Indian rivers interlinking project

Indian rivers interlinking project
Rivers Inter-Link, Himalayan and Peninsular Components
Type of projectInterbasin transfer
CountryIndia
StatusIn study
Map of India based on survey of rivers of India.

The Indian rivers interlinking project is a proposed large-scale civil engineering project that aims to effectively manage water resources in India by linking rivers using a network of reservoirs and canals to enhance irrigation and groundwater recharge and reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of the country.[1][2] India accounts for 18% of global population and about 4% of the world's water resources. One of the solutions to solve the country's water woes is to link its rivers and lakes.[3]

The interlinking project has been split into three parts: a northern Himalayan rivers interlink component, a southern peninsular component, and starting in 2005, an intrastate river-linking component.[4] The project is being managed by India's National Water Development Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. NWDA has studied and prepared reports on 14 interlink projects for the Himalayan component, 16 for the peninsular component, and 37 intrastate river-linking projects.[4]

Average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic metres, but most of the country's rainfall falls over a 4-month period—June through September. Furthermore, rain across the large nation is not uniform, with the east and north getting most rainfall and the west and south getting less.[5][6] India also sees years of excess monsoons and floods, followed by below-average or late monsoons accompanied by droughts. This geographical and time variance in availability of natural water versus year-round demand for irrigation, drinking, and industrial water creates a demand–supply gap that has been worsening with India's rising population.[6]

Proponents of the river interlinking projects claim the answer to India's water problem is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in reservoirs, and deliver this water—using the planned project—to areas and over times when water becomes scarce.[5] Beyond water security, the project is also seen to offer potential benefits to transport infrastructure through navigation and hydro power as well as broadening income sources in rural areas through fish farming. Opponents are concerned about well-known environmental, ecological, and social displacement impacts as well as unknown risks associated with tinkering with nature.[2] Others are concerned that some projects may have international impacts.[7]

Map of the major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in India.
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nwdagov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Jayanta Bandyopadhyay and Shama Perveen (2003), The Interlinking of Indian Rivers: Some Questions on the Scientific, Economic and Environmental Dimensions of the Proposal Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine IIM Calcutta, IISWBM, Kolkata
  3. ^ "National Water Policy | for the Changing Planet". Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b "National water Development Agency (NWDA) Studies". Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ncaer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b IWMI Research Report 83. "Spatial variation in water supply and demand across river basins of India" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference misra was invoked but never defined (see the help page).