Lok Sabha Question No. 2613 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-16
Subject: Features of Inter-linking of Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Keshari Devi Patel, Jaskaur Meena

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 2613

ANSWERED ON 16.03.2023

## FEATURES OF INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS

†2613. SHRIMATI KESHARI DEVI PATEL SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the salient features of the ambitious interlinking of river project;

(b) the details of the steps taken/proposed to be taken in this regard so far;

(c) the current status of the said ambitious project;

(d) whether the said project is a boon for most of the districts of North India which are in the grip of drought; and

(e) if so, the details of the steps being taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government to start the said project at the earliest?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) The  National  Perspective  Plan  (NPP)  for  Water  Resources  Development  was  formulated  by  the Government of India in 1980. The NPP comprises of two components, viz; Peninsular Rivers Development Component  and Himalayan Rivers Development Component. Salient features of the two components are given at Annexure-I .

(b) & (c) Under  the  two  components  of  NPP,  a  total  of  30  link  projects  have  been  identified;  14  link projects under Himalayan Rivers Development Component and 16 link projects under Peninsular Rivers Development  Component.  National  Water  Development  Agency  (NWDA)  has  been  entrusted  with  the work  of  Interlinking  of  Rivers  under  the  NPP.  Out  of  30  identified  link  projects  under  the  NPP,  PreFeasibility Reports (PFRs) of all the 30 links have been completed, while Feasibility Reports (FRs) of 24 links and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of 8 links have also been completed.

The Ken-Betwa Link project (KBLP) is the first link under the NPP for which implementation has been initiated. The Government of India approved the implementation of the project in December, 2021 with an estimated cost of ₹ 44,605 crore (year 2020-21 price level) with a Central Support of ₹ 39,317

crore through a Special Purpose Vehicle, viz; Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA). The current status of Inter-linking of river projects is given at Annexure-II.

(d) Under the NPP, link projects cover many districts of North India which are in the grip of drought. The KBLP will benefit the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP), which faces recurrent drought situation. The project will provide annual irrigation to an area of 10.62 lakh hactare (8.11 lakh hactare in MP and 2.51 lakh hactare in UP) in the Chhattarpur, Tikamgarh, Panna, Sagar, Damoh and Datia districts of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur districts of Uttar Pradesh in Bundelkhand  region  as  well  as  to  the  Vidisha,  Shivpuri  and  Raisen  districts  of  Madhya  Pradesh.  The project will also  provide 194 Million Cubic Metre (MCM) of water for enroute drinking water supply to a population of 62 lakh (41 lakh in MP and 21 lakh in UP) and generate 130 Megawatt (MW) of power (103 MW of hydro power and 27 MW of solar power).

(e) The Government has made vigorous efforts by pursuing the inter-linking of rivers (ILR) program in a consultative manner and has accorded it top priority. DPRs of link projects, upon completion, have been shared with the concerned States and efforts made at various levels for the States to reach a consensus. A 'Special Committee on Interlinking of Rivers (SCILR)' has been constituted in September, 2014 for the implementation  of  ILR  programme.  The  implementation  of  the  ILR  link  projects  depends  upon  the concerned States to reach a consensus on related issues.

## ANNEXURE

## -I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2613 ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 16.03.2023 REGARDING 'FEATURES OF INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS'.

Peninsular Rivers Development Component : The scheme is divided into four major parts:

- I. Interlinking of Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery rivers and building storages at potential sites in these basins. This part involves  interlinking of the major river  systems  where surplus  from  the Mahanadi and  the  Godavari  are  intended to be transferred to the needy areas in the south, through Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery rivers.
- II. Interlinking  of  west flowing rivers, north of  Bombay  and  south of Tapi : The scheme provides for taking water supply canal to the metropolitan areas of Mumbai; it also provides irrigation in  the coastal areas in Maharashtra.
- III. Interlinking  of  Ken-Chambal:   The  scheme  provides  for  a  water  grid  for  Madhya  Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh  and interlinking canal backed by as many storages as possible.
- IV. Diversion  of  other  west  flowing  rivers : The  high  rainfall  on  the  western  side  of  the  "Western Ghats" runs down into numerous streams which discharge into the Arabian Sea. The construction of an interlinking canal system backed up by adequate storages could be planned to meet requirements of new areas on the western side as also for transfer of some waters towards east to meet the needs of drought affected areas.

Himalayan  Rivers  Development  Component: The   Himalayan   Rivers  Development  Component envisages   construction   of  storages  on  the  principal  tributaries  of  Ganga  and  the  Brahmaputra  in  India, Nepal and Bhutan along with interlinking canal systems  to transfer surplus flows of the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the West,  apart from linking of the main  Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the Ganga and Ganga with Mahanadi and further south.

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) & (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2613  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  16.03.2023  REGARDING  'FEATURES  OF  INTERLINKING OF RIVERS'.

Details and status of the proposals for inter-state linking of rivers under the Inter Linking of Rivers Programme

| S. No                | Name                                                 | Rivers                     | States concerned                                                                                      | Status                                   |
|----------------------|------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| Peninsular Component | Peninsular Component                                 | Peninsular Component       | Peninsular Component                                                                                  | Peninsular Component                     |
| 1(a)                 | Mahanadi (Manibhadra)- Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link  | Mahanadiand Godavari       | Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra | FR Completed.                            |
| 1(b)                 | Mahanadi (Bermul)- Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link      | Mahanadi and Godavari      | --do--                                                                                                | FR Completed.                            |
| 2                    | Godavari(Inchampall)- Krishna(Pulichintala) link     | Godavari and Krishna       | Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka            | FR Completed.                            |
| 3                    | Godavari(Inchampalli)- Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link | Godavari and Krishna       | --do--                                                                                                | FR Completed.                            |
| 3                    | Godavari(Inchampalli)- Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link | Godavari and Krishna       | --do--                                                                                                | DPR Completed.                           |
| 4                    | Godavari(Polavaram) - Krishna(Vijayawada) link       | Godavari and Krishna       | --do--                                                                                                | FR Completed.                            |
| 5                    | Krishna(Almatti) -Pennar link                        | Krishna and Pennar         | Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and Karnataka                                                   | FR Completed.                            |
| 6                    | Krishna (Srisailam)- Pennar link                     | Krishna and Pennar         | --do-                                                                                                 | FR Completed.                            |
| 7                    | Krishna(Nagarjunasagar)- Pennar (Somasila) link      | Krishna and Pennar         | --do--                                                                                                | FR Completed.                            |
| 7                    | Krishna(Nagarjunasagar)- Pennar (Somasila) link      | Krishna and Pennar         | --do--                                                                                                | DPR Completed.                           |
| 8                    | Pennar (Somasila)- Cauvery(Grand Anicut) link        | Pennar and Cauvery         | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry                                          | FR Completed. DPR Completed.             |
| 9                    | Cauvery (Kattalai)- Vaigai-Gundar link               | Cauvery, Vaigai and Gundar | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry                                                          | DPR Completed.                           |
| 10                   | Ken-Betwa link                                       | Ken and Betwa              | Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh                                                                      | DPR Completed. Implementation initiated. |

| 11 (i)                                                                                                | Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link                                                                    | Parbati, Kalisindh and Chambal                                                                        | Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan requested to be Consulted during consensus building)       | FR completed.                                                                                         |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (ii)                                                                                                  | Modified Parbati- Kalisindh-Chambal link (duly integrated with ERCP)                                  | Parbati, Kuno, Kalisindh, Chambal, Mej and Banas                                                      | Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan                                                                          | PFR completed .$                                                                                      |
| 12                                                                                                    | Par-Tapi-Narmada link                                                                                 | Par, Tapi and Narmada                                                                                 | Maharashtra and Gujarat                                                                               | DPR completed.                                                                                        |
| 13                                                                                                    | Damanganga - Pinjal link                                                                              | Damanganga and Pinjal                                                                                 | --do--                                                                                                | DPR ccompleted.                                                                                       |
| 14                                                                                                    | Bedti-Varada link                                                                                     | Bedti and Varada                                                                                      | Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka                                                             | DPR completed                                                                                         |
| 15                                                                                                    | Netravati - Hemavati link                                                                             | Netravati and Hemavati                                                                                | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala                                                                      | PFR completed.                                                                                        |
| 16                                                                                                    | Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link                                                                     | Pamba,Achankovil and Vaippar                                                                          | Kerala and Tamil Nadu                                                                                 | FR completed.                                                                                         |
| $ Integration of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project of Rajasthan and Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link. | $ Integration of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project of Rajasthan and Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link. | $ Integration of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project of Rajasthan and Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link. | $ Integration of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project of Rajasthan and Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link. | $ Integration of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project of Rajasthan and Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal link. |
| Himalayan Component                                                                                   | Himalayan Component                                                                                   | Himalayan Component                                                                                   | Himalayan Component                                                                                   | Himalayan Component                                                                                   |
| 1.                                                                                                    | Manas-Sankosh-Tista- Ganga(M-S-T-G)link                                                               | Manas, Sankosh, Tista and Ganga                                                                       | BHUTAN&INDIA (Assam,West Bengal and Bihar)                                                            | FR completed.                                                                                         |
| 2.                                                                                                    | Kosi-Ghaghra link                                                                                     | Kosi and Ghaghra                                                                                      | NEPAL&INDIA (Bihar and Uttar Pradesh)                                                                 | PFR completed                                                                                         |
| 3.                                                                                                    | Gandak-Ganga link                                                                                     | Gandak and Ganga                                                                                      | --do--                                                                                                | FR completed (Indian portion)                                                                         |
| 4.                                                                                                    | Ghaghra-Yamuna link                                                                                   | Ghaghra and Yamuna                                                                                    | --do--                                                                                                | FR completed (Indian portion)                                                                         |
| 5.                                                                                                    | Sarda-Yamuna link                                                                                     | Sarda and Yamuna                                                                                      | NEPAL&INDIA (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana And Rajasthan)                                | FR completed (Indian portion)                                                                         |
| 6.                                                                                                    | Yamuna-Rajasthan link                                                                                 | Yamuna and Sukri                                                                                      | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and UttarPradesh                                                          | FR completed                                                                                          |
| 7.                                                                                                    | Rajasthan-Sabarmati link                                                                              | Sabarmati                                                                                             | --do--                                                                                                | FR completed                                                                                          |
| 8.                                                                                                    | Chunar-Sone Barrage link                                                                              | Ganga and Sone                                                                                        | Bihar and Uttar Pradesh                                                                               | Draft FR completed                                                                                    |
| 9.                                                                                                    | Sone Dam - Southern Tributaries of Ganga link                                                         | Sone and Badua                                                                                        | Bihar and Jharkhand                                                                                   | PFR completed                                                                                         |

|   10. | Ganga (Farakka)- Damodar- Subernarekha link            | Ganga, Damodar and Subernarekha   | West Bengal,Odisha and Jharkhand     | FR completed   |
|-------|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------|
|    11 | Subernarekha- Mahanadi link                            | Subernarekha and Mahanadi         | West Bengal and Odisha               | FR completed   |
|    12 | Kosi-Mechi Link                                        | Kosi and Mechi                    | NEPAL &INDIA (Bihar and West Bengal) | PFR completed  |
|    13 | Ganga (Farakka)- Sunderbans link                       | Ganga and Ichhamati               | West Bengal                          | FR completed   |
|    14 | Jogighopa-Tista-Farakka link (Alternative to M-S- T-G) | Manas,Tista and Ganga             | Assam, Bihar andWest Bengal          | Dropped        |

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

*****