Two river links this year

The task force on the interlinking of rivers has completed the assessment of eight river link projects, and work on two of these is expected to start by the end of this year.

"The National Water Development Agency has identified 30 links and has prepared feasibility reports for eight links," Suresh Prabhu, chairman of the task force, said here today. He was speaking at a conference on the rivers interlinking project.

Among the two projects to be implemented this year, one will link the Ken and Betua rivers in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The second will connect the Parvati, Kalisindh and Chambal rivers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Prabhu said the ministry of water resources had formulated the National Perspective Plan for Water Resources Development, entailing transfer of water from water surplus basins to deficit areas by interlinking rivers.

The task force was at present working out the modalities for consensus on the issue among the states, he said.

Prabhu said the questions on the feasibility of the project were gradually being addressed. However, the task force was yet to work out a solution for donor states with excess water, like Assam, Orissa and Bihar, he added.

Speaking at the conference, Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi said the project, once completed, would lead to the availability of water, for both drinking and irrigation, in drought-prone regions.

On the other hand, it would provide relief to several regions from the vagaries of floods, he added.

Sethi said the project would help bridge the gap between the demand for water (estimated at 1,447 billion cubic metres annually) and its potential utilisation through conventional development (seen at 1,122 billion cubic metres annually).