Inter Linking of Rivers Demand of Time June 2012 Www.upscportal

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ANational Perspective

Plan for water resources

deve lopment by

transferring water from water-

surplus basins to water deficit

bas ins / r eg ions i n 1980 was

formulated by the ministry of

water resources. National WaterDevelopment Author i ty af ter

car rying out deta i led s tudies

ident ified 30 links for preparation

of feasibility reports. These links

can be d iv ided in to two

componentsthe H imalayan (14

links) and the Peninsular (16).

These l inks are a imed a t

mitigating the effects of floods an d

drought s , and as we l l a s

augm enting income in rur al areasin general, and in agriculture in

par ticular. The ILR program me is

focused on reducing irrigation

uncertainties and mitigating the

adverse impact of f loods and

droughts. Once these canals are

built, they will also be used as

wate rways fo r nav iga t ion ,

r educ ing st r e s s on road / r a i l

t ranspor t . The successful

implementa t i on o f t he

programme is , therefore , of

u tmos t impor t ance fo r t he

development of the country andit is necessary that a supportive

cl imate for the programme be

created.

When the project was

annou nced a decade ago in 2002,

one sect ion of public opinion

s u p p o r t e d i t , a n d a n o t h e r

opp osed its imp lementation. It is

without taking any note of the

conflicting p ublic opinion tha t the

present binding directions havebeen issued by the court. Apart

from increased irrigation, link

canals have the potent ia l to

generate hydroelectricity, which

during summer is low. Once the

canals and reservoirs are in place

and enough water is stored in

reservoi rs , i t can be used to

genera te hydro electricity. The ILR

programme with the MSTG link

is envisaged to gen erate 28,994.5

MW of power and require 4,193

MW of power for the project,

resulting in net pow er generationof 24,801.5 MW. The JTF link is

envisaged to generate 24,822.5

MW of power and require 5252

MW of power for the project

resulting in net pow er generation

of 19,570.5 MW. The idea of inter-

basin transfers is based on the

assumption that certain surplus

( f lood-prone) and def ic i t

(drought -prone) areas exist so that

water is readily a vailable withoutany objection to tr ansfer from the

former to the la t ter . But in

pract ice , people in so-cal led

surplus areas do not agree that

they have spare water w hich can

be transferred to other, faraway
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areas. Startling news for som e and

somewhat dream y for others is the

resurrected plan o f interlinking

the r ivers of India . Ci ted by

former P res iden t Ka lam and

pushed by former Chief Justice

Kirpal, the sheer grand eur of the

idea is meant to appeal to people

facing d rought and flood. Anyone

who knows what river systems

are, what inter-basin transfers

bring forth, and the politics and

economics of large river valley

and inter-basin projects, will know

that whatever water this plan

holds is but a mirage. We have

seen the politics that come with

any hum an intervention in rivers

flowing since generations from

one ad ministrative unit to an other.

With all the water that has flown

or not flown into Cauvery, one

cannot take seriously a gran diose

dream of linking all the rivers. But

hea r ing i t f rom the h ighes t

echelons of the State and judiciary,

one cannot w ait for some agency

of the same state to bring out the

plus and minus of i t . A hasty

beginning may not be prevented

unless civil society, experts, and

common people respond.

Inter-basin water transfers

are comp lex hum an interventions

on natur al systems that can have

profound adver se as we l l a s

beneficial social, economic andenvi ronmental impl icat ions .

Indias plan to interlink its rivers

(ILR) and to transfer water may,

according to one set of views,

generate positive benefits through

i m p r o v e d a n d e x p a n d e d

irrigation and may also contribute

to f lood and drought hazards

mitigation for India, although the

magni tudes a re deba t ab l e .

However , there are opposing

views, in the context of Ind ia itself,

that the inter l inking plan i s

economically prohibitive, fraugh t

wi th uncer t a in t i e s , and has

po ten t i a l fo r d i sas t rous and

irreversible adverse after-effects.

Water defici t can be reduced

t h r o u g h i m p r o v e d w a t e r

management without large scale

engineer ing intervent ions .

Moreover many of the r ivers

involved, par t icular ly in the

Himalayan component , a r e

international and, therefore, the

scheme has m ajor implications for

o the r r i pa r i ans . Indeed , t he

planned transfer of water from the

Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers

will adversely impact Banglad esh

social ly, economically and

e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y u n l e s s

a r r angement s a r e made to

maintain h istorical flows, which is

unl ikely to be feas ible . Any

mu ltipu rpose storage reservoirs in

upstream countries, such as Nepal

and Bhutan, would faci l i ta te

energy genera t i on and o the r

benef i t s but wi l l a l so cause

adv erse environmental and social

impac t s t o t hese count r i e s .

Therefore, the ILR plan wil lfurther complicate existing water

sha r ing and management

problems between Ind ia and other

co-basin coun tries. Strength ening

and expansion of cooperat ive

effor t s among the co-bas in

countries for water resources

developm ent and shar ing can

generate economic benefits for the

people of these countries and also

foster co-riparian relationships.

But somehow this imp ortant

project was w as du mp ed after the

change of government . L ink

canals have both short and long-

term impact on th e econom y. The

short-term imp act of the link canal

i s in the form of increased

employment opportunities and

the growth of the services sector.

Sectors sup plying crucial inpu ts to

the construction sector, such as

cement and iron and steel, also

grow. In the medium to long term,

the m ajor imp act of link canals is

through increased and assured

irrigation. Although the major and

di rect gainers of the ILR

programme will be agriculture

and agr i cu l tu redependent

households, the entire economy

will benefit because of increasedagriculture production. The full

impact of the ILR programm e on

economy will be realised only

when construction is completed,

reservoirs filled and the water

reaches the ultimate users for

i r r igat ion, dr inking water ,

i ndus t r i a l purposes and

hydropower generat ion. Unti l

construct ion is complete, the

impact of the ILR programme willbe t h rough government

investment.

On Februar y 27 wh ile giving

the go-ahead to the controversial

project of inter-linking of rivers,

the Supreme Court specifically


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mentioned the benefits flood

control and drought moderation

As plans for inter-basin transfers

of water across vast distances,

from surplus to defici t areas,

appear t o have go t a l o t o f

attraction for a country exposed

all too often to droughts and

flood s, these need to be seriously

evaluated and debated. As such

while large-scale t ransfers of

water can be expensive, we should

also explore whether there are

cheaper and better alternatives.

Any nea t d iv i s ion be tween

def ic i t and surplus areas

becomes more of a problem in

these times of climate change

when erratic weather patterns are

more frequently seen. Some time

ago we had a curious situation

when arid, deficit p arts of western

India (including Rajasthan) had

excess ra in and exper ienced

floods w hile flood-prone p arts of

eastern India (including Assam)

had drought-like conditions. If

billions had already been spent to

create an infra-structure from

transferring surplus water from

east to west, just imagine wh at a

d iff icult s i tuat ion w ould have

arisen at the time of such erratic

weather.

So the basic conditions of

problem-free transfer of water

from the countrys surplus todeficit areas simp ly do not exist.

The tensions are likely to be much

greater when inter-basin transfers

also involve neighbour ing

count ries, a reality that cann ot be

avoided in the existing geography

of national-level links as many

r ive r s pass t h rough o the r

countries. As soon as the grand

looking river-linking plans are

transferred from paper to reality,

we enter the real world of shifting

rivers bringing enormous si l t

loads, landslides, hills, plateaus,

seismic belts, gorges, ravines,

bends and curv es which make the

task of large-scale transfer of

water di f f icul t , enormously

expensive, energy-intensive and

hazardous. If r ivers had been

created by engineers and not by

nature, they would have flowed

along pred ictable straight p aths to

suit our need s. But r ivers do not

generally like to abide by the

w i s h e s a n d c o m m a n d s o f

engineers. Even when the might

of modern technology forces them

to do so, they sometimes seek

revenge in very d estructive wa ys

breaking f ree and caus ing

floods.

Of course no one has had the

time and inclination to explore

how the bio-diversity flourishing

in a particular river system will

react w hen it is linked to another

river. But the problems faced by

the vas t ma jor i t y who a re

adversely affected by dams and

displacements of this gigantic

river-linking project have to be

faced surely and squarely. Thisbr ings us t o t he ques t i on o f

whether safer, less d isruptive and

cheaper alternatives are available

for redu cing the distress of flood s

and drou ghts. Evidence suggests

that even vi l lages which

experience very low rainfall, as in

the d esert areas of Rajasthan, have

evolved a ran ge of local method s

of wa te r conse rva t ion and

collection which, if followed up

carefully, take them toward s w ater

self-sufficiency to a large extent.

It is true that in modern times

there is pressure leading to the

breakdown or i nadequacy of

some of these self-reliant systems.

Nevertheless it can be said that a

combination of traditional water-

collection/ conservation practices

and o the r d rought -proof ing

methods which a l so use

modern technology st i l l

provides the best av ailable answer

(also the cheapest one) to water

scarcity in d rought-prone areas.

In the case of flood-prone

areas we should not ignore the

resilience of local communities

where people learnt from early

childh ood how to cope with rising

rivers. Their abi l i ty has beenadversely affected by increasing

drainage obstruction created by

thought l e s s deve lopment

works because of which floods

sometimes become more fierce,

creating prolonged water logging.

So what people really need is a

good drainage plan so that

f lood water clears quickly

combined wi th a package of

livelihood, health, education andother supp ort suited to the needs

of f lood-prone areas and

communities. This will work out

mu ch cheaper and more effective

than all the dam s, diversions and

embankment s put together. So the


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ques t ion o f wha t peop le o f

drought-prone areas and flood-

prone areas really need should be

taken in consultation with them.

Do they want huge wa te r

diversions and transfers with all

their dams and displacements, or

do they prefer more funds for

t rus ted, smal l -scale local

solutions?

Prior experience teaches that

we must study basic aspects of

each r iver bas in , including

ca t chment a r ea t r ea tment ,

command a rea deve lopment ,

benchm ark survey of the affected

popula t i on , impac t s o f t he

reservoir and canal system on

farmers, and fisheries, and pu blic

health. Environmental Impact

Assessment will be inevitable.

Compensatory and mit igatory

p lans mus t be r a t i ona l ly

conceived. Where the canal

network extends, will surveyors

assess whether soil is irrigableth rough sur face wa te r f l ows

wi thou t wa te r logg ing and

sal inisa t ion that has taken a

million hectares ofIndian Land?

What would be the impacts on

food security already in crisis, of

a sudden change in cropping

pattern? Enough warnings have

been given. The River Valley

Guidelines (1983) discuss

environmental and social impacts

due to t r ans fe r o f wa te r and

peop le beyond suitability. Unless

these become part of the project

p l ann ing , t hey a re ne i the r

cons ide red nor dea l t w i th .

Struggles in the Narmada Valley

and on other projects pushed du e

to political expediency without

complete appraisal, have brought

out the seriousness of large scale

displacement as well as impacts

on and injustice to the proposed

beneficiaries. Basic questions

demand investigation. Will such

a linking of rivers actually prevent

drought? Or mere ly t r ans fe r

drou ght? What w ill be the extent

of displacement, and provisions

for rehabilitation? Canals also

displace. In the Sardar Sarovar

project , 1,50,000 landholders

stand to lose land d ue to the canal

netw ork, of whom 23,500 will lose

more than 25% of their land, and

2,000 will become land less. None

is considered project-affected nor

eligible for rehabilitation.For intra-

river basin transfers, the pr inciple

of subsid iarity requ ires that wa ter

be harnessed from where it first

drops.

The whole crisis of water

managem ent today is due to total

neglect of water harvesting, either

because it is considered p eripheral

or to be a non-replicable, non-

profitable micro-level experiment.

Therefore we see the destruction


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of cultures, communities, and

ecosystems, creating conflicts

between states, as in Cau very, and

between state and people, as in

Narmada. Conflicts are dea lt with

more politically than scientifically.

If this happens in just one river

basin, imagine the consequences

across several r iver bas ins .

Interstate disputes could take

decades to resolve.

As our national highways

have become conveyor belts for

enormously pollut ing noxious

emiss ions , the h uge inter link

threatens to become an open

sewage garlanding India. The

canals, designed for carrying

irrigation waters rather than large

peak flows, will not be sufficient

to control or divert floods in the

northern states but will transfer

silt. Several large dams built to

provide the head and s torage

required to su pp ly the canals will

permanently submerge fert i lelands, forests, village communities

and towns, leaving millions of

people displaced or d ispossessed.

Any a t t empt t o ob t a in fu l l

information, question imp acts and

demand jus t compensa t ion

requ ires sacrifice by comm un ities

living on the natural resources.

Interlinking Himalayan and

peninsular rivers is budgeted at

Rs. 5.6 lakh crores, even before thecompletion of feasibility studies,

expected by 2008, at a cost of 150

crores. Have alternatives been

assessed? When pending water

projects require Rs. 80,000 crores

to be comp leted and mad e usable

as per Parliamentary Committee

repor t , i s such a plan viable ,

scientific, or d emocrat ic? There is

no t ime, space, or process

indicated for part icipat ion of

communi t i e s whose r i pa r i an

rights must be considered, and

who face ups t r eam impac t s ,

which are now kn own, and lesser-

known downs t r eam impac t s .

Annual Irrigation bud gets of state

governments are about 1000

crores each. From where will the

money for inter-linking rivers

come even if states pool resources

for the n ext several decades? At

the cost o f local irrigation projects

of the true and tested kind that

have kep t Ind ia self-sufficient. In

this esoteric experiment of Inter-

linking rivers, India itself is the

guinea pig. It will be noth ing short

of criminal if water is not t reated

proper ly and the water cr i s i s

worsens. Already Shivnath river

in Chattisgarh is privatised, and

the contractor has snatched away

peoples right even to drinking

water . People of the count ry

deserve to know if this centralised

plan will nationalise the water

only to privatise, just as national

pu blic prop erty is doled - not sold

- out at redu ced pr ices, whether it

i s oi l , gas , land or mineral

resources, to private companies,

fore ign and domest ic . Theinterlinking of rivers program me

(ILR) programme is aimed at

linking d ifferent surp lus rivers of

country w ith the d eficient r ivers

so that the excess water from

surp lus region could be d iverted

to deficient region. This would

help in increas ing i r r igat ion

intensity in the cou ntry, increasing

water availability for d rinking and

industrial purposes, mitigating

effect of drough t and floods to a

certain extent. Basic purpose of

the this study is to assess the

macro impact of the ILR

programme on Indian economy.

In this study macro impacts are

analysed both at short- as well as

long-term. Short-term impact is

analysed with th e help of a social

accounting matrix for the year

1999-00 at 2000-01 prices. Short-

term imp act helps u s in evaluating

the impact of the ILR programm e

on di f ferent sectors of the

economy. Longterm impact of the

ILR programm e is evaluated with

the help of a macro econometric

model.

Water is not like cement or

concrete - it is life. Just d istribution

and ful l apprecia t ion of i t seconomic, f inancial , environ-

mental and social dimensions

must be par t of the planning

process. The 73rd am endm ent and

the Tribal Self-rule Act d irect that

peoples consent an d consu ltation

cannot be s idel ined. Rivers

support mil l ions of people. A

grandiose scheme such as

interlinking would be likely to

involve internat ional lending

agencies. Before anything starts,

let people know what is in the mind

of the president, the ministers and

sanctioned by the outgoing chief

justice w ithin a few days.


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