Interlinking of rivers

The Union Cabinet's approval of the Ken-Betwa rivers interlinking project has put the spotlight on the Central's government plan to interlink more rivers including the tributaries of the Brahmaputra in Assam. Unless the apprehension over the transfer of water adversely affecting the riverine eco-system of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries is addressed, the opposition to the inclusion of rivers in Assam in the national plan is not going to go away. The total cost of the Ken-Betwa link project is estimated at Rs 44,605 crore at the 2020-21 price and the Union Cabinet has approved central support of Rs 39,317 crore for the project, Rs 36,290 crore as grant and Rs 3,027 crore as loan. Under this ambitious project, surplus water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh will be transferred to Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh for irrigation and supply of drinking water in the Bundelkhand region. The water-starved region is spread over nine districts in Madhya Pradesh and four districts in Uttar Pradesh. The county will have to work for eight years for completion of the Ken-Betwa project to find out if the interlinking of the two rivers will provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to a population of about 62 lakhs and also generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW solar power in the region as claimed by the Central Government and the two-state governments. Decks for the first river-linking project in the country were cleared in March this year following the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the two-state governments. The Union Cabinet's approval triggering a political debate is a possibility with the Congress, which is in opposition at the Centre and the two states, opposing the Ken-Betwa project and flagging the apprehension over adverse environmental impact. Ironically, the National Perspective Plan for transferring water from surplus basin to water deficit-basin was prepared by the Central government in 1980 during the reign of Indira Gandhi. Environmental activists argue that the removal of 18 lakh trees in the Ken-Betwa project area that will be submerged due to the construction of a dam put a question mark on the availability of water as projected. Apprehensions raised over the adverse impact of the project on the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh will be echoed in Assam if these are not addressed in time. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources has also pushed for the river-linking projects and urged the Department to make concerted efforts to convince the States and arrive at a national consensus so that interlinking of rivers becomes a reality. The parliamentary panel notes in the report that evolving consensus among the States is the biggest obstacle in the implementation of this ambitious programme but the committee insists that huge benefits can accrue out of interlinking of rivers considering the huge losses caused by floods every year. The report highlights that under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component and 14 under Himalayan Component) and Pre-feasibility reports of all the 30 links have been completed and circulated to States concerned. NWDA identified the links based on Water Balance Studies of 137 basins/sub-basins and 71 diversion points. Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga is one of the 14 river links under the Himalayan component for linking of the two major tributaries of the Brahmaputra – Manas and Sonkosh in Assam and Teesta river in Sikkim with the Ganga. Even though the feasibility report of this link has been completed, the consensus among Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal and Bihar will be needed to push for the execution of a project linking the rivers. As the Central Government has been pushing for river-linking as a solution to Assam's flood problem, the State government clarifying its position based on proper and in-depth scientific studies has become an urgent necessity to allay apprehensions among the people. Water availability along the course of the Brahmaputra in Assam during peak flood and lean seasons is still not fully estimated by experts for lack of adequate scientific data in the public domain. The Central Water Commission declassifying data on water flow in the Brahmaputra basin to facilitate scientific studies is essential to formulate the correct impact assessment of the proposed river linking proposals. Such scientific opinion is essential for the state governments to accept or reject the proposed river linking project and to arrive at a conclusion if it will help address the recurring ravaging annual flood problem or give rise to the problem of water shortage during lean season and affect the river ecosystem in the long run. Pushing the river linking projects for tributaries of the Brahmaputra is not advisable merely based on the execution of the Ken-Betwa river linking project. Sustainability of a river ecosystem is more important for sustainable development and pushing river-linking projects ignoring this aspect is not advisable.