Monday, July 14, 2014

River linking only after consulting the concerned states governments

 The Union Government is pursuing the inter-linking of the rivers programme in a consultative manner with the States concerned and in accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter.

This was stated by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s allocation of Rs.100 crore in the Union Budget for interlinking of rivers has raised concerns in Kerala over the impact of the Pampa-Achencoil-Vaipar Link Project (PAVLP).

The proposed diversion of 634 million cubic metres of water from the Pampa and Achencoil rivers in Kerala to irrigate the Vaipar river basin in Tamil Nadu is fraught with long-term consequences for the water security of the Central Travancore region, the ecology of the Vembanad wetland system, and the sustainability of paddy farming in Kuttanad. In 2003, the Kerala Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to drop the PAVLP, terming it harmful to the State.

Five Peninsular links namely (i) Ken – Betwa, (ii) Parbati – Kalisindh – Chambal, (iii) Damanganga – Pinjal, (iv) Par – Tapi – Narmada & (v) Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) have been identified as priority links for preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).