Relevance: GS-1 : Geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (water bodies)

Relevance: GS-2 : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Relevance: GS-3 : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Key phrases: Interlinking River, Godavari- Cauvery, NMDA, intra-State projects, Surplus water, Linking Godavari-cauvery,

Why in News?

• The Inter-linking of rivers Godavari - Krishna, Krishna - Penna and Penna - Cauvery as proposed in the Union Budget by Finance Minister NIrmala Sitaraman on Tuesday has thrown up a fresh controversy over water availability in the Godavari to take up to Cauvery in Tamil Nadu.

Background:

• The Inter-linking of Rivers in India proposal has a long history. During the British colonial rule, for example, the 19th century engineer Arthur Cotton proposed the plan to interlink major Indian rivers in order to hasten import and export of goods from its colony in South Asia, as well as to address water shortages and droughts in south-eastern India, now Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
• After independence, In the 1970s, K.L. Rao, a former irrigation minister proposed “National Water Grid”. He was concerned about the severe shortages of water in the South and repetitive flooding in the North every year.
• In 1980, India’s Ministry of Water Resources came out with a report entitled “National Perspectives for Water Resources Development”. This report split the water development project in two parts – the Himalayan and Peninsular components. Congress Party came to power and it abandoned the plan.
• In 1982, India financed and set up a committee of nominated experts, through National Water Development Agency (NWDA) to complete detailed studies, surveys and investigations in respect of reservoirs, canals and all aspects of feasibility of Inter-linking Peninsular rivers and related water resource management. NWDA has produced many reports over 30 years, from 1982 through 2013.
• India approved and commissioned NDWA in June 2005 to identify and complete feasibility studies of Intra-State projects that would Inter-link rivers within that state.

Concerns related to Inter linking of the rivers in India:

There are major cause of the various occurrences of issues such as:-

• Ecological and environmental issues: There are uncertainty and unknowns about operations, how much water will be shifted and when, whether this may cause water logging, salinisation and the resulting desertification in the command areas of these projects.
• Displacement of people and fisheries profession: Water storage and distributed reservoirs are likely to displace people - a rehabilitation process that has attracted concern of sociologists and political groups. Further, the inter-link would create a path for aquatic ecosystems to migrate from one river to another, which in turn may affect the livelihoods of people who rely on fishery as their income.
• International issues: Misraetal. in their 2007 report, claim inter-linking of rivers initially appears to be a costly proposition in ecological, geological, hydrological and economical terms, in the long run the net benefits coming from it will far outweigh these costs or losses. However, they suggest that there is a lack of an international legal framework for the projects India is proposing. In at least some inter-link projects, neighboring countries such as Bangladesh may be affected, and international concerns for the project must be negotiated.
• Political views: BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had mooted the idea of interlinking of rivers to deal with the problem of drought and floods afflicting different parts of the country at the same time. The congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said in 2009 that the entire idea of Interlinking of rivers was dangerous and that he was opposed to interlinking of rivers as it would have "severe" environmental implications.
• Areas getting submerged: Possibility of new dams comes with the threat of large otherwise habitable or reserved land getting submerged under water or surface water. Ex. The Ken-Betwa River Interlinking (KBRIL) Project will lead to the submergence of a major portion of the core area of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

Benefits of Inter linking of the rivers in India:

• Irrigation: By linking of rivers, vast amount of land areas which will not otherwise be irrigated and are unusable for agriculture become fertile.
• Flood prevention: During heavy rainy seasons some areas can experience heavy floods while other areas might be experiencing drought like situations. With network of rivers this problem can be greatly avoided by channelling excess water to areas that are not experiencing a flood or are dry. This works similar to the canal system in Netherlands that channels excess water from the sea.
• Generation of electricity: With new canals built, feasibility of new dams to generate hydroelectric power becomes a possibility.
• Navigation: Interlinking of rivers will create a network of navigation channels. Water transport is cheaper, less-polluting compare to the road and railways. Further, the interlinking of rivers can ease the pressure on railways and roads also.

Way forward:

• Finance Minister, in her Budget presentation on February 1, highlighted the Centre’s commitment to execute major river-interlinking projects. She also mentioned that Draft Project Reports that laid out implementation plans for five other river-interlinking projects had been finalised. These include the Daman Ganga Pinjar, Par Tapi Narmada, Krishna Godavari, Krishna Pennar and Pennar Cauvery. These are projects that long been in the works.
• An intricate web of a comprehensive policy involving various ministries is required to be created to implement a project of the Interlinking rivers magnitude. Federal sensibilities must also be accounted for through forming a consensus. The subtle art of policymaking needs to be backed with resolute and decisive leadership.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. “With agricultural, economic, strategic, and sociological benefits, the national water grid can help India tap into its full potential as an economic powerhouse.” Illustrate this Statement.