India to start river inter-linking project soon

Work on the first project of India's ambitious inter-linking of rivers across the country will begin by the middle of this year, a federal minister said yesterday.

Chairing the 12th meeting of the Special Committee for inter-linking of river, Minister of State for Water Resources Vijay Goel said though deliberations on river linking project were going on in our country for many years, it is going to take real shape now. 

He said his ministry has identified five priority links for taking up the work of inter-linking of rivers.

He said almost all clearances have been obtained for the first project of linking Ken and Betwa rivers flowing between central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and adjacent state Uttar Pradesh.

All inter-linking projects should be completed in a time-bound manner, an official statement quoted Goel as saying.

The meeting also reviewed the follow-up action on the decisions taken during the last meeting held last year including the status of various statutory clearances for Ken-Betwa Link Project Phase II, status detailed project report of Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Projects, status of simulation studies of Mahanadi-Godavari, surplus water in river basin for interlinking of rivers, status of intra-state link proposals and restructuring of National Water Development Agency.

"Vigorous efforts have been made for generating consensus with development of alternative plans and also setting out road maps for implementation of projects," said the statement.

Bangladesh, as lower riparian country, has from time to time voiced concerns over the effects of inter-linking of Indian rivers on the flow of some major common rivers between the two countries including the Brahmaputra and the Ganges.

However, India has repeatedly assured Bangladesh that it will not do anything that would jeopardize the interests of that country.

The interlinking of rivers is a pet project of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.