Lok Sabha Question No. 2820 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-12
Subject: Displacements due to Inter-linking of Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri P V Midhun Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2820

ANSWERED ON 12.12.2024

## DISPLACEMENTS DUE TO INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS

## 2820. SHRI P V MIDHUN REDDY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the progress made by the Government in furtherance of inter-linking of rivers;

(b)  whether  the  Government has conducted any survey to estimate the level of displacements that may occur during 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  to  rehabilitate  such  persons  being displaced; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(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.  Under the NPP, 30 ILR projects have been identified, 16 link projects under Peninsular component and 14 link  projects  under  Himalayan  component.  The  Government  of  India  has  accorded  top  priority  to  the  ILR Programme.  Out  of  these  30  ILR  projects,  Detailed  Project  Reports  (DPRs)  of  11  link  projects,  Feasibility Reports  (FR)  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 Ken- Betwa Link Project, the Godavari-Cauvery Link Project (comprising 3 links) and the Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (MPKC) Link Project. The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is the first ILR project, which is under implementation. The details and status of ILR Projects under the NPP is given at Annexure.

(b)  to  (d) The  ILR  projects  are  huge  water  transfer  projects  and  like  other  water  resources  projects,  these projects  also  have  issues  related  to  the  displacement  of  project  affected  people  and  their  Resettlement  and Rehabilitation  (R&R).  For  dealing  with  such  issues,  detailed  studies  on  displacements  involved  in  the  link projects  along  with  the  socio-economic  surveys  are  carried  out  during  the  preparation  of  the  DPRs  of  the respective link projects. 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, the 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 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  Ken-Betwa  Link  Project,  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,  to  oversee  the  effective  implementation  and  monitoring  of  land  acquisition  and  the  R&R  Plan  for  the project.

***

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2820 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 12.12.2024 REGARDING 'DISPLACEMENTS DUE TO INTERLINKING OF RIVERS'.

## DETAILS AND STATUS OF THE 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& 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                                  |

*   Due to pending consensus on Manibhadra and Inchampalli dams, Alternate study to divert unutilized  waters  of  Godavari  river  was  carried  out  and  DPR  of  Godavari  (Inchampalli)  Krishna  (Nagarjunasagar)  -  Pennar  (Somasila)  -  Cauvery  (Grand  Anicut)  link  project  was completed.  Godavari-Cauvery  link  project  has  been  prepared  comprising  of  Godavari (Inchampalli)   -  Krishna   (Nagarjunasagar),  Krishna  (Nagarjunasagar)-  Pennar  (Somasila) and Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link projects.

**  Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) link - The project has been taken up by Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.

@   Bedti - Varda link - DPR was prepared directly after preparation of its PFR, no FR was prepared.

@@ Further studies are not taken up since after implementation of Yettinahole project by Govt. of Karnataka, as no surplus water is available in Netravati basin for diversion through this link.

## Himalayan Component

|   Sl. No. | Name of the Link                                      | Country/ States benefited         | Status                                        |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Kosi-Mechi link                                       | Bihar and Nepal                   | PFR completed                                 |
|         2 | Kosi-Ghaghra link                                     | Bihar, 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 (The 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                                  |

DPR - Detailed Project Report

PFR- Pre Feasibility Report

FR- Feasibility Report

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