Interlinking of River in India: Issues and Concerns

Rahul, Dr. Dilip Kumar, Suvashree Sahoo

Abstract: Climate change events cause erratic spatial and temporal variability in rainfall, temperature,
humidity, etc. in long term, and are most severely affecting irrigation, domestic and industrial water
supply. At the same time, water availability is also under pressure due to climate change and
overexploitation of water resources. In a monsoonal climate that is already erratic and highly seasonal in
nature, this increased variability due to climate change will further impact water availability and salt
water intrusion. To overcome such problems, one of the most effective ways is interlinking of rivers. It is
the interbasin water transfer from the water surplus rivers to water deficit rivers or regions. It will increase
water supply, irrigation potential, mitigate floods, and droughts and reduce regional imbalance in the
availability of water. Interlinking of rivers will reduce regional imbalances significantly and provide
benefits by the way of additional irrigation potential, domestic and industrial water supply, hydropower
generation, and transport facilities.
Keywords: River Interlinking, Peninsular River, Himalayan River, Issues and challenges in river
interlinking.

Introduction:
River Linking is a project that connects two or more rivers by building a network of manually constructed
reservoirs and canals, providing river water access to land areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, and
reducing the flow of water to the sea. The National Water Development Agency under the Ministry of
Jal Shakti in India is in charge of the project. The National River Linking Project (NRLP), formally
known as the National Perspective Plan, envisions inter-basin water transfer projects that will transfer
water from water surplus basins where flooding occurs to water-deficit basins where drought and scarcity
exist.

The Inter-link project has two components:

1. Himalayan rivers inter-link components
2. Peninsular component

1) Himalayan rivers development component:

This component of the NRLP involves 14 projects:
a) Building storage dams on rivers like the Ganga and Brahmaputra, as well as their smaller rivers.
Proposing to link the Ganga with the Yamuna.
b) Besides preventing floods in the Ganga-Brahmaputra system, it will also benefit dry areas like
Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat.
This component has two parts:
a) Connecting the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers to the Mahanadi River basin.
b) Linking the eastern rivers of the Ganga with the Sabarmati and Chambal River systems .
 Figure 1: ILR in Himalayan component (Source: NWDA site)

2) Peninsular rivers development Component:

This component of the NRLP involves 16 projects:
The main component of Peninsular Rivers Development is popularly known as the ‘Southern water grid’.
The peninsular component of the interlinking system has 13 major water storage/diversion structures
situated in four basins. These structures serve different purposes, viz. domestic water supply, irrigation and
power generation.

There are four sub-components:

a. Connecting the Mahanadi and Godavari River basins to the Cauvery, Krishna, and Vaigai rivers.
b. Linking the Ken and Betwa rivers, and the Parbati and Kalisindh rivers to the Chambal River.
c. Joining west-flowing rivers below the Tapi river to those above Bombay.
d. Connecting some west-flowing rivers to east-flowing rivers.

Figure 2. ILR in Peninsular component (Source: NWDA site)

This module will irrigate an additional 25 million hectares by surface water, 10 million hectares by
increased use of ground water and produce hydro power, apart from benefits of improved flood control and
regional routing.
The main part of the project would send water from the eastern part of India to the south and west.
The southern development project would consist of four main parts.
In Phase I First, the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers would all be inter-linked by canals.
Reservoirs and dams would be built beside the course of these rivers. These would be used to transmit
surplus water from the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the south of India.
Phase II, some rivers that flow west to the north of Mumbai and the south of Tapi would be inter-linked.
The water would supply further drinking water needs of Mumbai and supply irrigation in the coastal areas
of Maharashtra.
Phase III, the Ken and Chambal rivers would be inter-linked to serve regional water needs of Madhya
Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Phase IV, a number of west-flowing rivers in the Western Ghats, would be inter-linked for irrigation
purposes to east flowing rivers such as Cauvery and Krishna.
 River Interlinking in India - Historical background:
 In 1919 Sir Arthur Cotton, Chief Engineer of the Madras Presidency, proposed the idea of connecting
rivers.
 In 1960 KL Rao, then Minister of State for Energy and Irrigation, who proposed connecting the rivers
Ganga and Cauvery.
 In 1982, Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi established the National Water Development Agency.
 In 2002, the Supreme Court directed the government to complete a plan for connecting rivers by 2003
and implement it by 2016.
 In 2003, the government established a task force to address the issue.
 In 2012, the Supreme Court requested that the project be restarted.
 In 2014, the Cabinet approved the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project. However, the project has yet to
take off due to government opposition, primarily from environmentalists.
 In 2015, Indian Government has implemented river interlinking projects in several segments such as
the Godavari-Krishna River interlining in Andhra Pradesh and the Ken-Betwa rivers interlink in
Madhya Pradesh.
 In 2019, the government announced that work on the Ken-Betwa River interlinking project had begun,
marking the first major project under the NRLP to be implemented.
 In2021, about four decades after conceptualization, India’s first river interlinking project, connecting
Ken River in Madhya Pradesh with Betwa in Uttar Pradesh, finally got off the drawing board.

Objectives:
The Inter Linking of River aims to equitably distribute water and to resolve water scarcity for drinking
and irrigation purposes by linking various water channels:
The objectives of the river connectivity initiative are to:
1. Divert water from water surplus areas to arid and semi-arid parts of the district.
2. Increase the efficiency of different water storage structures.
3. Conserve water by channelling it through canals ducts, drains, natural drains etc. into drought prone
areas.
4. Identify the inter-relationships of recharge areas with geology and geomorphology practices to
examine the soils and structure of the area.
5. Detect land use changes over time and determine their relationship with changes in the area of
connectivity.
6. Carry out qualitative and quantitative assessment of water resources.
7. Suggest suitable sites and methods for artificial recharge to augment ground water recharge in the area.
8. Establish and evaluate long-term research on monitoring, measuring and planning for sustainable
development in the area under benefit.
9. Assess the socio-economic impact of the river connectivity initiative.

Methodology:
The interlinking of our rivers to transfer the floodwater from the surplus rivers to deficit areas is one of the
most effective ways to increase the irrigation potential, for increasing the food grain production, mitigate
floodwaters and reduce regional imbalances in the availability of water. Brahmaputra, the northern tributaries
of Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari and west flowing rivers originating from the Western Ghats are found to be
surplus in water. If we could build storage reservoirs in these rivers and connect them to other parts of the
country regional imbalances could be removed significantly.
Successful Examples:
1. Indira Gandhi Canal Project (India): A canal system that brings water from the Sutlej River to the
desert areas of Rajasthan in India.
2. California State Water Project (USA): A large system of canals, dams, and pipes that moves water from
Northern California to Southern California.
3. Grand Canal (China): A huge canal that connects different rivers in China, like the Yangtze and Yellow
Rivers.
4. Chao Phraya River Diversion Project (Thailand): A project that diverts water from the Chao Phraya
River to reservoirs and irrigation systems.

Expenditure & Work:

On linking all the rivers Himalayan and Peninsular, total expenditure will be Rs. 5,60,000 Crore. According
to NWDA report and this amount will spend on power, irrigation, industries, and household water etc. The
amount will be divided in two parts –Rs. 1,35,000 Crore for power and Rs. 4,25,000 Croce for irrigation,
industries, & domestic purpose etc.

Running Work on inter-linking of rivers:

Inter-linking as Mahanadi–Godavari, Ken–Betwa, Parbati–Kalisindh, Polavaram–Vijayawada,
Subernarekha–Mahanadi, Farakka–Sundarban, Manas–Sankosh–Tista–Ganga, Sarda–Yamuna link, Kosi–
Mechi link, Ghaghara–Yamuna, Krishna– Godavary etc work is in progress.

1) Mahanadi-Godavari link project:

Government of Odisha has proposed a dam at Barmul 14 km upstream of Manibhadra village on
Mahanadi River. The Barmul dam with full reservoir level (FRL) of 80 m, height of 25 m can have a total
storage capacity of 1216 MCM and water diversion of 9182 MCM. Out of which, 4046 MCM water can
be diverted to Godavari River.

Projected Benefits
 Annual irrigation 5.03 lakh ha.
 Drinking water supply - 125 MCM
 Hydro power generation - 240 MW

2) Ken-Betwa link project:

The main aim of Ken-Betwa link Project provides 6.35 lakh ha irrigation and 49 MCM drinking water
supply in the drought prone and backward Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
 It will transfer surplus water of Ken basin to water deficit Betwa basin besides power generation of 78
MW.

 77 m high, 2031 m long Daudhan Dam on Ken River in Chhatarpur district of M.P 221 km long link
canal.

3) Polavaram project:
It is also called Indira Sagar project. It is a multipurpose project built on Godavari River in the state of
Andhra Pradesh. It has assessed culturable command area (CCA) of 2.91 lakh hectares and hydropower
generation capacity of 960 Mega Watt (MW). It additionally has a carrying capacity of drinking water
supply of 23.44 thousand Million Cubic Feet (TMC) to Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant.

4) Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga (M-S-T-G) link project:

 Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga (MSTG) link is proposed under the Himalayan Component of national
Perspective Plan (NPP). MSTG link canal envisages diversion of the surplus waters of Manas and
Sankosh rivers to Ganga at Farakka and further transfer to water shortage areas of Krishna, Pennar and
Cauvery basins and providing irrigation facilities to the enroute canal command areas.

5) Kosi Mechi link project:

The main aim of this project is to provide irrigation benefits to the water scarce Mahananda basin
command in the districts of Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar during kharif season depending upon
the pondage available in Hanuman Nagar barrage.

6) Sarda–Yamuna link project:

The Sharda-Yamuna link canal and its proposed four barrages will locate in the Ganga basin. The total
length of this link canal will be 384 Kms and full supply depth is 7.8 m. The proposed link canal will
transfer water from Sharda River near Tanakpur town of Champawat district of Uttarakhand between
proposed Poorangiri dam and Tanakpur barrage into the Yamuna River about 2.5 Km near Kairana
village of Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Projected Benefits
 River Basin - Sharda (Mahakali)
 States Passing - Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
 Water available for transfer from Sharda river - 11,680 Mm3
 Water utilization in the Enrouted of Sharda Yamuna link - 1758 Mm3
 Irrigation Benefit (Enrouted, Command) - 2.94 Lakh hac.

Issues and challenges in River Interlinking:

Ecological issues:
Major concern being the argument that rivers change their course in 70–100 years and once they are linked,
future change of course can create huge practical problems for the project. (Shaw,2003)

Impact of climate changes:

Analysis of measured hydro-meteorological data suggests that the climate of the earth may be undergoing
significant long-term changes. For a water planner, the changes may manifest in altered spatial and temporal
patterns of precipitation, evapotranspiration and stream flow. Such changes, if at all they take place, might
adversely influence the reliability of the project. Some of the components may fail to perform up to the mark
and others may become redundant. (Thomaset al., 2017)

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the major impacts of global warming in
temperate Asia will be large northward shifts of subtropical crop areas.

Large increases in surface run-off leading to soil erosion and degradation, frequent waterlogging in the
South, and spring droughts in the North will ultimately affect agricultural productivity . (Hernández-Ochoa
& Asseng, 2018)

Owing to its unique geography India is witnessing the extreme climate events almost every year: the floods
droughts, cyclones, snow avalanches, etc. Moreover, the temperature range is also very wide of having over
45º C during May–June and as low as near 0º C during winters. The warming trend over India has been
reported to be 0.57_C per 100 years (Rupkumar et al.1994). Recent decades have experienced the
unexpected pattern of rainfall; the eastern parts have suddenly become more and more wetter, (Singh and
Sontake 2001) and the number of rainy days during monsoon has declined in the past decade. Apart from
these the complex and coupled situations necessary for the onset of monsoon (Bay of Bengal Salinity, and
Differential heating of Tibetan Plateau) and receding glaciers of the country may greatly affect the future
scenario of this project. Keeping this inconsistent scenario of rainfall in mind, it is important to look at the
construction of large storage and checking the natural flow of the flowing water.

Excess water during monsoons:

Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment says, Monsoons happen all over India at the same
time. When there is excess water in the Brahmaputra, there'll be excess water in Ganga and Mahanadi too.
Interlinking can cause storages to overflow and cause flooding. (Kale,2003)

Aqua life:
A number of leading environmentalists are of the opinion that the project could be an ecological disaster.
There would be a decrease in downstream flows resulting in reduction of fresh water inflows into the seas
seriously jeopardizing aquatic life. Even though arresting them river flow into sea to meet inland needs could
be excused if the environmental degradation is avoided while designing and executing the storage and
distribution facilities, we need to keep in mind the probable influence of such an exercise in the long run on
the coastal and ocean ecosystems.(Yang et al., 2013) The upstream and downstream impacts of the river
linkage project on the ecosystems and on the lives of the dependent communities need to be carefully studied
and the project be designed accordingly.

Environmental impact:
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, on 23rd of May 2003, had shown a very
serious concern about the environmental issues related to the proposed interlinking project. Bandyopadhyay
(2003) asked the question “How are the environmental damages that may be caused by the interlinking
project identified and their financial costs estimated, if at all?”

Martin (2003) clearly warned that linking rivers like straight pipelines without looking at the ecological
impact may be very harmful for our environment. Scientists are also doubtful that river diversion may bring
significant changes in the physical and chemical compositions of the sediment
load, river morphology and the shape of the delta formed at the river basin. Water related diseases, such as
Malaria, and Filariasis can spread through stagnant or slow-moving water in the irrigation command area.
The ecologically un-informed economic development activities, like widespread waterlogging and the
resulting desertification in the catchment areas of many large irrigation projects, can also be cited.

Deforestation:
Creation of canals would need large areas of land resulting in large scale deforestation in certain areas
(Paiva, 1988).

Poverty and population issues:

Social stability and impact of floods and droughts on rural poverty. The population of India is expected to
grow further at a decelerating pace and stabilize around 1.5 billion by 2050, This will increase demand for
reliable sources of food and improved agriculture yields - both of which, claims India's National Council of
Applied Economic Research, require significantly improve irrigation network than the current state. The
average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic metre, of which annual surface water flow in India is
estimated at 1,869 billion cubic metre As of 2007, about 60% of this potential was realized through irrigation
network or natural flow of Indian rivers, lakes and adoption of pumps to pull groundwater for irrigation. 80%
of the water India receives through its annual rains and surface water flow, happens over a 4 month period –
Junet through September. This spatial and time variance in availability of natural water versus year-round
demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial water creates a demand-supply gap, that only worsens with
India's rising population. Proponents claim the answers to India's water problem is to conserve the abundant
monsoon water bounty, store it in reservoirs, and use this water in areas which have occasional inadequate
rainfall, or are known to be drought-prone or in those times of the year when water supplies become scarce.
Conclusion:
With the rapid increase of demand for water and new technological advancements, the ILR project seems to
act as a boon for the nation. It will not only meet the water requirements of millions of people by providing
water but would also reduce the problems people face in water-scarce regions. The water supply would be
from regions having surplus water in the rivers to regions where water is scarce, thus, equally and adequately
fulfilling the needs of people across the nation. It not only boosts the water supply in the country but also,
increases the production of crops due to the increase in irrigation.

Interlinking of rivers projects is one of the major challenges and opportunities to address the water-related
issues arising from drought, flooding, climate change. The long-term solution to the water shortage problem
is to make the interlinking of rivers challenges through the construction of dams, reservoirs, barrage,
hydroelectric power structures and canals across the geographical areas of the country. While Interlinking of
Rivers is certainly a good solution to the shortage of water, it must be done after a thorough survey and
detailed study to ensure that the interlinking process does not harm the environment and aquatic life.

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