Consensus eludes states, including BJP-ruled ones, on interlinking of rivers

NEW DELHI: Even as the first river interlinking project, connecting Ken and Betwa rivers in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is yet to take off, consensus eludes various states, including BJP-ruled ones, on 14 other such proposed projects.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources under Nitin Gadkari is making efforts to build a consensus for preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Mahanadi-Godavari Link, a mother link of nine link systems, with Odisha.

Efforts are also being made with other states for preparation of DPR of the Manas- Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga (MSTG) link for augmenting the flow of Ganga and providing 14 BCM (billion cubic metre) of water in the Mahanadi basin.

“The government is pursuing the Interlinking of Rivers programme in a consultative manner. The implementation of Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) projects involves various steps, including negotiation and consensus among the states concerned,” said a senior ministry official.

The Ken-Betwa river linking phase I, originally scheduled to be launched in December 2017, is still stuck due to issues between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Besides, Madhya Pradesh has laid down certain conditions for providing a no-objection certificate to the Centre for going ahead with the project.

The Centre has identified 30 links – 16 under the peninsular component and 14 under the Himalaya component -- for preparation of a pre-feasibility report.

The pre-feasibility reports of all 30 links have been prepared and circulated to the state governments concerned by the implementing agency, National Water Development Agency.

After survey and investigations, feasibility reports of 14 links under the peninsular component and two links under the Himalayan component have been completed.

“The stage of implementation of a project would be reached after its DPR is prepared with consensus among the states concerned, and the requisite statutory clearances are obtained. Thus the implementation of the projects will take varying periods of time,” said the ministry official.

According to the water resources ministry, approximately 35 million hectares of additional irrigation potential and 34,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity generation are the likely benefits envisaged under the project.

Long time in the making

The project was mooted in the early 1980s and was actively taken up by the NDA government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but it was challenged in the Supreme Court.

The apex court, in 2013, asked the UPA government to start the process, but the government did not act. The project was revived by the NDA government led by PM Narendra Modi.