Crores   |
| Total Cost             | Rs 5,60,000 Crores   |

However, the total expenditure likely to be incurred on inter-linking of rivers can only be known after completion of all individual Detailed Project Reports.

The  details  of  objections  raised  by  concerned  State  Governments  for  taking  up  Feasibility  Report (FR)/DPR of proposed inter-linking of river projects are given at Annexure-II .

In order to speed up the implementation of Inter-Linking of River Programme and to arrive at a consensus on the link proposals between the States, a 'Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers', has been constituted by this  Ministry in September, 2014. Eleven meetings of the Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) have been held so far, wherein State Irrigation/ Water Resources Ministers along with the Secretaries of various States attended the meetings. Further, in order to address various issues concerning the Inter-Linking of Rivers Programme and to arrive at a consensus on ILR proposals between the States, a 'Task Force and various SubCommittees for Interlinking of Rivers' have also been constituted.

- (c) The implementation of any interlinking project is yet to be taken up. As such no project is in progress or complete. Thus no amount has been allocated/released/spent on the project so far for any river links project.
- (d) At  the  time  of  preparation  of  Detailed  Project  Report  of  the  individual  river  link  projects,  detailed Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  studies  as  per  Terms  of  Reference  approved  by  Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests &CC are carried out. All environmental impacts and issues arising out of the EIA studies are duly addressed in Environmental Management Plan which forms a part of DPR.

Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan in respect of project affected persons is an integral part of the implementation of any Inter Linking of River project and is included in the DPR.

(e) The  implementation  of  the  Interlinking  of  River  program  is  dependent  upon  the  consensus  and  cooperation of the concerned States. The target time for the completion of any project will depend upon the time required for the completion of the project as per DPR.

The  implementation  of  NPP  for  water  Resources  Development  would  create  an  additional  irrigation potential of approximately 35 million hectare and generate about 34000 mega watts (MW) hydro power, apart from  the  incidental  benefits  of  flood  moderation,  navigation,  drinking  and  industrial  water  supply,  fisheries, salinity and pollution control etc.

*****

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Unstarred Question No. 404 due for answer in Lok Sabha on 17.11.2016 regarding Inter-linking of Rivers.

## PRESENT STATUS OF INTER BASIN WATER TRANSFER LINKS

| Sl. No               | Name                                                   | Rivers                      | States concerned                                                                                  | Status                       |
|----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| Peninsular Component | Peninsular Component                                   | Peninsular Component        | Peninsular Component                                                                              | Peninsular Component         |
| 1                    | Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link   | Mahanadi & Godavari         | Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, &Chattisgarh                                      | FR Completed                 |
| 2                    | Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Pulichintala) link   | Godavari & Krishna          | -do-                                                                                              | FR Completed                 |
| 3                    | Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link | Godavari & Krishna          | Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka& Chattisgarh,                      | FR Completed                 |
| 4                    | Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) link       | Godavari & Krishna          | Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, &Chattisgarh                                      | FR Completed                 |
| 5                    | Krishna (Almatti) - Pennar link                        | Krishna &Pennar             | -do-                                                                                              | FR Completed                 |
| 6                    | Krishna (Srisailam) - Pennar link                      | Krishna &Pennar             | -do-                                                                                              | FR Completed                 |
| 7                    | Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila ) link     | Krishna &Pennar             | Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh& Karnataka,                                                           | FR Completed                 |
| 8                    | Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link        | Pennar& Cauvery             | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala& Puducherry                                         | FR Completed                 |
| 9                    | Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai -Gundar link               | Cauvery, Vaigai&Gunda r     | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala &Puducherry                                                         | FR Completed                 |
| 10                   | Ken-Betwa link                                         | Ken &Betwa                  | Uttar Pradesh &Madhya Pradesh                                                                     | FR& DPR (Ph- I&II) Completed |
| 11                   | Parbati -Kalisindh- Chambal link                       | Parbati, Kalisindh& Chambal | Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan &Uttar Pradesh (UP requested to be consulted during consensus building) | FR Completed                 |
| 12                   | Par-Tapi-Narmada link                                  | Par, Tapi& Narmada          | Maharashtra &Gujarat                                                                              | FR& DPR Completed            |
| 13                   | Damanganga - Pinjal link                               | Damanganga& Pinjal          | Maharashtra &Gujarat                                                                              | FR& DPR Completed.           |
| 14                   | Bedti - Varda link                                     | Bedti&Varda                 | Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh &Karnataka                                                            | PFR Completed                |
| 15                   | Netravati - Hemavati link                              | Netravati&He mavati         | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Kerala                                                                    | PFR Completed                |
| 16                   | Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link                      | Pamba, Achankovil&V aippar  | Kerala &Tamil Nadu,                                                                               | FR Completed                 |

| Sl. No              | Name                                                   | Rivers                       | States concerned                                             | Status                                 |
|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Himalayan Component | Himalayan Component                                    | Himalayan Component          | Himalayan Component                                          | Himalayan Component                    |
| 1.                  | Manas-Sankosh-Tista- Ganga (M-S-T-G) link              | Manas- Sankosh-Tista- Ganga  | Assam, West Bengal, Bihar& Bhutan                            | PFR Completed                          |
| 2.                  | Kosi-Ghaghra link                                      | Kosi&Ghaghra                 | Bihar , Uttar Pradesh & Nepal                                | PFR Completed                          |
| 3.                  | Gandak-Ganga link                                      | Gandak& Ganga                | -do-                                                         | Draft FR completed (Indian portion)    |
| 4.                  | Ghaghra-Yamuna link                                    | Ghaghra& Yamuna              | -do-                                                         | FR completed (Indian portion)          |
| 5.                  | Sarda-Yamuna link                                      | Sarda& Yamuna                | Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand& Nepal | FR completed (Indian portion)          |
| 6.                  | Yamuna-Rajasthan link                                  | Yamuna &Sukri                | Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana &Rajasthan                   | Draft FR completed                     |
| 7.                  | Rajasthan-Sabarmati link                               | Sabarmati                    | -do-                                                         | Draft FR completed                     |
| 8.                  | Chunar-Sone Barrage link                               | Ganga &Sone                  | Bihar &Uttar Pradesh                                         | Draft FR completed                     |
| 9.                  | Sone Dam - Southern Tributaries of Ganga link          | Sone&Badua                   | Bihar &Jharkhand                                             | PFR Completed                          |
| 10.                 | Ganga(Farakka)-Damodar- Subernarekha link              | Ganga, Damodar&Sub ernarekha | West Bengal, Odisha& Jharkhand                               | Draft FR completed                     |
| 11.                 | Subernarekha-Mahanadi link                             | Subernarekha& Mahanadi       | West Bengal &Odisha                                          | Draft FR Completed                     |
| 12.                 | Kosi-Mechi link                                        | Kosi&Mechi                   | Bihar , West Bengal & Nepal                                  | PFR completed Entirely lies in Nepal   |
| 13.                 | Ganga (Farakka)- Sunderbans link                       | Ganga &Ichhamati             | West Bengal                                                  | Draft FR completed                     |
| 14.                 | Jogighopa-Tista-Farakka link (Alternative to M-S-T- G) | Manas, Tista& Ganga          | -do-                                                         | (Alternative to M- S-T-G Link) dropped |

- PFR- Pre  Feasibility Report
- FR- Feasibility Report;
- DPR- Detailed Project Report

ANNEXURE-II Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Unstarred Question No. 404 due for answer in

Lok Sabha on 17.11.2016 regarding Inter-linking of Rivers.

|   S.No. | Name of Link Project                           | Concerned States                                                  | Views/Observations                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|---------|------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link              | Tamil Nadu &Kerala                                                | Kerala Assembly has passed a resolution against taking up of the Link Project (2003)                                                                                                                          |
|       2 | Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link             | Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan                                        | Government of MP has prepared and submitted the DPRs of Mohanpura Multipurpose Project and Kundaliya dam as a major intra-State link project (important components of Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link) to CWC. |
|       3 | Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari link          | Odisha, Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka, & Chattisgarh,                | Govt. of Odisha is not agreeable to this link Project due to large submergence of Manibhadra dam/reservoir and to the water balance and quantum of water to be diverted.                                      |
|       4 | Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna link Projects | Odisha, Maharashtra, MP, AP, Telangana, Karnataka, & Chattisgarh, | Govt. of Telangana is not agreeable to the water balance at Inchampalli dam site in Godavari basin.                                                                                                           |
|       5 | Netravati - Hemavati link                      | Karnataka,TamilNadu& Kerala                                       | Govt. of Karnataka intends to utilize Netravati water as per its own plan.                                                                                                                                    |