Lok Sabha Question No. 3419 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: Status of Inter-linking of River Basins related to Krishna River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Dr. K Sudhakar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3419

ANSWERED ON 12.03.2026

## STATUS OF INTER-LINKING OF RIVER BASINS RELATED TO KRISHNA RIVER

## 3419. Dr. K SUDHAKAR:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  current  status  of  the  proposed  inter-linking  of  river  basins  related  to  the  Krishna  river  for providing water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts of Karnataka;

(b) whether the Government has taken any concrete steps or approved any projects to ensure transfer or sharing of water under river-linking initiatives and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the expected time-frame for completion of such inter-linking or related works to provide irrigation and drinking water benefits to Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) to (c) The Government of India has formulated the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for interlinking of  rivers,  under  which  30  Interlinking  of  Rivers  (ILR)  projects-comprising  16  Peninsular  and  14 Himalayan  links-have  been  identified  to  address  water  scarcity  and  augment  irrigation  and  other water-related  benefits  across  the  country.  The  National  Water  Development  Agency  (NWDA)  is  the nodal agency entrusted with carrying out studies and preparing project reports for these ILR links.

NWDA has completed Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) for all 30 links, Feasibility Reports (FRs) for 26 links, and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for 11 links. The status of these 30 link projects under the NPP is enclosed at Annexure.

Several of the identified links involve the Krishna basin, including the  Krishna (Almatti)-Pennar link, Krishna (Srisailam)-Pennar link, and others. However, none of these links is designed to transfer water to Kolar or Chikkaballapur districts of Karnataka.

Since no ILR project under the NPP is presently envisaged for providing Krishna river water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts, no time-frame can be indicated for completion of such works for these districts.

***

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3419 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 12.03.2026 REGARDING 'STATUS OF INTERLINKING OF RIVER BASINS RELATED TO KRISHNA RIVER'.

Details and current status of ILR projects under the NPP

## Peninsular Component

|   Sl. No | Name                                                                   | States benefited                          | Status                                                    |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link                   | Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Odisha            | FR completed                                              |
|        1 | Alternate Mahanadi (Barmul)- Rushikulya-Godavari Dowlaiswaram) link    | AP and Odisha                             | FR completed                                              |
|        2 | Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) link@                      | AP, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana  | 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                                        | DPR Completed                                             |
|        7 | Krishna (Almatti) - Pennar link                                        | Karnataka &AP                             | 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 | Parbati -Kalisindh - Chambal link                                      | Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Rajasthan         | FR completed                                              |
|       10 | b) Modified Parbati - Kalisindh-Chambal link                           | MP and Rajasthan                          | MoA for implementation has been signed by both the States |
|       11 | Damanganga - Pinjal link                                               | Maharashtra (only water supply to Mumbai) | DPR completed and dropped from status of 'priority links' |
|       12 | Par-Tapi-Narmada link                                                  | Gujarat and Maharashtra                   | DPR completed and dropped from status of 'priority links' |
|       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                                             |

* Due to pending consensus on Manibhadra and Inchampalli dams, Phase-I of Project to divert unutilized waters  of  Godavari  river,  Study  was  carried  out  and  DPR  of  Godavari  (Inchampalli)  -  Krishna (Nagarjunasagar)  -  Pennar  (Somasila)  -  Cauvery  (Grand  Anicut)  link  projects  (combined)  called  as Godavari-Cauvery link was completed. The report has further been updated terminating the link canal at Manimukhtanadi, a Tributary of Vellar river flowing adjacent to Cauvery basin.
- @@ Bedti - Varda Link - DPR was prepared directly after preparation of its PFR, no FR was prepared.
- @ Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) Link- the project has been taken up by Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and is under execution by Polavaram Project Authority.
- ***  Netravati  -  Hemavati  link:  Further  studies  not  taken  up  after  PFR  preparation  since  after implementation of Yettinahole project by Govt. of Karnataka, no surplus water is available in Netravati basin for diversion through this link.

## 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                        | 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                        | 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 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                                  |

*****