INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS

1. The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) in August 1980 for development of water resources through inter basin transfer of water, for transferring water from water-surplus basins to water-deficit basins. Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports. Details and status of the proposals for inter-linking of rivers under the Inter Linking of Rivers (ILR) Programme is furnished at Annexure-I.
2. Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient
   management to ensure sustainability of water resources are undertaken by the respective State Governments. However, Government of India has taken several initiatives by way of providing technical and financial assistance to the State Governments for the projects planned towards water conservation and restoration of traditional water sources, through various schemes, such as Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies and Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) Schemes, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2022 campaign, etc.
3. Under the scheme of RRR of Water Bodies, rural water bodies having minimum water spread area of 2 hectares (1 hectare for North Eastern, Sikkim and Hilly States including UTs of J&K and Ladakh), and urban water bodies having minimum water spread area of 1 hectare (0.5 hectare for North Eastern, Sikkim and Hilly States including UTs of J&K and Ladakh) are eligible for inclusion with the objectives of restoration of water bodies for assured supply of water for irrigation, increased availability of drinking water, ground water recharge and water conservation.
4. Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) scheme targeting to provide financial assistance to the identified minor irrigation projects (with irrigation potential less than 2,000 hectare) using surface water, have been included under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) since 1999-2000 for special category States. Subsequently, the scheme has been extended to areas covering Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), Tribal, Desert Development Programme (DDP), Flood prone, Left Wing Extremism and Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi (KBK) region of Odisha, Bundelkhand region of UP and MP and Marathwada and Vidharbha regions of Maharashtra. Main objective of SMI schemes is to expand cultivable area under assured irrigation.
5. Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2022 Campaign has been launched in March, 2022 in all districts of the country. The campaign, inter alia, focuses on interventions for water conservation and rainwater harvesting, which include making of roof-top Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) on buildings and water harvesting pits in compounds; maintenance of existing RWHS and creation of new check dams/ ponds; renovation of traditional water harvesting Structures; removal of encroachments of lakes/ tanks and in their catchment channels; desilting of tanks, spring shed development, etc.
6. The Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) projects under NPP would also help in water conservation by mitigating effects of floods and droughts. The ILR projects would also help in recharge of ground water and tanks, etc. in the command areas, thus, leading to substantial water conservation, besides primarily providing for irrigation benefits, augmentation of drinking water supply and hydro-power generation. The implementation of ILR projects as per NPP shall help in harnessing and transfer of approximately 166 Billion Cubic Metres of water.
7. Detailed survey and investigation for ILR projects has been conducted during preparation of Detailed Project Report of Ken–Betwa Link Project and Feasibility Reports of other link projects pertaining to the States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
8. Three link projects under NPP viz; Yamuna-Rajasthan link, Rajasthan-Sabarmati link and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link will benefit the State of Rajasthan. As per the surveys and Studies done by NWDA, the benefits and present status of the links are furnished at Annexure-II.
9. Two link projects under NPP viz; Ken-Betwa link and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link will benefit the State of Madhya Pradesh. The Ken-Betwa link is the first link under NPP for which implementation has been initiated. The benefits and present status of the links benefitting Madhya Pradesh are furnished at Annexure-III.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB