INTERLINKING THE RIVERS

Problems in full utilization of water resources:

A large portion of water resources is lost through run-off (floods) and evaporation losses.

Over-irrigation leads to the deterioration of soils. Results in the salinity and alkalinity of

the water.

Pollution of water by industries. (industries uses less water than agriculture)

Flooding causes damage to life and property in one-eight area of the country, which has

been declared as flood-prone.

How to increase water availability?

Water storage above ground through dams and diversion through weirs are conventional

means

Artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting

Interlinking the rivers

Need for interlinking the rivers:

Although India has vast surface water resources, the same are very unevenly distributed

over time and space. While some basins have vast catchment and carry enormous quantity of

water, others are small and have comparatively small quantity of water. Most of the Himalayan

rivers are large and originate in the snow covered high altitude areas of the Himalayan ranges.

As such they carry sufficient water throughout the year and are called perennial rivers. Some

rivers carry water only in rainy season and are called peninsular rivers. They carry no or very

little water. Most of the water from the Himalayan river system (such as Indus, Ganga and

Brahmaputra river system) is wasted in the form of flood. In contrast most of the rivers have

insufficient flow of water during the dry season and acute scarcity of water is felt in almost all

parts of country. Hence interlinking river through inter-basin linkages or through national grid is

proposed.

The concept of river interlinking is not new because, during the tenure of Mughal the

Yamuna and Agra Canal was constructed. Through these canals the water from Himalaya is

made available to Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

History of interlinking the rivers:

During the British raj, an Engineer Sir Arthur Cotton had sought to link the Ganga and the Cauvery to improve connectivity for navigation purposes but due to the increased railway connectivity among the areas, the idea w as shelved.

I n 1982, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA ) was formed as an autonomous body entrusted with the task to carry out the water balance and feasibility studies of the river linking program.

I n Feb 2012, Supreme Court, gave its go-ahead to the interlinking of rivers and asked the government to ensure that the project is implemented expeditiously.

Aim of interlinking the rivers:

To reduce the disparities in different river basins by transferring water form surplus

eastern region to deficit western region of the country through the creation of link canals,

reservoirs and large dams.

Advantage:

Irrigation:

Lands which are not irrigated and unusable for agriculture becomes fertile.

Strengthen food security and enhance food production.

Flood prevention

Generation of electricity (hydro power)

Navigation:

Newly created network of canals opens up new routes and ways and routes of

water navigation, which is generally more efficient and cheaper compared to road

transport.

In turn helps our economy.

Issues in interlinking the rivers:

Environmental impact:

The project envisages construction of over 80 dams. The environmental impact

(which is likely to be huge) is totally unknown. Construction of dams is likely to

submerge large tracts of forest land and displace large number of people. Many

other environmental problems like soil erosion are related to dams.

The interlinking project is likely to change the flow in the downstream parts of the

river, undermine the rich fishing economy in the plains and estuaries and damage

mangrove forests which are vital for the stability of the coastal ecosystem.

Evidence from the former Soviet Union reveals how diversion of two rivers for

irrigation led to the death of the Aral Sea with diverse impact on the aquatic life

and fishing communities.

Meteorologists have speculated that the sudden greening of a desert area like

Rajasthan through diversification of river water could have unexpected cooling

and heating effects. This could impact the traditional course of the north-east

monsoon, which comes up from the Bay of Bengal and provides winter rain to

eastern India

Social Impact:

Large amount of land needs to be acquired for construction of canals.

Our record in providing compensation and rehabilitation to people affected by

large public projects is extremely poor.

No assessment of the cost of rehabilitation of people affected by such projects is

known.

Alternative to interlinking the rivers:

Desalination of water is becoming inexpensive and practical. Cost of treating sea water is

estimated to be $1/m3 for seawater and $0.5/m3 for seawater. These costs are estimated

to fall further with development of better technology. Many countries (notably Saudi

Arabia) already depend on this solution.

Large scale utilization of ground water in deltas

Community participation:

Approaches of reducing water consumption by the affluent in the cities and

reducing the wastage of water by the farmers in their field can be attempted.

We are currently wasting huge amount of water through poor efficiency in

irrigation. Better water management can bring down the demand for water.

The Ganga-Cauvery Link Canal:

Proposed by Dr. K. L. Rao

Aim: to reduce the impact of floods in Ganga basin and supply water to central and

eastern parts of the country which suffer from chronic problem of water supply.

Passes through the basins of the Son, the Narmada, the Tapi, the Godavari, the Krishna,

the Pennar rivers and joins Cauvery.

Length of the canal: 2640km

Sl No. From To Name of Reservoir for storage

1. Ganga Son Rihand Reservoir

2. Son Narmada Bargi Reservoir

3 Narmada Wainganga

4 Wainganga Godavari Yellampalli Reservoir

6 Godavari Krishna Srisailam Reservoir

7 Krishna Penna Somasila Reservoir

8 Penna Cauvery Mettur Reservoir

Advantage:

Helps to reduce floods in the North India and water shortage in the South India.

Helps to fight against desertification particularly in Southern India

Issues:

Transfer of water form river Son to river Narmada because (river son is about 40m above

the sea level where as river Narmada is about 450m above the sea level)

Technology

Power

Cost (techno economic feasibility)

Availability of water

At present about 70,000 cumecs of surplus water is available at Farakka barriage.

In future Bangladesh may file an objection that this project is violating the Teesta

water agreement, 1972.

Source of river Ganga and its tributaries lies in Tibetan region and it run through Nepal.

In future Nepal may construct dams across these rivers.

Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

First river linking project of the country:

A temple of rivers Narmada and Kshipra (also called as Shipra) will be built at

originating point of Kshipra river known as Kshipra Tekri at village Ujjaini, about 22 km from

Indore. This place will be developed as a pilgrimage centre and will be known as Sangam Sthal

(confluence place), Narmada-Kshipra link project in Ujjain. This project will be beneficial to the

Madhya Pradesh, especially Malwa region.

Note:

1. Narmada:

Also called the Rewa

Also known as "Life Line of Madhya Pradesh

The river rises is a small bowl, known as the Narmada Kund, located at

Amarkantak on the Amarkantak hill in Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh.

Flows from east to west (other east to west flowing river: Tapti and Mahi river)

Forms a rift valley while flowing between Satpura and Vindhya ranges (other

rivers which forms rift valley are: Damodar river in Chota Nagpur Plateau and

Tapti river)

It drains through the Gulf of Khambhat into Arabian Sea.

Rift valley: It is linear-shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain

ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault.

2. Kshipra:

Also known as Shipra.

The river rises in the Kakri Bardi hills Vindhya Range north of Dhar

It flows north across the Malwa Plateau to join the Chambal River

The Brahmaputra-Ganga link Canal:

Brahmaputra River carries a discharge of about 4000 cumecs even during lean period of

dry summer.

Reason: Its catchment area receives heavy annual rainfall.

Lower Ganga basin faces acute scarcity of water in summer season.

Aim: To divert the surplus water of Brahmaputra basin to the water scarcity areas of the

lower Ganga basin.

Requires the construction of

diversion barrage at Dhubri in Assam

A long feeder canal to link the water at Dhubri barrage with Farakka barrage.

When this project completes, it will be able to diver about 1500 cumecs of water from the

Brahmaputra at Dhubri to Ganga at Farakka.

Issue:

The feeder canal will pass through Bangladesh territory for which India will have

to reach an agreement with Bangladesh.

How this project will benefit if it sign the agreement?

Bangladesh can also use a part of water which is available in the feeder canal for

irrigation purpose or for augmenting the water flow in the Padma river.

Enhance the hinterland capability for inland navigation which in turn, reduces the

pressure on rail and road transport.

Ken-Betwa river link:

Aim: Diversion of surplus waters of Ken basin to water deficit Betwa basin.

This link canal will provide irrigation to water short areas of upper Betwa basin of

Madhya Pradesh by way of substitution and also to enroute areas of Madhya Pradesh &

Uttar Pradesh.

A dam is proposed on river Ken at Daudhan.

The Betwa command comprises of four projects namely Barari, Neemkheda, Richhan

and Kesari in the upper reaches of the Betwa basin.

It is the only project for which the detailed project report has been prepared.

Issues:

Approximately 8,650 ha of forestland in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be

submerged for the project; and part of that forestland is a part of the Panna

National Park.

1991 census data used for the implementation in 2005.

National Water Grid:

Aim: To link all the major rivers of India with the help of network of canals.

The Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) and Central Water Commission (CWC)

formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for Water Resources Development in 1980

envisaging inter-basin transfer of water from surplus basins to deficit basins/areas

National Water Development Agency (NWDA) was set up under the MOWR in 1982 for

carrying out various technical studies to establish the feasibility of the proposals of NPP.

Based on various studies conducted, NWDA has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular

Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports

(FRs).

Out of these, FRs of 14 links under Peninsular Component and 2 links (Indian Portion)

under Himalayan Component have already been completed.

Work of preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of one of the link in Peninsular

Component Namely Ken-Betwa link has been taken up by NWDA.

Implementation depends on the consensus and cooperation of the concerned States and

agreements with the neighboring countries.

It comprises of two components

Himalayan Rivers Development Component

Peninsular Rivers Development Component

The two can be linked on the Mahanadi.

Advantage:

Helps to solve flood, drought, power and other water related problems of the

country.

Help in resolving inter-state water disputes.

Also ensures a minimum flow of water in water deficit Rivers.

Water which is flowing wastefully in rivers originating in the glaciers of the

Himalaya can be properly utilized.

Ensure food security and also enhance our food production capacity

Helps to solve the power crisis as we can generate more hydroelectricity.

Issues:

Involves huge cost

Construction of high dams and link canal by cutting across various basins requires

highly skilled engineering and labors.

Construction of dams involves destruction of forests, fertile soils and agricultural

land. Thus our ecological balance disturbs.

Submergence of National parks and Sanctuaries.

Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) of those people who are living in those

areas.

Techno-Economic feasibility.

Himalayan Rivers Development Component:

Aim:

To divert the surplus water of Ganga and Brahmaputra basin to Mahanadi basin

then to Southern India.

To supplement the supplies of the Ganga and Yamuna and further transfer water

west to Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Requirements:

Construction of storage reservoirs on the principal tributaries of Ganga and

Brahmaputra

Interlinking canal systems to transfer surplus flow of the eastern tributaries of the

Ganga to the west

Linking Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga to transfer Brahmaputra waters to Eastern

Ganga basin. This in turn, requires the construction of high dams on Manas and

Sankosh

Other proposed linkages are:

Kosi-Ghaghara

Gandak-Ganga

Ghaghara-Yamuna

Sarda-Yamuna

Linking the Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the Ganga

Linking the Ganga with the Mahanadi

Advantages:

Provides additional irrigation

Generation of hydropower

Helps to combat against desertification particularly in the eastern India

Control of floods in Ganga basin (particularly in Northern Bihar) and

Brahmaputra basin (particularly in Assam)

Provides necessary discharge for augmentation of flows at Farakka to flush

Kolkata port

Enhance hinterland for inland navigation which in turn, reduces the pressure on

rail and road transport.

Issues:

Agreement has to be signed with Nepal and Bhutan to share the water which are

having Tibetan region as their origin.

Nepal and Bhutan may construct dams across the rivers flowing throw them in the

future.

At present, china is planning to construct three dams across Brahmaputra in Tibet

region.

Peninsular Rivers Development Component:

Requirement:

Interlinking the Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery

Diversion of a few west-flowing rivers towards the peninsular basin across the

Western Ghats.

Link from Mahanadi will require the construction of Manibhadra dam in Orissa

across Mahanadi.

The Godavari is joined by two major tributaries namely Indravati and Penganga

downstream of the major storage at Shri Ramsagar.

Surplus water from Godavari can be stored in the available dam site of

Inchampalli.

Advantage:

The Mahanadi-Godavari link would not require and lift of water

Irrigation potential of the agricultural land is going to increase

Dryland between Godavari and Krishna can be irrigated

Resolves the water sharing dispute mainly between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

over the water of the Cauvery River.

M N Dastur Plan:

Propose Garland Canal System.

Aim: to link Himalayan river to those in the south.

Plan envisages construction of two canals

The first 4200 km: Himalayan Canal at the foot of Himalayan slopes running

from the Ravi in the West to the Brahmaputra and beyond in the east; and

The second 9300 km: Garland Canal covering the central and southern parts

Both the canals integrated with numerous lakes and interconnected with pipelines

at two points, Delhi and Patna.

Proposed link Garland Canal System:

Brahmaputra-Ganga (Dhubri-Farakka barrage) canal has to pass through

Bangladesh.

Chambal-Sind-Betwa-Ken (Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) agreement is

already reached.

Mahi-Bans and Sabarmati link

Narmada-Tapi

Brahamani- Baitarani-Subarnarekha to Mahanadi

Mahanadi-Godavari

Diversion of all the Western coastal streams to Eastwards into the rain shadow

region of Western Ghats.

Issues:

The garland concept was rejected because water would have to be lifted from the

northern rivers to those higher up in the peninsula, which would consume an

enormous amount of energy.

Construction dams in the Himalayan belt to provide storage during the lean

months was problematic because of the dangers of earthquakes in this zone.

This was precisely one of the fears over the Tehri dam, which has now been built.

Environmentalists alleged that if it burst due to an earthquake the Himalayas are

a young mountain belt in geological terms.

Global Scenario:

China:

Scheme of transferring about 48KM3 of water from Yangtze to the Yellow to

improve water availability in dry plains of North china.

USA:

Project name: Colorado Big Thomson.

Diverts about 0.284km3 per annum of water from the upper reaches of the

western flowing Colorado river and sends eastwards into the south Platte River

Basin, which is a part of the Mississippi-Missouri basin.

Completed in 1957.

South Africa:

Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

Diverts 750m3 per annum of water from Lesotho to South Africa.

Completed in 2004.

National Water Policy:

Formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources of the Government of India.

Aim: To govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum

utilization.

The first National Water Policy was adopted in September, 1987. It was reviewed and

updated in 2002 and later in 2012.

Salient Features:

The government may withdraw from its role as a service provider in the water

sector.

Communities and private sector should be encouraged to play the role of service

provider.

Government should abolish all forms of water subsidies to the agricultural and

domestic sectors.

Subsidies and incentives should be provided to private industry for recycling and

reusing treated effluents.

People displaced by large water projects should be made partners and given a

share in the benefits comparable to the project-benefitted families.

The cost of rehabilitation and compensation to the project affected families be

partly borne by the project-benefited families through adequate pricing of water.

Other major features:

To curtail subsidy to agricultural electricity users

Setting up of Water Regulatory Authority

To keep aside a portion of the river flow to meet the ecological needs and to

ensure that the low and high flow releases correspond in time closely to the

natural flow regime.

To give statutory powers to Water Users Associations to maintain the distribution

system

To remove the large disparity between stipulations for water supply in urban areas

and in rural areas

To support a National Water Framework Law

To ensure access to a minimum quantity of portable water for essential health and

hygiene to all citizens, available within easy reach of the household

Critics:

Paradigm shift in approach from service provider of water to facilitator of service.

Policy does not deter use among those who can afford to pay for water.

PPP mode may not ensure equity.

Policy does not follow polluter pay principle; rather it gives incentives for effluent

treatment.

National Water Framework Law:

Proposed by a committee headed by Dr. Y. K. Alagh.

The framework law was intended to be justiciable in the sense that the laws passed and

the executive actions taken by the Central and State governments and the devolved

functions exercised by the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) would have to conform to

the general principles and priorities laid down in the framework law (on the basis of a

national consensus), and that deviations can be challenged in a court of law.

The proposed National Water Framework Law is like that of Directive principle of State

Policy, but different is the sense that it would be justiciable.

Why is a national law on water necessary?

under the Indian constitution water is primarily a State subject, but it is an

increasingly important national concern in the following context:

1. The judicial recognition of the right to water as a part of the fundamental

right to life

2. The general perception of an imminent water crisis, and the dire and

urgent need to conserve this scarce and precious resource

3. Rising inter-state conflicts in regard to the sharing of river water

4. The pollution of rivers and other water sources, turning rivers into sewers

or poison and contaminating aquifers

5. The long-term environmental, ecological and social implications of

projects to augment the availability of water for human use

6. The equity implications of the distribution, use and control of water

7. The international dimensions of some of Indias river and

8. The emerging concerns about the impact of climate change on water and

the need for appropriate responses at local, regional, national and

international levels

Several states are enacting laws on water and related issues.

Different state governments tend to adopt different legal positions on their rights

over the waters of a river basin that straddles more than one State. Such legal

divergences tend to render the resolution of inter-State river-water conflicts

extremely difficult.

Water is one of the most basic requirements for life. If national laws are

considered necessary on subjects such as the environment, forests, wildlife,

biological diversity etc, a national law on water is even more necessary.

Finally, the idea of a national water law in not something unusual or

unprecedented. Many countries in the world have national water laws or codes,

and some of them (for instance, the South African National Water Act of 1998)

are widely regarded as very enlightened. The considerations behind those national

codes or laws are relevant to India as well, although the form of a water law for

India will clearly have to be guided by the nature of the Indian Constitution and

the specific needs and circumstances of this country.

List of references:

http://nwda.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/0723832353.PDF

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-07-15/mumbai/27199024_1_river-

linking-interlinking-project-national-water-development-agency

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-30/indore/35484278_1_link-project-

link-rivers-river-linkage

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-07-26/india/27157651_1_river-linking-

aerial-survey-flood

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-15/mangalore/35835583_1_water-

crisis-ground-water-water-resources

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=38214

http://www.hindu.com/2003/02/03/stories/2003020302721300.htm

http://www.infochangeindia.org/environment/eco-logic/linking-rivers-tragedy-of-

errors.html

http://mowr.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/NWP2012Eng6495132651.pdf

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/why-a-national-water-framework-

law/article4280263.ece

http://nwda.gov.in/index2.asp?slid=106&sublinkid=6&langid=1

Kurukshetra magazine of January 2013 issue. (page no. 25 and 26)

Self prepared notes by taking points from various sources.

Name : Sushant Kumar Sinha