Lok Sabha Question No. 477 (STARRED), answered on 2025-04-03
Subject: Interlinking of Rivers Project
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *477

ANSWERED ON 03.04.2025

## INTERLINKING OF RIVERS PROJECT

*477.     SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the progress made by the Government in furtherance of interlinking of rivers;
- (b) whether the Government has conducted an exercise to estimate the level of displacements that may occur in the course of implementation of such a project and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has come up with a comprehensive plan for the rehabilitation of such displaced persons; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI C R PAATIL)

- (a) to (d) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## ANSWER

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. *477  TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.04.2025 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING 'INTERLINKING OF RIVERS PROJECT'

(a) The  Government  of  India  formulated  a  National  Perspective  Plan  (NPP)  in  the  year  1980  and  the National  Water  Development  Agency  (NWDA)  has  been  entrusted  with  the  work  of  Interlinking  Rivers (ILR) under the NPP. 30 ILR projects have been identified under the NPP, 16 link projects under Peninsular component and 14 under Himalayan component. The Government of India has accorded top priority to the ILR Programme. Out of the 30 ILR projects under the NPP, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of 11 link projects, Feasibility Reports (FRs) of 26 link projects, and Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) of all the 30 link projects have been completed. Five projects have been identified as 'Priority link projects', viz; the KenBetwa  Link  Project,  the  Godavari-Cauvery  Link  Project  (comprising  3  links)  and  the  Modified  ParbatiKalisindh-Chambal  (Modified  PKC)  Link  Project.  The  Ken-Betwa  Link  Project  (KBLP)  is  the  first  ILR project, implementation of which has started. The details and status of ILR Projects under the NPP is given at Annexure.

(b)  to  (d) The  ILR  projects  are  water  transfer  projects  and  like  other  water  resources  projects,  these projects also have issues related to the displacement of the project affected people and their Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R). In order to deal effectively with such issues, detailed studies on displacements involved in the respective link projects along with the socio-economic surveys are carried out during the preparation of their DPRs. Details of the socio-economic analysis and the R&R plan are mentioned in the DPRs, with complete information on submergence area, number of Project Affected Families (PAFs), land acquisition required, cost involved, and the details of land compensation and the R&R of PAFs. The R&R of PAFs and land acquisition for the ILR projects are carried out by the respective party State Governments, in accordance with the provisions contained in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

As  for  the  only  ongoing  ILR  project  of  KBLP,  a  Monitoring  Committee  for  R&R  has  been constituted  under  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Secretary,  Department  of  Land  Resources,  Ministry  of  Rural Development, Government of India, comprising of various stake holding Departments both at the Central and State levels; to oversee the effective implementation and monitoring of land acquisition and the R&R Plan for the project.

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## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  *477  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  03.04.2025  REGARDING  'INTERLINKING  OF  RIVERS PROJECT'

## Details and Current Status of ILR projects under the NPP

## Peninsular Component

|   Sl. No | Name                                                                       | States benefited                  | Status                                            |
|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | a. Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link                    | Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Odisha    | FR completed                                      |
|        1 | b. Alternate Mahanadi (Barmul) - Rushikulya - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link | AP and 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 and 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 and Karnataka                  | Draft DPR completed                               |
|        8 | a. Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link                         | AP, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry     | FR completed                                      |
|        8 | b. Alternate Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link *             | AP, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry     | DPR completed                                     |
|        9 | Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai -Gundar link                                   | Tamil Nadu                        | DPR completed                                     |
|       10 | a. Parbati -Kalisindh - Chambal link                                       | Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Rajasthan | FR completed                                      |
|       10 | b. Modified Parbati - Kalisindh-Chambal link (duly integrated with ERCP)   | MP and Rajasthan                  | Draft PFR completed                               |
|       11 | Damanganga - Pinjal link                                                   | Maharashtra                       | DPR completed                                     |
|       12 | Par-Tapi-Narmada link                                                      | Gujarat and Maharashtra           | DPR completed                                     |
|       13 | Ken-Betwa link                                                             | Uttar Pradesh (UP) and MP         | DPR completed and project is under implementation |
|       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                                     |

(Inchampalli/Janampet)  -  Krishna  (Nagarjunasagar),  Krishna  (Nagarjunasagar)  -  Pennar  (Somasila) and Pennar (Somasila)-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link projects.

- ** Further  studies  are  not  taken  up  since  after  implementation  of  Yettinahole  project  by  Govt.  of Karnataka, no surplus water is available in Netravati basin for diversion through this link.
- @ Godavari  (Polavaram)  -  Krishna  (Vijayawada)  link  -  The  project  has  been  taken  up  by Government of Andhra Pradesh.
- @@ Bedti  -  Varda  link  -  DPR  was  prepared  directly  after  preparation  of  its  PFR,  no  FR  was prepared.

## Himalayan Component

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

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