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Sunday 30 June 2013
12:42:00 pm 0

INTER LIKKING OF RIVERS IN INDIA



The Indian Rivers Inter-link is a proposed large-scale civil engineering project that aims to join the majority of India's rivers by canals and so reduce persistent water shortages in parts of India.

THE PROJECT
The Inter-link would consist of two parts, a northern Himalayan River Development component and a southern Peninsular River Development component.

Himalayan Development
The northern component would consist of a series of dams built along the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan for the purposes of storage. Canals would be built to transfer surplus water from the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the west. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries would be linked with the Ganga and the Ganga with the Mahanadi river. This part of the project would provide additional irrigation for about 220,000 square kilometres and generate about 30 gigawatts of electricity. In theory it would provide extra flood control in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins. It could also provide excess water for the controversial Farakka Barrage which could be used to flush out the silt at the port of Kolkata.

Himalayan Component






  • Peninsular Development
    The main part of the project would send water from the eastern part of India to the south and west. The southern development project would consist of four main parts. First, the Mahanadi,GodavariKrishna and Kaveri rivers would all be linked by canals. Extra water storage dams would be built along the course of these rivers. The purpose of this would be to transfer surplus water from the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the south of India. Second, those rivers that flow west to the north of Mumbai and the south of Tapi would be linked. Due to the irregular fluctuations in water levels in the region, as much storage capacity would be built as possible. The water would be used by the urban areas of Bombay and also to provide irrigation in the coastal areas of Maharashtra. Third the Ken and Chambal rivers would be linked in order to provide better water facilities for Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Finally a number of west-flowing rivers along theWestern Ghats simply discharge into the Arabian Sea. As many of these as possible would be diverted for irrigation purposes. The Peninsular part of the project would provide additional irrigation to 130,000 square kilometres and generation an additional 4 gigawatts of power.

    Peninsular Component






  • CRITICISM
    ·        Critics also point to the enormous costs conservatively estimated at some US$ 140b which India cannot afford to spend.
    ·        The change in elevation (a minimum of 100 m, generally increases towards the south) from the plains of northern India to the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and the Deccan Plateau beyond them, pose a major challenge to the project; as the water would have to travel upwards in order to reach Maharashtra and southern India.

    STATED BENEFITS
    • Alleviating droughts and flood control.
    • Cheap water for irrigation.
    • Availability of drinking water.
    • Generation of hydroelectric power.
    • Allowing more inland navigation.
    • Employment generation.
    • Fostering a spirit of national integration.

    INTERLINKING : SALVATION OR FOLLY
    • Riparian rights: conflict between states (as- kauveri and Mahanadi issue) have to be resolved. In addition worry of Bangladesh and Nepal have to be taken into account.
    • Financing: Raising 5.6 lakh crores of rupees is a tough task and if created maintenance of huge asset is a problem. Fear of privatization of water resources.
    • Flood period: Idea of networking flood water to the deficient basin does not consider the surplus period of donor area and deficient period of recipient area.
    • Desertification: Prevention of natural flooding may led to desertification as there will be loss of fertile soil.
    • River pollution: Reducing the flow of river by diversion will increase the concentration of pollutants in the river.
    • Security: Security of network will be an enormous load on security forces of central and state governments. As canal can be easily breached by manual or natural activities.
    • Land acquisition and displacement: Misery and injustice to the displaced people in obtaining compensation due to systemic corruption.
    • Technical feasibility: The slope, altitude and other topographical aspects have to be considered. (e.g. for Ganga, Patna is diversible surplus but for raising water to Vindhya chain i.e. 2860 ft. high enormous amount of power is required).

    PRICE TAG
    Financial cost :
    1.      5.6 L Crores Rs :
    2.      250% of India’s tax revenue in 2002
    3.      1/4th of India’s annual GDP
    4.      Twice the entire irrigation budget of India since 1950


    Rehabilitation Cost :
          1. Estimated that 8,000 sq. km. of land affecting the thousands of villages and towns
        2.  33 mn of people have been displaced in India during the last 50 years most have not been rehabilitated and ILR will also displace million of people from the most needy section.

    Environmental Cost :
      1.    50,000 ha of forest to be submerged only by peninsular link.
       2.      Intensive irrigation in unsuitable soils will lead to water logging and salinity.
       3.   Highly polluted rivers will spread toxicity to other rivers.
    4.     River system will be altered catastrophically creating droughts and desert.

         Doubtful Role of Government Agencies :
    1. Claimed that 35 mn ha of dry land regions will be brought under irrigation but the areas not clearly identified.
    2. No clear answer to the issue of displacement and resettlement.
    3. The reports regarding the feasibility of the  interlinking not made public.
    • KEN BETAWA LINK:
    1. Not yet clear, which is surplus basin and which is deficit.
    2. 1991 census data used for the implementation in 2005.
    3. No proper assessment of the ecological and social aspects.
    4. Only 3 dams figured in the report out of 10.

    Alternatives to ILR :
    1. Rainwater harvesting and conservation of water resources : Changes in topography, soil system and runoff flow pattern in a changing climatic environment is considered. Not only stored rain water but soil erosion is also prevented.
    2. Recharging ground water reservoir : Skills have to be developed for arresting rain water where it falls and allowing it to recharge these ground water reservoirs.
    3. Large scale utilization of ground water in deltas : practically feasible and initiatives for borewell development and irrigation needed with responsibility lying .
    4. Community participation: Approaches of reducing water consumption by the affluent in the cities and reducing the wastage of water by the farmers in their field can be attempted.
    Source: 1. Wilipedia
                 2. http://www.downtoearth.org.in

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