Lok Sabha Question No. 1564 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: National River Interlinking Project
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Dharambir Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1564

ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## NATIONAL RIVER INTERLINKING PROJECT

## 1564. SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the current status of the National River Interlinking Project and the details of the rivers successfully linked so far;

(b)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the  environmental  concerns  and  potential displacement of communities due to the river interlinking initiative;

(c)the details of the budget allocated for the river linking project this year and its projected impact on water supply management;

(d) the manner in which the Government is ensuring that the interlinking of rivers does not adversely affect the ecology and biodiversity of the regions involved; and

(e)  the  timeline  for  the  completion  of  the  river  interlinking  project  along  with  the  way  in  which  the Government is planning to monitor its long-term effectiveness in addressing water scarcity?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a)  to  (e) The  Government  of  India  formulated  a  National  Perspective  Plan  (NPP)  for  the  Inter-linking  of Rivers  (ILR)  for  transferring  water  from  surplus  basins  to  deficit  basins/areas  in  1980.  National  Water Development Agency (NWDA) has been entrusted with the work of Interlinking of Rivers under the NPP. 30 link projects have been identified under the NPP with two components, viz; Himalayan Component (14 ILR projects) and Peninsular Component (16 ILR projects). Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of 11 ILR projects, Feasibility Reports (FRs) of 26 ILR projects, and Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) of 30 ILR projects have been completed. The present status of the link projects and rivers is given at Annexure .

For every river linking project, detailed Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is carried out at the stage of preparation of the FRs and DPRs. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is undertaken to identify positive and negative impacts of the project on physical, biological and socio-economic environment. Detailed study  on  soil  type,  climate  type,  ground  water  quality,  biological  environment,  floral  diversity,  Forests  and Wildlife, Ground water Recharge, Change of hydrological regime of river, Public health aspects, Employment Potential generated, Project affected families, Submergence area etc. and other socio-economic characteristics is undertaken at the stage of preparation of DPRs along with proposal for the Environment Management Plan to mitigate the assessed impacts.

The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is first and only ILR project under the NPP, implementation of which has started after the approval by the Union Cabinet in December, 2021. During the current Financial Year  (FY)  2024-25,  a  budget  allocation  of  Rs.  4000  crore  has  been  kept  for  the  project.  The  project  is envisaged  to, inter  alia ,  provide  water  for  an  annual  irrigation  of  10.62  lakh  hectare  (ha)  and  for  domestic water supply to a population of 62 lakh in the States of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The  Government  of  India  has  given  top  priority  to  the  ILR  programme  and  has  been  pursuing  the programme  in  a  consultative  manner.  Concerted  efforts  have  been  made  at  various  levels  for  consensus building amongst the party States for implementation of the matured ILR projects. A Special Committee on Interlinking  of  Rivers  (SCILR)  has  been  constituted  in  September,  2014  for  the  implementation  of  ILR programme. 21 meetings of the SCILR have been held so far. Further, a Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers (TFILR) has been constituted in April, 2015 and 20 meetings of the same have been held so far. States have wide  representation  and  participation  in  these  meetings,  wherein  concerted  efforts  are  made  for  consensus building amongst the party States and for setting out road maps for implementation of the ILR projects. It is, however, for the party States to reach a consensus on critical issues like water sharing, etc, to take an  ILR project forward to the implementation stage and the schedule and timelines for completion of the ILR projects would arise only at the implementation stage. As on date, only one ILR project, namely the KBLP, is under implementation and is scheduled to be completed by March, 2030.

***

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1564  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  13.02.2025  REGARDING  'NATIONAL  RIVER INTERLINKING PROJECT'

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

## Peninsular Component

|   Sl.No | Name                                                                       | States benefited                          | Status              | Major rivers                                                                         |
|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | a. Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link                    | Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Odisha            | FR completed        | Pennar, Palar, Cauvery                                                               |
|       1 | b. Alternate Mahanadi (Barmul) - Rushikulya - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link | AP and Odisha                             | FR completed        | Mahanadi, Godavari                                                                   |
|       2 | Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) link@                          | AP                                        | FR completed        | Godavari and Krishna                                                                 |
|       3 | a. Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link                  | Telangana                                 | FR completed        | Godavari and Krishna                                                                 |
|       3 | b. Alternate Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link *      | Telangana                                 | DPR completed       | Godavari and Krishna                                                                 |
|       4 | Godavari (Inchampalli/ SSMPP) - Krishna (Pulichintala) link                | Telangana and AP                          | DPR completed       | Godavari and Krishna                                                                 |
|       5 | a. Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila ) link                      | AP                                        | FR completed        | Krishna, Pennar                                                                      |
|       5 | b. Alternate Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) Pennar (Somasila ) link *            | - AP                                      | DPR completed       | Krishna,Pennar                                                                       |
|       6 | Krishna (Srisailam) - Pennar link                                          | AP                                        | Draft DPR completed | Krishna,Pennar                                                                       |
|       7 | Krishna (Almatti) - Pennar link                                            | AP and Karnataka                          | Draft DPR completed | Krishna, Pennar                                                                      |
|       8 | a. Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link                         | AP, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry             | FR completed        | Pennar,Palar, Cauvery                                                                |
|       8 | b. Alternate Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link *             | AP, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry             | DPR completed       | Pennar,Palar, Cauvery                                                                |
|       9 | Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai -Gundar link                                   | Tamil Nadu                                | DPR completed       | Cauvery, Vaigai& Gundar                                                              |
|      10 | a. Parbati -Kalisindh - Chambal link                                       | Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Rajasthan         | FR completed        | Parbati, Kalisindh, Chambal                                                          |
|      10 | b. Modified Parbati - Kalisindh-Chambal link (duly integrated with ERCP)   | MP and Rajasthan                          | Draft PFR completed | Parbati, Kalisindh, Chambal, Kul, Banas, Mej, Kuno, Chamla, Shipra, Lakhunder, Newaj |
|      11 | Damanganga-Pinjal link                                                     | Maharashtra (only water supply to Mumbai) | DPR completed       | Damanganga, Pinjal                                                                   |
|      12 | Par-Tapi-Narmada link                                                      | Gujarat and Maharashtra                   | DPR completed       | Par, Tapi, Narmada                                                                   |
|      13 | Ken-Betwa link                                                             | Uttar Pradesh (UP)DPR                     | completedKen        | ,Betwa                                                                               |

|    |                                   | and MP                | & project under implementation   | is                         |
|----|-----------------------------------|-----------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------|
| 14 | Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link | Tamil Nadu and Kerala | FR completed                     | Pamba,Achankovil & Vaippar |
| 15 | Bedti - Varda link@@              | Karnataka             | DPR completed                    | Bedti &Varda               |
| 16 | Netravati - Hemavati link**       | Karnataka             | PFR completed                    | Netravati &Hemavati        |

* 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/ Janampet) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery          (Grand  Anicut)  link  projects  was  completed.  Godavari-  Cauvery  (Grand Anicut)  link  project  has  been  prepared  comprising  of  Godavari  (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  Government  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.NoName of the link                                 | States / Countries benefited      | Status          | Major Rivers                             |
|----|-------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------|------------------------------------------|
|  1 | Kosi-Mechi link                                       | Bihar and Nepal                   | PFR completed   | Kosi, Mechi                              |
|  2 | Kosi-Ghaghra link                                     | Bihar, UP and Nepal               | FR completed    | Kosi, Ghaghra                            |
|  3 | Gandak - Ganga link                                   | UP and Nepal                      | FR completed    | Gandak, Ganga                            |
|  4 | Ghaghra - Yamuna link                                 | UP and Nepal                      | Draft completed | FR Ghaghra, Yamuna                       |
|  5 | Sarda - Yamuna link                                   | UP and Uttarakhand                | FR completed    | Sarda, Yamuna                            |
|  6 | Yamuna-Rajasthan link                                 | Haryana and Rajasthan             | FR completed    | Yamuna                                   |
|  7 | Rajasthan-Sabarmati link                              | Rajasthan and Gujarat             | FR completed    | Luni, Sukri, Sagi, Bandi and Sukal Banas |
|  8 | Chunar-Sone Barrage link                              | Bihar and UP                      | Draft completed | FR Ganga river at Chunar and Sone River  |
|  9 | Sone Dam - Southern Tributaries of Ganga link         | Bihar and Jharkhand               | Draft completed | FR Sone river                            |
| 10 | Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga (M-S-T-G) link              | Assam, West Bengal (WB) and Bihar | FR completed    | Manas, Sankosh, Tista, Mahananda, Ganga  |
| 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    | Ganga, Hooghly, Bidyadhari               |
| 13 | Ganga(Farakka) - Damodar- Subarnarekha link           | WB, Odisha and Jharkhand          | FR completed    | Ganga, Damodar, Subernarekha             |
| 14 | Subarnarekha-Mahanadi link                            | WBand Odisha                      | FR completed    | Subernarekha& Mahanadi                   |

*****