Interlinking of Indian Rivers

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Why is India’s $168 billion river-linking project on hold?

I would like to know if there are any environmental issues that would occur when connecting North Indian & South Indian rivers? 

For a technical person like me, it would be interesting to understand the adverse Environmental Impact of the project. Would someone please explain? 

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26 Answers

  1.  UNDERGROUND RAINWATER HARVESTING can solve water crisis of India ( most parts) without Interlinking of Rivers:

    India is blessed with  annual 3500 BCM rainwater ( billion cubic meter), which is  4 times more than its annual water need of approx 700 BCM. Still we are extracting approx 40 % of this water from Groundwater and this does not get replenished by natural recharging of Rainwater in the land where rainwater falls.

    We face water crisis  in most part of India, as Dams and rivers cant meet the water demand after Rains. At the same time , during heavy rains period, this very water stored in dams causes floods in lower lying area when doors of Dams are opened to save these dams from bursting. 

    So we have either Drought or Floods.  

    Biggest consumer of this water is agriculture , demanding more than 80% of this 700 BCM, Industry comes second with 12% and Domestic household need is only 7-8%. 

    If only we can save this excess rainwater during monsoon in the Ground TO INCREASE SOIL-MOISTURE , to be available to plant roots even after rains ( Nov to June), we can reduce the load of Agriculture water Demand on DAMS (our existing Above Surface Storage of Water) AND Grondwater. This will solve the water crisis of India permanently .

    This can be achieved by  UNDERGROUND RAINWATER HARVESTING in individual farms and open lands.

     

    1 Comment

  3. Cost calculation is difficult.Perhaps what you want to say means political activity behind the scenes.Is it so?

  4. Last 22 years I am asking to my friends this SAME QUESTION.1995 I attended a seminar at Delhi regarding how to utilise the excess water and How to solve the Drought and FLOOD situation in India.All the participants have the same opininion to INTERLINK the rivers and to Solve the problem as it can.But from some other corner it is heard that CAN WE CONNECT the rivers to south.?Really I did not get any chance to attend further Meetings and the situation is continueing.

    I request for a study on the LOSSES due to DROUGHT AND FLOOD in India for one year.The casualities,the LOSSES.Please think of for a CHANGE.

  5. There is general thinking that a lot of money has been wastefully spent on doing NOT SO WELL THOUGHT OUT PROJECTS and only money has been wasted without bringing much improvements...

    1 Comment

    1. Here we can think of EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PROJECT. The project should finalise within a TIME LIMIT and an EMERGENCY.There should be 24 Hours work from all areas. SURELY we can make success with out COrruption.ONLY WILL IS NEEDED and NOW it is APT time.

  6. sorry, that is foolish.For us, it is inevitable for project engineers to understand the adverse effects on the environment.Talks between countries are inevitable by establishing environmental improvement penalty provisions.It is difficult to improve the environment at the management building if it is necessary to improve the environment with its limited budget and make it a big project.How is Engineer's Technic not to keep costs down?

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    ごめんなさい、愚問です。我々とっては、プロジェクト技術者ならば環境への悪影響を理解することは必然でしょう。環境改善罰則規定を設けて国同士での話し合いは必然です。その限られた予算からの捻出での環境改善が必要視と大きなプロジェクトにすると管理棟で事業は難しくなります。其処をどうコストを押さえるところがEngineerのTechnicでは無いでしょうか

     

     

     

  7. I went and see GUJARATH in 1992.The people are searching for WATER every where.I saw big pipes on the roadside.The car driver told me from Rajkot to Ahamedbad the problems of no drinking water or any water.In 1993 Ms. Medha padkar came to Kerala and we all are for to fight for the Rights of People thrown out from NARMADA RIVER VALLEY. She Lived with them worked with them and I think she can solve most of the Problems.In 2016 I reached In Gujarath and They have Plenty of water.People are about  Happy.

    So Now we have Lessons about taking Land and sending people away.So First allot the Land ,HOUSE,Job for the distressed people.DONT FORGET THEY are POOR OR DISTRESSED.We have to make,Schools,Colleges,Hospitals ,Every thing for them.99 Districts in India are drought affected there are only 675 Districts in India.WE all should see this situation.THE FLOOD HOW MANY LIVES are in Danger,the whole belongings are FLOWN through water during FLOOD.

    Here I think that there are studies about (1)Loss due to Drought  (2)Loss due to Flood (3)How many people should be Distressed (4)The Total Income from the project  (5)Time to complete the project.(6)The Methology and Strategy to understand people,Leaders,Environmental Activists.

    I think by the 70 years after Independence we have spend more money for the Drought and Flood reliefs to construct the or INTERLINKING ALL RIVERS.

    Dont WASTE TIME START TODAY

  8. We do have better laws to protect PAP and better than before CAG,RTI and Governments under pressure to stay away from corruption. If these projects are controlled by Central Authority, there are very good chances for these to get implemented without any corruption.

    There is a lot of difference between productivity and land use in Rain fed v/s Irrigated agriculture. Water is the pre-requisite in transforming lives of farmers--all other inputs do not work without it. And in any case, augmenting use of surface waters for water supply, irrigation and storage /recharge of aquifers SHOULD NEVER BE STOPPED as water is so very precious, especially surface waters, otherwise, once it is lost to seas/oceans, you have to either depend upon Nature to give it back to you or do Desal at higher energy costs to put it to any good use.

    1 Comment

    1. It is not the laws, we have lots of laws. It is their implementation which is the problem. EIA reports will say barren land, when three crops are grown there. That's why there is always local resistance to large projects. No urban dweller has ever been a PAP, otherwise they would talk differently. This is a headline from the Times of India. "50 years on, Bhakra Dam oustees wait for rehabilitation". Here's the link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/50-years-on-Bhakra-Dam-oustees-wait-for-rehabilitation/articleshow/24504585.cms.

      Keep in mind that we urban dwellers get our electricity at the cost of these PAPs. All that we say is, "how sad, but there has to be development".

      We require a different developmental model, not handled by the Centre at all.

      1 Comment reply

      1. States are very lax in implementing and enforcing laws enacted. That is why I always maintain that a central legal authority with full responsibility can be entrusted with projects of national importance. We do need to grow and at least implement some good national projects concerning river systems and water bodies, railways and national highways. NHAI is making progress and so are railways but both are not doing that much as is required to match the levels with developed neighbours even in asea. 

  9. In any such large project, involving rivers and dams, we have figures quoted by planners and pushers of such schemes, as to how much power will be generated and many acres will be irrigated. No one has thought of the human cost which is brushed aside. Farmers are committing suicide due to agrarian distress right now. How will just irrigating fields make their lives any better till they are assured of a MSP for their crops. Environmental costs are of course never considered. Human beings have a very poor record of restoring destroyed environments.

    Secondly going by past record, human populations are displaced, and never properly rehabilitated. They are not being just uprooted, their whole way of life is being destroyed. Can that be compensated by shifting them to another place miles away from their present locations, because of some political advantage, and because some corporates and contractors can make money. This is not unfounded, as it has been said before, large projects mean large kickbacks . Which is why government planners are never enthusiastic about small dams or small projects, which can deliver the same results .

    I would suggest readers to carefully read, The Dam and the Nation: Displacement and Resettlement in the Narmada Valley by Jean Drèze, Meera Samson, Satyajit Singh, Oxford University Press, 1997.

    More than 25% of India's population, especially the poor, the landless and the disadvantaged have been displaced by large dams since Independence. Most of them have not been rehabilitated till now. Had they been rich and powerful then they would not have been displaced. A question: Why is development always connected with destroying lives of the economically disadvantaged .

    So let us not get excited by the millions of Megawatts and irrigation of millions of acres. Let us have human and environmental solutions in place first before we start tinkering around, just because technology allows us to do this.

    Another question. Would the government be willing to place this scheme in the hands of an organisation like the Narmada Bachao Andolan and other similar organisations for implementation .

    The answer will be no , because there will be no room for leakage of money from contracts.

    Let us first display our care for the environment and our fellow-men before starting something like this, and think of solutions which do not involve shifting of populations, destructions of forests, and the environment in general.

    Picture to yourself. You are leading a comfortable life in your 3-BHK house, with all the modern conveniences. Some faceless planner decides a canal should run through the place where you are residing. ( You have no say in the formulation of these plans ). Some politician or politicians approve the building of the canal. Some faceless bureaucrat decides you will be given a plot of land in a place, where no amenities whatsoever are available. One fine day you are shifted there. You have now become in bureaucratese, a PAP (Project Affected Person) or an Oustee. Your way of life is gone forever, and you will spend years trying to get compensation, which will be a fraction of the value of the property you have lost .

    Have that picture in your mind before even having an academic discussion on how great it will be to have those millions of Megawatts, and millions of irrigated acres.

    1 Comment

    1. When we are starting any Project there will be some negative aspects also.This huge project THE FACE OF INDIA WII CHANGE WITH THIS PROJECT-should taken care of all issues regarding rehabilitation of People.Of course first is Human beings. The people those who are evacuated will be given shelter and Job in the new area.We are getting fertile land of 40 Million  Hecter of Land.99 Districts  are Drought relief .We can develop NEW TOWNS like Chandigarh,Tata Nagar ,-New Factories ,companies  can be opened. Plenty of Electricity can MAKE a Change.

      Corruption is the main Factor and this will be taken to most  consideration,Possible a NEW Ministry with an efficient MISTER will change.All the items,Alignment,land acquisition,Construction,evacuation,Rehabilitation,New Town Ships, New Villages in 99 Districts-Planned agriculture,Loans for agriculture,Diary Farms,Goat Farms and all developments Planned prior and worked out in Prior Dates-We can TRY FOR A CHANGE.

  10. We can make too many REASONS not to start any PEOPLE beneficial Projects.We have to EMPOWER the people to the IMPORTANTS OF THIS PROJECT.PEOPLE SHOULD ASK THE LEADERS Why they are not interested with the projects.THE PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING-NO LEADER LOST ANY THING DURING FLOOD OR DROUGHT>The people lost their animals,their All valuables, Animals,Houses,etc, etc. SO THEY HAVE TO BE empowered.THE PEOPLE DURING ELECTION TIME THEY HAVE TO GIVE VOTE ONLY THOSE WHO ARE SUPPORTING THE PROJECT>START aware ,educate,Empower  and to ACT ?

  11. Most of the critics expressed in the previous comments apply rightfully to traditional onshore water transfers where water is taken upstream with no precautionnary treatment before transfer.

    Via Marina's proprietary system SubmaRiver(R) for water transportation in large quantities and over long distances by an underwater flexible pipe (see www.via-marina.com or for a specific project in Chile www.aquatacama.com) could apply as an offshore alternative to the ILR project attaining the same objectives in a manner at the same time technically viable, economically competitive and environmentally sustainable (i.e. without incurring the same critics).

    Interested parties can contact me at felix.bogliolo@via-marina.com

    2 Comments

  12. Inter Linking of Rivers in India – An Ambitious project by Goverment of India

    The National River Linking Project (NRLP) was mooted by the Vajpayee government in 2002 to artificially link 14 Himalayan rivers in northern India and 16 peninsular rivers in southern India. Initially it was started at Rs 5.6 lakh crore at 2002-03 prices, however as of now the estimated cost is around Rs. 11 lakh crore. This includes the cost of land acquisition, compensation and construction.

    Water is a scarce commodity and several basins such as Cauvery, Yamuna, Sutlej, Ravi and other smaller inter-state/intra-state rivers are short of water. 99 districts of the country are classified as drought prone and an area of about 40 million hectares is prone to recurring floods. The inter-link project is expected to help reduce the scale of this suffering and associated losses.

    India approved and commissioned the NDWA in June, 2005 to identify and complete feasibility studies of intra-state projects that would inter-link rivers within that state. The governments of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Sikkim, Haryana and the Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep responded that they have no intra-state river connecting proposals. Tehe govt. of Puducherry proposed the Pennaiyar – Sankarabarani link (even though it is not an intra-state project). The states government of Bihar proposed 6 inter-linking projects, Maharashtra 20 projects, Gujarat 1 project, Orissa 3 projects, Rajasthan 2 projects, Jharkhand 3 projects and Tamil Nadu 1 inter-linking proposal between rivers inside their respective territories. In 2005, the NDWA completed feasibility studies on the projects and found 1 project infeasible, 20 projects feasible and 1 project was withdrawn by the government of Maharashtra while others are still under study.

    The overall implementation of the Interlinking of Rivers programme under the National Perspective Plan would give benefits of 35 million hectares of irrigation, raising the ultimate irrigation potential from 140 million hectares to 175 million hectares and generation of 34,000 megawatts of power, apart from the incidental benefits of flood control, navigation, water supply, fisheries, salinity and pollution control etc.

    The National Perspective Plan comprised, starting in the 1980s, of two main components: Himalayan Rivers Development, and Peninsular Rivers Development. However, an intra-state component was added in 2005.

    The Himalayan component would consist of a series of dams built along the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan for storage. Canals would be built to transfer surplus water from the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the west. This is expected to contribute to flood control measures in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins. It could also provide excess water for the Farakka Barrage to flush out the silt at the port of Kolkata. Apart from providing irrigation to an additional area of about 22 million hectares, and the generation of about 30 million kilowatts of hydro-power, it will provide substantial flood control in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. The scheme will benefit not only the states in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin, but also Nepal and Bangladesh, assuming river flow management treaties are successfully negotiated.

    By 2015, fourteen inter-links under consideration for Himalayan component are as follows:

    1. Ghaghara - Yamuna link
    2. Sarda - Yamuna link
    3. Yamuna - Rajasthan link
    4. Rajasthan - Sabarmati link
    5. Kosi - Ghaghara link
    6. Kosi - Mechi link
    7. Manas - Sankosh - Tista - Ganga link
    8. Jogighopa - Tista - Farakka link
    9. Ganga - Damodar - Subernarekha link
    10. Subernarekha - Mahanadi link
    11. Farakka - Sunderbans link
    12. Gandak - Ganga link
    13. Chunar - Sone Barrage link
    14. Sone dam - Southern tributaries of Ganga link

     

     

    River Interlinking Blue Prints of India, Source: IWMI

    Proposed Inter Basin Water Transfer Links, Source: http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in

    The Peninsular Component Scheme is divided into four major parts. This component will irrigate an additional 25 million hectares by surface water, 10 million hectares by increased use of ground water and generate hydro power, apart from the benefits of improved flood control and regional navigation.

    1. Interlinking of Mahanadi – Godavari – Krishna – Pennar - Cauvery
    2. Interlinking of west flowing rivers, north of Bombay and south of Tapi
    3. Inter-linking of Ken with Chambal
    4. Diversion of some water from west flowing rivers

    1 Comment

    1. I appreciate this project, however, the Himalayan communities must be paid back for the maintenance of these rivers and their tributaries, and biodiversity conservation up on the Himalayas that makes these rivers flawless.

  13. Interlinking Rivers are the MOST IMPORTANT task we have to complete.Inter linking Rivers will reduce Corruption during Flood Season and during Drought season.we can reduce the sufferings of Millions of People.

    Today we are starting the implementation of PARIS treaty on climate change.We can see through Interlinking of rivers ,we can plant Millions of Trees on the bank of the Canals and the newly watering areas.A GREEN land and think of FLOURISHED FARMERS,CHEERFUL FARMERS with getting sufficient water.The Animals will become happy.No one has to CHANGE their Home or Land during Flood time and Drought time.

    By Interlinking River no adversity will happen in any place .SINCE DURING RAINY AND HOT SEASON there are FLOODS IN THE RIVERS.

    A Trend to change the LIFE of MILLIONS.We can expect this Change.

    1 Comment

  14. Scientists perhaps forget that it is WATER first which supports Organic Life and if Interlinking of Rivers is to make water available by conservation measures, it shall support life and existing eco system shall evolve better.

    I did not find any stress on anyone KNOWING WELL THAT BRAHAMPUTRA causes floods and so much of disruption to ecology is done every year. If Interlinking and transport of surplus waters can diminish chances of floods, would it create head aches of increased Rhinos and Elephants?

    If 20% of Indus River water is interlinked to Natural and man made lakes , whom would it harm and if part of it is pumped to maintain minimum flows of other river, how it will disrupt ecology?

    Not thinking, not planning and no executing any measures to minimise the Surface Run Offs of Rain waters and Snow melts is CRIMINAL when good water is getting so very limited.

    Best Regds

    LP

  15. I attended a serial of Conventions about Interlinking rivers.There are positive and negative opinions about the Interlinking of Rivers. Mostly it is heard that it is very difficult task to join the Rivers.So I thought that it is good to see about the rivers.I went to the starting Place of Bhramaputhra in ArunachalPradesh.Ashoka Innovators for the Public had given me the Chance.I went their taken bath their it is great for me.There the width of River Bhramaputhra is more than one Km.the river is changing its path almost every year.Bhramaputhra OVERFLOW the banks and every year a Huge Loss of Natural Resources and Human beings..

    Regarding Ganga as a HOLY river it makes losses to Delhi, Bihar,U.P are high.The Losses are coroere of Rupees ever year. In the mean time Maharashtra,M.P.Telungana,Orissa,Andrapradesh,Karnatka,Tamilnadu is under DRAUGHT.The government have to spend corores of Rupees to  Rescue the people.The people are fighting for WATER and due to strike corores of Rupees are loosing every year.They have no DRINKING water, the animal are in Death and the people are running away from the land.

    I heard from the DiSCUSONS there was a suggestion to connect the RIVERS to the South and SOLVE THE ISSUES.Now the Technology is developed and the COnsTRUCTION is effective and people will get Job .Now  the Millions we are spending for the Draught and FLOOD can be saved.THE RIVER GANGA WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECAME CLEAN.APOLITICAL DECISION WILL MAKE A TOTAL CHANGE OF OUR COUNTRY.

  16. The simple answer is that we are not connecting one source of water to another source of water.

    What is being connected are two or more ecological and chemical systems, which may or may not be complementary.

    For instance, starting with the term "water".

    Water for a chemist has a very different meaning than plain H2O. I'm just quoting one source for understanding this. This would include the minerals, dissolved or undissolved picked up by the river during its journey.

    For instance, rivers flowing from the Himalayan regions have traces of placer gold in them. As examples, this interesting paper based on an old document of the 14th century, and a more recent 2015 news item about a GSI report on the Subarnarekha river in Jharkand.

    Personally aware of this because of my interaction with the GSI as the India representative of an Australian airborne mineral surveying company in 1989.

    Similarly different rivers would be carrying minerals from the regions they flow through.

    Next microbial and biological organisms. For instance the incidence of schistosomiasis increased when the Aswan High Dam was made in Egypt. For more you can refer to this article .

    Then the piscine population and other aquatic organisms. Will they be complementary, or will one destroy the other.

    Therefore unless the effects of each of these factors are known, linking riverine systems can be disastrous.

    Politicians do not think before making pronouncements, and neither do officials working under them produce unbiased reports .

    Let the matter be studied by knowledgeable people, not connected with the government , before deciding on the linking.

  17. One should always remember that rivers are not just water stored in some kind of tank that can be diverted or transferred anywhere as needed. I understand that many of the engineering interventions proposed are often well intended. However, nature is governed by its own rules, not by engineering ambitions.

    A river is not an isolated system. It is a complex dynamic system that is formed by its watershed which is characterized by its hydrology, geology, terrain, land cover features, rainfall patterns and frequency and all the anthropogenic activities occurring in it. However, the INTERACTIONS and INTERDEPENDENCE of all these factors is often overlooked in developmental planning which create problems. Not a single river is currently managed by watershed approach in India. By interlinking the rivers of different watershed, the issues are going to become more complex and difficult to manage in future.

    In context of interlinking of rivers, some of the major factors to consider:

    • Pollution : In case of Ganga, frequent use of fertilizers and pesticides in the agriculture sector, is resulting in addition of a number of complex chemicals entering into our rivers and other water bodies. Again not much studies done on the impacts of these chemicals on health and environment. Some of them are even known to be carcinogenic. By linking such river to another river, we are only helping these chemicals to spread more in the environment. Similar fate can be expected for the highly toxic tanneries waste entering Ganga at Kanpur.
    • Self-purifying property : Again in case of Ganga, self-purifying property of the Ganga water is attributed to Bacteriophage present in the river, which makes this river different from other rivers. Not much studies done but research is being promoted in this direction. In the absence of enough knowledge base, such properties can be seriously impacted due to interlinking.
    • Sub surface flows : The water in the river involves both the surface flows as well as the sub surface flows connecting the ground water aquifers and other surface water bodies present in the watershed. There are not much studies or research done on these interactions. How is the interlinking going to impact these flows?
    • Sediment flux: Any hydromorphological alteration (dams/barrages) impacts the sediment transport by the rivers. These sediments play a significant role in fluvial dynamics and ecological processes, and provides nutrients that impact primary productivity, fisheries and coastal ecology.
    • Biodiversity : Many of such alterations such as barrages are already seriously affecting species like Gangetic dolphin (mostly near Narora Barrage, where dolphins often get stuck because of low water levels between barrages and have to be rescued) and Hilsa (migration pathways & breeding affected due to Farraka Barrage).
    • Invasive species : On linking any two rivers, there can be issues like invasion of fish species from one river to another which can have huge impacts on fisheries and the aquatic ecosystems.
    • Salinity Balance : In the coastal areas, where a river meets sea, mangroves and estuaries are sensitive to salinity of the water. Any change in the river flow (due to dams or diversions) will affect the amount of fresh water mixing with the salt water. Such variations in salinity can be hazardous to species dependent on mangroves and estuaries.

    And also Climate Change is going to impact the glacier melt, rainfall patterns, frequency and intensity of natural disasters, and many other factors which adds a lot of uncertainty to the river flows. Are these factors seriously considered in the project?

  18. I attended one workshop at IIRS,Dehradoon,Uttranchal,India on 18.02.2016.First lady Director IFS of FRI Forest Research Institute of India got the responsibility for clean Ganga Mission in India.The progress is very slow.There should be involvement of NGO in this mission.This is lacking in the Mission.Ashok Sansthan,NGO offer services to clean Ganga Mission.

  19. There is a fundamental and critical error in the concept of 'Linking India's Rivers'. Whilst issues of hydrology, hydraulics, ecology, and social interests are themselves highly complex and in this case grossly under-investigated, the prime fallacy inherent in this concept is expressed by that simple word in the title of the project – 'India's'.

    The Indus and Brahmaputra are NOT India's rivers! They are natural resources that are shared with other nations. Regarding the drainage flows from the Himalayan massif into the Indus as Indian property, to be allocated and diverted wherever might be most useful (for India) ignores the legal entitlement of the people of Pakistan to much of that water.

    Equally, flows down the Brahmaputra are NOT all available to India, merely because this great river flows through a few Km of Indian territory. The people of Bangladesh downstream are also almost entirely dependent on this source for their own survival.

    Such introspective planning is unfortunately not new in the region. The diversion of the Ganga into the Hoogly at Farakka, to preserve the hydraulics of that river and Kolkata Port, deprived south-western Bangladesh and part of the Sundarbanns of essential water and had devastating effects on the lower Ganga in Bangladesh. Remarkably, the EIA for the Farakka Barrage – at least the version disclosed to me - inexplicably failed to consider any downstream impacts whatever.

    The dilemma faced by India is quite simple here. If, as it appears to be assumed, India is entitled to abstract as much water as it decides that it needs from the Brahmaputra, regardless of the entitlement of Bangladesh, then precisely the same reasoning supports the view that China has just as much right to abstract water from the Brahmaputra before it reaches Indian territory.

    The issue of inter-basin transfers is complex when carried out entirely within the boundaries of sovereign states. When it broadens to multi-state territories, especially where geopolitical interests are in conflict, then the spectre of the long-predicted water wars emerges as an inevitable consequence.

    My qualifications for making this statement? Top-level scientific responsibility for environmental analysis in the Indus Basin Drainage Plan and the Bangladesh Flood Action Plan, and research on the impacts of the diversion of the Ganga at Farakka and of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, among many other similar projects.

    3 Comments

    2. With all the so much given as known, I still think that we should explore selective and by design (a) linking of increased capacity reservoirs and new reservoirs with River systems (b) Interlinking some tributary rivers with main river via reservoirs.. basically diversion of partial flows and with time lags and (c) Interlinking River systems via u/g aquifers recharges and (d) Diversion of fractional flows from one river to another river system

    3. IS IT NOT A FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT TAPPED EVEN WHAT LEGALLY IS AVAILABLE TO US FOR SIMPLE REASON THAT WE HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF EITHER AUGMENTING OUR SURFACE RESERVOIRS NOR RECHARGING OF U/G AQUIFERS AND DIVERSION OF SURFACE WATER INCLUDING RIVERS TO AUGMENT EACH OTHER'S FLOWS.

      POPULATION HAS GROEN MANY FOLD ANF FLOOD PLAINS OF RIVERS HAVE BEEN DIMINISHING AND TAPPING SURFACE RUN OFFS IS WHAT IS BUGGING ENVIRONMENTAKISTS ? MUCH CAN BE DONE IF TECHNICAL MINDS ARE OPEN.

  20. First of all, in order to invest such amount of money, one need to be sure about the following:

    1. source of funds/availability of funds

    2. source of water/availability of water for sharing, which means taking water away from areas of surplus to areas of deficit. This means, there has to a place from where water can be diverted without much social, ecological, environmental problems

    3. Technical as well as financial/socio-economic feasibility of the project or at least some sections of the project

    4. Environmental Impacts of the project, which will certainly have both positive and negative impacts

    5. Environmental Issues are generally created on the basis of some facts which are often linked to various other issues including politics, religion, history, culture and tradition, local values which generally have their meeting points but the identification of the actual meeting point requires rigorous exercise

    But, to me, the project looks good and worth implementing without loosing much time - start from the best section 

    1 Comment

  22. So much of Gravity Head is available that Pure Waters from J&K, H.P., UTTRAKHAND, U.P. and NE States can be PIPED to reservoirs in plains up to thousands of KM away ! Interconnection of River Systems can transform Agriculture in a major way.

    1 Comment

    1. Yes,So what is the problem to connect Indian Rivers together.If this happens our Country will Change.The villages of 98 districts will be flourished and more problems of other districts with shortage of water will be over.India .There will be trees ,Flowers,Birds,Animals,.The heat will be reduced.How beautiful and fertile our Country We have to work  for this Prosperety. 

       

  23. Ramkumar ... I think the problem is institutional not technical. The world has a great deal of technical knowledge about water quality and interconnectedness and management. The shortage I see is taking a creative, integrated approach to ecosystem management at the landscape scale. And that challenge is even more pronounced when the landscape is as huge as the Ganga. I see the solution (or progress toward one) as being capacity development at the watershed or catchment scale, with institutional development to draw together finer scale units.

    Answered on by

  24. Simple answer is that there is multiplicity of Authorities and no single authority who could be responsible and hence accountable for loss of Surface run offs, Floods, Drought relief, use of precious waters for exploitation and recharge of aquifers and for tapping surface waters from Lakes and River systems. Bureaucracy and Government, both do not have experienced technocrats and public opinion is fragmented across states and not integrated for national good.

  25. We've had 100 years of experience with some of the trade-offs here in California.  Issues include changing riverine, estuarine, and offshore food chain algal production and species composition increasing harmful algal blooms, changing zooplankton productivity through changing invasive species dominating the food chain, changing the fish community, particularly for anadramous species, and changing the abundance of birds and marine mammals that depend on those fish for food.

  26. There is a significant impact in implementing an inter-connection between those river systems. If you need more information maybe we could talk about it through skype or FT.