Lok Sabha Question No. 1926 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-14
Subject: Inter-linking of River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Jagdambika Pal, Khagen Murmu

1926. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1926

ANSWERED ON 14.12.2023

## INTER-LINKING OF RIVER

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the main features of the river interlinking project;

(b)  the  current  status  of  river  linking  projects  in  the  country,  highlighting  those  that  are  under  various stages of planning and implementation;

(c)  whether  the  Government  has  set  up  any  task  force  or  dedicated  mechanism  to  streamline  decision making  processes  related  to  river  linking  projects  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  role  of Government in overseeing and expediting these initiatives; and

(d)  whether  there  have  been  comprehensive  studies  conducted  to  assess  the  potential  climatic  impact  of river linking projects and if so, the details of findings and recommendations of such studies?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a)  to  (b) The  Government  of  India  formulated  a  National  Perspective  Plan  (NPP)  in  1980  for transferring  water  from  water  surplus  basins  to  water  deficit  basins/areas.  National  Water  Development Agency  (NWDA)  has  identified  30  links  (16  under  Peninsular  Component  and  14  under  Himalayan Component) under the NPP. The main features of the NPP is given at Annexure-I .

Out  of  the  30  Inter-linking  of  Rivers  (ILR)  projects  under  the  NPP,  Detailed  Project  Reports (DPRs) of 11 links, Feasibility Reports (FRs) of 24 links and Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) of all the 30 links  have  been  completed.  The  details  and  the  latest  status  of  ILR  projects  under  the  NPP  is  given  at Annexure-II .

Five link projects have been identified as priority link projects under the NPP, viz; Ken - Betwa Link Project (KBLP), Modified Parbati - Kalisindh - Chambal (PKC) Link duly integrated with Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and Godavari - Cauvery link project (comprising of 3 links). The KBLP is the first link project under the NPP, implementation of which has been initiated. The project was approved on 08.12.2021 by the Government of India for its implementation, with an estimated cost of Rs. 44,605 crore  (at  year  2020-21  price  level)  and  central  support  of  Rs.39,317  crore,  through  a  Special  Purpose Vehicle, viz; Ken - Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA). The project is planned to be completed  in 8 years.The  initial  focus  is  on  land  acquisition,  Rehabilitation  and  Resettlement  of  affected  people  and meeting conditions of environment and forest clearances.

Modified  Parbati  -  Kalisindh  -  Chambal  (PKC)  Link  Project  will  help  in  utilizing  the  available water resources of Chambal basin optimally and economically. Efforts have been made to build consensus between the party States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, on issues related to the project. It is, however, for the party States to arrive at a consensus.

The  DPRs of  Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link, Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila) link and Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery link under Godavari - Cauvery alternative link scheme for transfer of 7000 Million Cubic Metres (MCM) of water from the Godavari basin were finalized and circulated in April 2021 to all the party States and the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry. Efforts have been made at various levels to build consensus amongst the party States / UT for the implementation of the link project. Five consultation meetings with the party States / UT have been held so far. Based on the decisions taken during the consultation meetings, a Technical Feasibility Report (TFR) was prepared by the NWDA and circulated to the party States / UT in January, 2023. During the last consultation meeting held  on  10.11.2023  at  Hyderabad, a  modified proposal  for the  transfer  of  about  4189  MCM  from  the Godavari basin along with combining the proposal for supplementation in Krishna basin through Bedti Varda  link  has,  inter  alia,  been  deliberated  and  efforts  made  for  bringing  the  party  States  /  UT  to  a consensus on issues related to the implementation of the project. It is, however, for the party States / UT to arrive at a consensus .

(c) The  Government  of  India  has  accorded  top  priority  to  the  ILR  Programme.  To  streamline  the decision making process and to expedite the work of these projects, a 'Special Committee on Interlinking of Rivers (SCILR)' was constituted by the Government of India  in September, 2014. 20 meetings of the Special  Committee  have  been  held  so  far.  Further,  a  Task  Force  for  Interlinking  of  Rivers  was  also constituted  in April, 2015 for expediting the works under ILR programme and 18 meetings of the Task Force have been held so far. Apart from this, the progress of the ILR programme is reviewed on a regular basis, in the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and the meetings of the Governing Body of the NWDA Society,  as  well.  The  AGM  and  the  Governing  Body  of  the  NWDA Society have wider representations from the Central Ministries / Departments and State Governments. 36 AGMs of the NWDA Society have been held so far, while the Governing Body has so far held 72 meetings.

(d) For  every  river  linking  project,  detailed  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  is  done  at  the stage  of  preparation  of  FRs  and  DPRs.  EIA  consists  of  a  systematic  investigation  of  both  positive  and negative impacts that would be potentially caused or induced due to a proposed river linking project on the physical, biological and socio-economic environment, including air environment, land environment, noise environment and water environment, etc.

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1926

## ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 14.12.2023 REGARDING 'INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS'.

## Main features of the two components of the NPP are as mentioned below:

## A. Peninsular Rivers Development Component : This is divided into following 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  basins 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.
- B. 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.
- C. Benefits of NPP: The implementation of NPP would provide irrigation benefits of 35 million hectare (ha) (25 million ha from surface waters and about 10 million ha by additional recharge and higher use of ground water) over and above the ultimate irrigation potential of 140 million ha in the country, apart from extending other benefits of Domestic & Industrial supply, Hydropower, etc.

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1926 ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 14.12.2023 REGARDING 'INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS'.

## Details and current status of the ILR Projects under the NPP

|   Sl. No | Name                                                                       | States benefited                          | Status                   |
|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
|        1 | a. Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link                    | Andhra Pradesh (AP) & Odisha              | FR completed             |
|        1 | b. Alternate Mahanadi (Barmul) - Rushikulya - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link | AP& Odisha                                | FR completed             |
|        2 | Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) link                           | AP                                        | FR completed             |
|        3 | a) Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link                  | Telangana                                 | FR completed             |
|        3 | b)Alternate Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link *       | Telangana                                 | DPR completed            |
|        4 | Godavari (Inchampalli/ SSMPP) - Krishna (Pulichintala) link                | Telangana &AP                             | DPR completed            |
|        5 | a) Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila ) link                      | AP                                        | FR completed             |
|        5 | b) Alternate Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila ) link *          | AP                                        | DPR completed            |
|        6 | Krishna (Srisailam) - Pennar link                                          | AP                                        | Draft DPR completed      |
|        7 | Krishna (Almatti) - Pennar link                                            | AP &Karnataka                             | Draft DPR completed      |
|        8 | a) Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link                         | AP, Tamil Nadu& Puducherry                | FR completed             |
|        8 | b)Alternate Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link *              | AP, Tamil Nadu& Puducherry                | DPR completed            |
|        9 | Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai -Gundar link                                   | Tamil Nadu                                | DPR completed            |
|       10 | a. Parbati -Kalisindh - Chambal link                                       | Madhya Pradesh (MP) &Rajasthan            | FR completed             |
|       10 | b. Modified Parbati - Kalisindh-Chambal link (duly integrated with ERCP)   | MP &Rajasthan                             | Draft PFR completed      |
|       11 | Damanganga - Pinjal link                                                   | Maharashtra (only water supply to Mumbai) | DPR completed            |
|       12 | Par-Tapi-Narmada link (As per DPR)                                         | Gujarat &Maharashtra                      | DPR completed            |
|       13 | Ken-Betwa link                                                             | Uttar Pradesh (UP) & MP                   | implementation initiated |
|       14 | Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link                                          | Tamil Nadu and Kerala                     | FR completed             |
|       15 | Bedti - Varda link                                                         | Karnataka                                 | DPR completed            |
|       16 | Netravati - Hemavati link **                                               | Karnataka                                 | PFR completed            |

## Himalayan Component

|   Sl. No. | Name of the Link                                      | Country/ States benefited      | Status                                        |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Kosi-Mechi link                                       | Bihar &Nepal                   | PFR completed                                 |
|         2 | Kosi-Ghaghra link                                     | Bihar &UP &Nepal               | FR completed                                  |
|         3 | Gandak - Ganga link                                   | UP &Nepal                      | FR completed (Indian portion)                 |
|         4 | Ghaghra - Yamuna link                                 | UP &Nepal                      | FR completed (Indian portion)                 |
|         5 | Sarda - Yamuna link                                   | UP &Uttarakhand                | FR completed                                  |
|         6 | Yamuna-Rajasthan link                                 | Haryana &Rajasthan             | FR completed                                  |
|         7 | Rajasthan-Sabarmati link                              | Rajasthan &Gujarat             | FR completed                                  |
|         8 | Chunar-Sone Barrage link                              | Bihar &UP                      | PFR completed                                 |
|         9 | Sone Dam - Southern Tributaries of Ganga link         | Bihar &Jharkhand               | PFR completed                                 |
|        10 | Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga (M-S- T-G) link             | Assam, West Bengak (WB) &Bihar | FR completed                                  |
|        11 | Jogighopa-Tista-Farakka link (Alternative to M-S-T-G) | Assam, WB&Bihar                | PFR completed (The proposal has been dropped) |
|        12 | Farakka-Sundarbans link                               | WB                             | FR completed                                  |
|        13 | Ganga(Farakka) - Damodar- Subarnarekha link           | WB, Odisha &Jharkhand          | FR completed                                  |
|        14 | Subarnarekha-Mahanadi link                            | WB&Odisha                      | FR completed                                  |

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