The notion of the linking of the rivers in the subcontinent is an old one. In the 19th Century, Sir Arthur Cotton had thought of a plan to link rivers in southern India for inland navigation. The idea was partially implemented but was later abandoned because inland navigation lost ground to the railways. Even the canal that was constructed went into decline. 

A phrase that caught the imagination of the people and passed into popular parlance was `Garland Canal'. This idea (which was not quite the same as the linking of rivers) was mooted by Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur, an air pilot.

The `inter-linking of rivers' is also often referred to as `inter-basin transfers'. Essentially, the thinking is that the disparities in the different river basins of India call for water transfers from the `surplus' basins to the `deficit' basins. This has exercised the minds of the Indian water-resource planners for a long time. 

for further reading on the
         -National Water Grid by Dr. K.L. Rao (1972)

         - Garland Canal by Capt. Dastur (1977) earlier
 

The idea of the `linking of rivers', dormant for a while, has acquired new prominence now, particularly in the context of the Cauvery dispute. A recent public interest litigation (PIL) has led to directions from the Supreme Court for an acceleration of the `linking'. The propriety of judicial directions on such a subject is debatable, but leaving that aside, this article will examine the idea itself.

The River Interlinking project  Objective: Transferring water from water surplus basins to water deficit basins/regions by inter-linking of major Indian rivers to tackle droughts, floods and disputes over the sharing of river waters in the country.   Funds: Rs 5,60,000 crore.

[Further Reading: Linking rivers: vision or mirage?,  Frontline Magazine, Volume 19 - Issue 25, December 07 - 20, 2002  ]
 

Historic Perspectives of the Indian River-linking Project by Md. Khalequzzaman, November 8th  2003.
 

HISTORY

August 1980	A National Perspective for Water Development framed by the Ministry of Water Resources
.
July 1982	National Water Development Agency  [NWDA] set up to carry out detailed studies in the context of National Perspective
.
Sept 1999	Report of the NCIWRDP [National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development Plan]
.
Oct 31, 2002	Supreme Court order suggesting inter-linking of major rivers
.
Nov 2002	Govt announces that feasibility studies for six of the peninsular link proposals are ready.
.
Dec 16 2002	Govt appoints a task force under the chairmanship of Suresh Prabhu
.
Dec 7 2002	Justice (Retd) B N Kirpal clarifies that the Supreme Court observation on linking of rivers was only a suggestion.

 
The Task Force Time Table

• The task force will prepare Action Plan-I giving an outline of the time schedules for the completion of feasibility studies, detailed project reports, estimated cost, implementation schedule, concrete benefits and advantages of the projects by April 30, 2003.

• Prepare Action Plan-II giving options for funding and execution of the project as also the suggested methods for cost recovery by July 31, 2003.

• Meeting with the CMs of various States and Union Territories to deliberate over the project and to elicit their cooperation during May/June 2003.

• Completion of the feasibility studies by 31.12.2005;

• Completion of detailed project reports by 31.12.06;

•  Implementation of the project by Dec 31, 2016.

Under the Himalayan Rivers Development Component, the Water Balance Studies at 19 diversion points, Toposheet studies of 16 Reservoirs, and Toposheet Studies of 19 link alignments have been completed.

Pre-feasibility studies of 30 link schemes have been completed. Further, the Feasibility Reports of 6 links under Peninsular Component have also been completed. Field Surveys & investigations of another 18 links are under progress. It is planned to complete Feasibility Reports of all the identified links under Peninsular Component by 2004 and Himalayan Component by 2008 as per the current mandate of NWDA. (PIB PR 051002)
 
Links Envisaged as per the National Perspective Plan [map]
 

Proposed Links Under Study  Peninsular Component    1. Mahanadi (Manibhadra)– Godavari (d/s)    2. Godavari (Inchampalli) – Krishna (Nagarjunsagar)    3. Godavari (Inchampalli Low Dam) – Krishna         (Nagarjunsagar Tail Pond)    4. Godavari (Polavaram) – Krishna (Vijaywada)    5. Krishna (Almatti) – Pennar    6. Krishna (Srisilam) – Pennar    7. Krishna (Nagarjunsagar) – Pennar (Somasila)    8. Pennar (Somasila) – Cauvery (Grand Anicut)    9. Cauvery (Kattalai) – Vaigai – Gundar  10. Ken – Betwa  11. Parbati – Kalisindh – Chambal  12. Par – Tapi – Narmada  13. Damanganga – Pinjal  14. Bedti – Varda  15. Netravati – Hemavati  16. Pamba – Achankovil – Vaippar  [ Dams, Rivers & People : Issue one February 2003]

Himalayan Component    1. Kosi – Mechi    2. Kosi – Ghagra    3. Gandak – Ganga    4. Ghagra – Yamuna    5. Sarda – Yamuna    6. Yamuna – Rajasthan    7. Rajasthan – Sabarmati    8. Chunar – Sone Barrage    9. Sone Dam – Southern Tributaries of Ganga  10. Brahmputra – Ganga (MSTG)

 
for Some Major Linkages click here...
 

Articles discussing the impact of interlinking of rivers .
.
Sudhirendar Sharma notes the reversal of positions on the  mega-project is tied to political changes rather than  environmental or social assessments.
[Interlinking the Chief Ministers , by Sudhirender Sharma, posted in Indiatogether, February 2004  ]
 

The gigantic negative consequences of the proposal are being ignored by its proponents in government and
outside
[Supermarket approach to river interlinking by Sudhirendar Sharma, Deccanherald,  January 08, 2004 ]
 

..As to the first proposal it was said that "The primary objective of the National Water Grid was to provide water for the drought-prone areas which are spread out all over different   parts of the country. According to this plan, the   policy of interlinking of rivers was thought of  which seems to have a balance of surplus   and deficit areas of India in water resources..
[Interlinking of Indian rivers: Proposal of 'Garland Canals', by Dr. Ichhamuddin Sarkar , The New Nation-Bangladesh's Independent News Source October  24, 2003 ]]
 

The plan for inter-linking rivers is based on the simple and deeply flawed belief that rivers have surplus waters and that floods and droughts can be banished by technical solutions alone. This belief is grounded in the troubled legacy of hydraulic management in the sub-continent dictated by a supply-side approach, which ignores the complexities inherent in river ecosystems.
[Supply-Side Hydrology : The Last Gasp, by  Rohan D'Souza, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.xxxviii No.36, September 6, 2003 ]
 

A systematic programme to counter the opposition to river-linking project ignores the danger of water-logging
[Going ahead with a disastrous project, by Sudhirendar Sharma, Deccan herald, August 20, 2003]
 

The Indian governments move to link major rivers in India is going to be an environmental disaster. But the authorities are going ahead with the plan disregarding warnings from environmentalists
[Manufacturing Consensus For Collective Suicide, by Himanshu Thakkar, Himal Magazine, August 17, 2003]
 

Himal published an investigation on how interventions with the rivers’ flow may be contributing to the winter fog over the Indus-Ganga, affecting millions of South Asia’s poorest. The fact is scientists have yet to study the impact of the run of canals and embankments built over the last half century. And yet, here we are, silent spectators while political cheerleaders sell cart-before-the-horse visions of the Ganga waters reaching the wastes of Rajasthan and beyond. This is not about the debate between small versus large, or being pro- or anti-development (and by extension, being nationalist or anti-national). The three articles in this issue of Himal by Ramaswamy Iyer, Himanshu Thakkar and Sudhirendar Sharma – all of them written from inside the Ring Road in New Delhi – seek to burst the bubble of the river-linking scheme.
[ESSAY Making of a subcontinental fiasco: Toying with Rivers , Himal South Asian,  August 2003 ]

To people ravaged by drought and flood, the government has grandly announced its plan to wave the magic
wand of ‘interlinking rivers’. The mind-boggling grandeur of the plan is meant to dazzle the common citizen so
that they forget to ask questions. But ask questions we must, because this water is a life and death matter for
all of us.
[Interlinking rivers in India: Panacea for Water Ills or Deceptive Mirage? by B.Sivaraman , June 2003 ]
 

The process of linking rivers will delink people of the states covered in the   scheme. If sharing the waters of one river –– the Cauvery — can raise such a   huge conflict, imagine the consequences that will arise while linking several river basins. Riots will become the order of the day. 
[Why link rivers at all? , by Mallikarjun Shetty Down to Earth, April 15, 2003.]  
 

The belief that interlinking is necessary to ensure adequate and safe water supply to everyone and everywhere
is wholly misplaced.It is difficult to believe that the interlinking programme has been worked out in sufficient detail to qualify for serious examination, leave alone immediate implementation.
[Interlinking of rivers — I  & II  by A. Vaidyanathan, Hindu, March 26, 2003  ]
 

The proponents of the proposed Rs 560,000-crore mega-project for interlinking major rivers have not apparently  looked into its geophysical and geological implications. Even the division bench of the Supreme Court did not  consider the vital questions relating to the fundamental geotectonics of the Indian peninsula.
 ...The result of artificial interference to raise water expectancy in arid regions has  been tragic across the globe
[Recipe for disaster : The proposed river linking project undermines natural dynamics -by Sankar Ray, Deccan Herald, March 21, 2003 ]
 

The Government of India's resolve to link up all major rivers of India and the Supreme Court's judgment in
favour of expediting the scheme are both flawed. Both reflect lack of understanding of ecological principles and
the economic and social costs the scheme involves. They also reflect a vacuum in understanding the
alternatives that are available at much cheaper costs to meet all legitimate requirements.
[Linking up Rivers is a Recipe for Disaster, by Sailendra Nath Ghosh, Third World Network, March 11,2003].
 

The author points out the future that awaits those who will be displaced, given India's track record in 'rehabilitation and compensation'...
[Interlinking rivers : Epitaph for the displaced, by S G Vombatkere, March 2003 ]

Environmentalists rejected the setting up of the eight member Special Task Force to monitor
interlinking of major rivers within 15 years to tackle droughts, floods and disputes at an estimated 
cost of Rs 5,60, 000 crore under the chairmanship of Suresh Prabhu. 
[Linking of Rivers ecologically destructive: Environmentalists ,Toxics Link Delhi (PRESS RELEASE), January 18, 2003  ]
  
Estimated to cost Rs 5,60,000 crores (US $ 112 billion) ,the project to interlink Himalayan and peninsular rivers is going to be economic and environmental disaster for India
[Budgeting Interlinking of Rivers, By Sudhirendar Sharma,  posted in Countercurrents]
 
 

SOME SELECTED ARTICLES ON ALTERNATIVES TO RIVER INTERLINK
 
A watershed programme in Haveri district has improved the productivity of the land, while also creating jobs for
the people in their own towns and villages, ..
[Managing naturally : by Amrith Jogi, Deccan Herald, December 23, 2003 ]
 

Construction of barrages to store rainwater has ensured that the farmers of Yadwad village in Dharwad get a
continuous supply of water for crop cultivation,
Water, water everywhere, by Shyam Sunder Vattam, Deccan Herald, December 19, 2003]
 

Frequently Asked Questions about the National Water Grid : A Blue Revolution for a Second Green Revolution in Bharat - Water for Everyone by Dr. S. Kalyanaraman   posted in Hindonnet.org ,  May 12, 2003
 

An independent group of experts has been set up by the task force on interlinking rivers to review proposals from various individuals and groups
[River-linking: panel to review alternative proposals The Hindu, May 2, 2003]
 

 ...NGOs agreed that India should instead concentrate on people-centred   local water solutions which could address the peoples' real needs .... 
[People say NO to interlinking rivers in India , Sanctuary Asia., February 11, 2003 ]

 
 The author presents an alternative to the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers. This is the second in a series of three articles.
[Arguments and Alternatives by S G Vombatkere, posted in Indiatogether, January 2003 ]
 
 
For Views of Supreme Court click here..
 

.Mr Suresh P Prabhu, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and Chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of
Rivers (with the status of a Union Cabinet Minister) has held numerous Cabinet positions in the Government of
India. He has served as the Minister for Industry, for Environment and Forests, for Chemicals and Fertilizers,
and for Power.

THE DECADES-OLD proposal to link all of India's major rivers with one another was revived with much fanfare
last year. Most political parties welcomed it then as a solution to the country's drinking water and irrigation
problems. But it has not taken long for the proposal to come face to face with the hard reality of planning what
will be the largest project ever taken up in India.
[Suresh Prabhu on River Linking: Introduction [Interlinking problems ] Editorial from The HINDU, August  6, 2003 ]
 

Extract of Interview  with Mr.Suresh Prabhu
The financial resources required for the river interlinking project are indeed enormous in magnitude but the expected benefits are also commensurate and far in excess of those from any contemporary project.
[Is it wise to burden India's economy with such a massive project? – Interview with Prabhu Teri , February 28, 2003 ]
 

RIVER LINKS PLAN : OPPOSITION MOUNTS IN EVERY STATE

KARNATAKA:

Meeting on inter-linking of rivers says the project too expensive and resolves to oppose it
[Eastward turn for Netravathi to help groundwater table : DeccanHerald,Tuesday, January 06, 2004 ]
 

A systematic programme to counter the opposition to river-linking project ignores the danger of
water-logging[Going ahead with a disastrous project , by Sudhirendar Sharma , Deccan Herald,  August 20, 2003]
 

 Amidst the hype over the formation of the Task Force on Linking of Rivers, opposition to the ambitious proposal of the Union Government seems to be growing.
[More opposition to project to link rivers , by T.S. Ranganna ,The Hindu, may 17, 2003 ]
 

Mr. Patil made the observations in the context of the two proposals of  the State pending before the Centre for a number of years. One of them  proposed the diversion of about 15 tmcft. of water by linking the Madayi
 to the Malaprabha through an eight-km. tunnel.
[Patil urges Centre to clear proposals to link rivers , The Hindu, May 12, 2003 ]
 

Karnataka farmers oppose
Farmers in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka has come out strongly against the govt's plan to interfere with the natural course of rivers. As a part of its plan to inter-link rivers across the state the govt intends to turn the Nethravathi eastwards and change the course of a few other westward flowing rivers. Farmers dependent on the Nethravathi have also begun to feel that the entire project would deprive them of the water of a river that has been flowing through this region for centuries and has been the main source of sustenance for thousands of families. (BUSINESS LINE 12th december '02) [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu likes it
On 22 April, 2003, a report from newstodaynet.com (April 17, 2003) said: Chief Minister J Jayalalitha has urged the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers not to disturb the existing inter-state agreements on water-sharing while implementing the mega project and pointed out that the whole idea should be to increase the availability in water deficit states.
 

Chhatisgarh

The water resource minister of Chhattisgarh has said that inter-linking of rivers is not an easy task. The states like Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others are not agreed on this project, he revealed after attending the national conference of water resource and irrigation ministers. He said that if all states were agreed then Forest Conservation Act would be violated and hence the Inter-linking of rivers is not possible. He said that if the states like Chhattisgarh and Orissa are not agreed on a small issue of Indravati River since many years, then how can it possible, where many states are involved. (RAJASTHAN PATRIKA 8th Dec'03) [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

Maharashtra / Kerala
Though interlinking of rivers is becoming an obsession with the govt, and even as the PM defended it at least two states spoke against the project at the 12th National Conference of Water Resources and Irrigation Ministers in Delhi. Maharashtra’s Minister for Irrigation said “Prime Minister’s ambitious project of interlinking of national rivers would not at all prove beneficial to Maharashtra”. He asked the Centre to divert water from its westward bound rivers to Godavari and Tapi instead. Alleging that the National Water development Agency was planning to divert water from its territory to adjoining states, he asked the Centre to setup fresh Krishna water Disputes Tribunal. Kerala also urged the Centre not to go ahead with the Pampa-Achanakovil-Vypar link project as the state is already facing water shortage in this basin. Kerala would also oppose plans to link rivers originating from the Western Ghats as part of the Centre’s ambitious interlinking project, state Irrigation Minister said. As far as Kerala was concerned, interlinking the Western Ghats rivers sounded “unscientific”, he added. (THE INDIAN EXPRESS, HINDUSTAN TIMES, BUSINESS LINE 6th feb'03 & BUSINESS STANDARD 14th feb'03)[ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

KERALA
The Kerala assembly issues a thumbs-down on plans to divert water away from the state, catching the Ministry of Water Resources off-guard.
[Interlinking? No, thanks , by Sudhirendar Sharma ,  posted in indiatogether, October 2003 ]

THE Chief Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, has said that the State Government has informed the national taskforce on interlinking of rivers, headed by Dr Suresh Prabhu, that the proposal to link two of its rivers, Pampa and Achenkoil, with Vaippar in Tamil Naduwas not acceptable to it.
[Kerala says `no' to river-linking plan , Business Line , June 17, 2003].

 Kerala's experiments in inter-basin transfer of water provide valuable lessons for all those supporting the proposed national water grid project aimed at easing drought conditions in water - deficit regions.
[Inter-linking rivers -- the Kerala experience , by R. Madhavan Nair , The Hindu, December 11, 2002 ]
 

Bihar
Better Options available: Bihar

The water resource minister of Bihar has suggested that the Centre should link the tributaries of major rivers rather than linking large rivers. He claimed that tributaries could be linked within 20% expense of total estimated cost for inter-linking project and 80% problems could be solved. (DAINIK HINDUSTAN January 24, 2003)  [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

Gujarat
Empowered local communities can tackle water problems, and  have little need for New Delhi's grand designs. More  importantly, the spin-off social and economic benefits are  significant, too.
[Linking lives, not rivers by Nigamanth Sridhar and Vaijayanti Gupta ,  posted in Indiatogether, October 2003]
 

Madhya Pradesh / Uttar Pradesh
The Centre has had to slow down its pace on the "prioritised" Ken-Betwa river link after the Uttar
 Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, wrote twice to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, raising serious reservations on the proposal.  [on ken-betwa river link  between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region]
[Mulayam writes to PM on river link , by Gargi Parsai , The Hindu,  february 23, 2004]
 

Assam

 Is this a priority for Assam? No doubt, any flood alleviation project will be of some benefit.
[RIVER-LINKING AND ASSAM’S INTERESTS by  Chandan K. Mahanta, St. Louis, USA, The South Asian, December 13, 2003. ]

Assam won’t allow River Linking
The Central govt's plan to interlink the rivers, including the Brahmaputra, is poised to snowball into a major controversy in Assam with the Assam Gana Parishad and other regional parties opposing the move, terming it a deep-rooted conspiracy to deprive the people of the State their due share of water. AGP president Brindaban Goswami said “when the Centre constituted Task force, the drought in some states was given priority over Assam’s annual scourge” and cautioned, “it was necessary to find out what impact it would have on Assam”. He said that there is enough reason to believe that the interlinking of the rivers is aimed at supplying excess water to the dry states by depriving states like Assam. The All Assam Students’ Union and Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad too have expressed opposition to the proposal. (SENTINEL January 30,2003, THE INDIAN EXPRESS ,January 31, 2003)[ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

Step in Wrong Direction: Assam Expert
The noted Geographer and Head of Dept of Environmental Science, Guwahati University Dr D C Goswami said that the decision of the Central govt was nothing but a step in the wrong direction. The basic flaw in the basin linking proposal is that it has not cared to assess the water requirement status of the so called water surplus basins. Without doing all the exercises seriously it is really incomprehensible as to how they could identify the water surplus areas. According to computer model of Brahmaputra, he said that the ground reality was such that in the so called excess areas like in Assam, there had been a gross underutilisation of water resources, which might have led to the assumption surplus water. (ASSAM TRIBUNE January 10, 2002) [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

W Bengal says ‘No’

Private role in river linking: Agenda Exposed?
The Chairman of the task force of river linking has called upon the private sector to participate in the linking rivers across the country. He said the private sector could boost hydro electricity generation, navigation as well as irrigation projects by the participating in this project. The private sector companies can also form user forums and even supply water for these projects. He also mentioned that the govt would not approach any international funding agency to finance the projects. He claimed that the total resource required would be less than 1% of the GDP per year. (BUSINESS LINE February 12, 2003) [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]

W Bengal Irrigation Minister has written a letter to central water Resources Minister, protesting against inter-linking rivers, stating that the said project will pose a “potential threat” to W Bengal. He has sent a report with the letter stating that the Ganga basin is the largest river basin in the country, and since W Bengal is located at the “tail end” of the basin, it is a “deficit state”. (THE STATESMAN, January 23,2003) [ Dams, Rivers & People : mar-apr 2003]
 

New Developments
 Linking of inter-state rivers will be a major plank of the Vajpayee-led government, deputy prime minister L K Advani said ..
[River link plan to be BJP poll slogan, Times of India, March 9, 2004 ]
 
The chairman of the task force on interlinking of rivers, Suresh Prabhu, has resigned from his post, sources in
the Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday.
[Prabhu quits as chief of river interlinking task force , Deccan Herald, April 04, 2004 ]

Stating that the linking of rivers was the only solution to frequent droughts and growing water shortage in the country, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday announced that the ambitious national river linking project would be taken up if the BJP government was voted to power again.
[PM seeks votes on river theme, Deccan Herald, Wednesday,  April 14, 2004 ]

Websites to refer for further reading
http://wrmin.nic.in/interbasin/riverlink.htm
http://www.indiatogether.org/environment/interlink.htm
http://riverlinks.nic.in/
 

Bibliography reference for further reading on Interlinking of River
 
 

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