Context: Interlinking of rivers in India.The inter-link of rivers is a large-scale civil engineering project that aims to effectively manage water resources in India by linking Indian rivers. It aims to link rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals to enhance irrigation and groundwater recharge.The project will also reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of India.So how important is this project.
Availability of Water in India

• India receives an average rainfall of about 1170 mm which corresponds to an annual precipitation of about 4000 BCM (Billion Cubic Metre) including snowfall.
• However, there is considerable variation in rainfall both temporally and spatially.
• Nearly 75% of this i.e., 3000 BCM occurs during the monsoon season confined to 3 to 4 months (June to September) in a year.
• On the one side, there are surplus states like Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and on the other side, there are water scarce states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat.
• Also, some states that are called as water abundant states like Punjab, Haryana have their own problems.
• After accounting for evaporation, the average annual water availability in the country has been assessed as 1869 BCM.
• It has been estimated that owing to topographic, hydrological and other constraints, the utilizable water is 1123 BCM which comprises of 690 BCM of surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water resources.

The Difficulty of Water Management

• Less pre-monsoon rainfall and delay in monsoon combined with unprecedented heat make it difficult to control the supply of water in the country.
• The stress on water will increase with rise in population, in that case, managing the demand for water, will become difficult.

Is India facing a Water Emergency?

• India is now facing a water stressed situation. Globally, the standard for water-stress situation is 1700 cubic metres of availability of water per person. India, at present, is just below that.
• India is not yet facing that situation which is globally called as water-scarcity situation.
• At the time of independence, the availability of water in the country was around 5,000 cubic metre per capita per annum, higher than what was required then. Over the time, India has failed to develop that extra availability.

Currently, water resources in India are shrinking.

• The groundwater in most of the parts of northwestern India is now available at 100 metres below the ground. With the present rate of extraction, in future, the groundwater will be available at 200 or 300 meres below the ground.
• Level of water in the reservoirs is going down. At present, the 91 reservoirs that Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors, are around 19% of their life storage.

Recently, in some states, area under water intensive crops like rice and sugarcane has increased. This is linked with the procurement and pricing policy of the government. It so happens that owing to the higher production of such crops, the government offers several benefits; this tempts other farmers as well to grow such crops, thus creating a vicious circle.
Interlinking the Rivers

• The Interlinking River Project is a long term project. If one considers, the Ken-Betwa Linking project, the MoU was signed 20 years back and the groundwork on the project has not started yet.
• There always remains a lot of political opposition to the ‘Interlinking the Rivers’ project.
• Interlinking of rivers, also known as Inter-basin water transfer, has two components: The Himalayan and The Peninsular.
• The project aims to build 30 links and close to 3000 storages to connect 37 Himalayan and Peninsular rivers to form a gigantic South Asian water grid.

National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has already identified 14 links under Himalayan Rivers Component and 16 links under Peninsular Rivers Component for inter basin transfer of water based on field surveys and investigation and detailed studies.

• Under NPP four priority links have been identified for preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) under the Peninsular Rivers Component viz; Ken-Betwa link project (KBLP) Phase –I & II, Damanganga-Pinjal link project, Par-Tapi-Narmada link project and Mahanadi-Godavari link project.
• It is so that the northern states face the situation of flood at the time of monsoon and water is required by the southern states in the dry months. Whether the project will be able to solve this problem or not is a matter of concern.
• Interlinking the rivers has its own ecological disadvantages, like in the case of the Ken-Betwa project, half of the Panna Tiger Reserve will get submerged. Also, there will be huge displacement of people. The cost involved is quite high, this raises the questions over its usefulness.

Benefits of River Interlinking
There are many benefits that the proposed interlinking projects will bring about. They are discussed below:

• Interlinking rivers is a way to transfer excess water from the regions which receive a lot of rainfall to the areas that are drought-prone. This way, it can control both floods and droughts.
• This will also help solve the water crisis in many parts of the country. 
• The project will also help in hydropower generation. This project envisages the building of many dams and reservoirs. This can generate about 34000 MW of electricity if the whole project is executed.
• The project will help in dry weather flow augmentation. That is when there is a dry season, surplus water stored in the reservoirs can be released. This will enable a minimum amount of water flow in the rivers. This will greatly help in the control of pollution, in navigation, forests, fisheries, wildlife protection, etc.
• Indian agriculture is primarily monsoon-dependent. This leads to problems in agricultural output when the monsoons behave unexpectedly. This can be solved when irrigation facilities improve. The project will provide irrigation facilities in water-deficient places.
• The project will also help commercially because of the betterment of the inland waterways transport system. Moreover, the rural areas will have an alternate source of income in the form of fish farming, etc.
• The project will also augment the defence and security of the country through the additional waterline defence.

Challenges in River Interlinking

Despite the many benefits that are associated with the river interlinking project, the project is yet to take off because of the many hurdles it is facing. Some of the challenges in this regard are as follows:

• Project feasibility: The project is estimated to cost around Rs.5.6 lakh crores. Additionally, there is also the requirement of huge structures. All this requires a great engineering capacity. So, the cost and manpower requirement is immense.
• Environmental impact: The huge project will alter entire ecosystems. The wildlife, flora and fauna of the river systems will suffer because of such displacements and modifications. Many national parks and sanctuaries fall within the river systems. All these considerations will have to be taken care of while implementing the project. The project can reduce the flow of fresh water into the sea, thus affecting marine aquatic life.
• Impact on society: Building dams and reservoirs will cause the displacement of a lot of people. This will cause a lot of agony for a lot of people. They will have to be rehabilitated and adequately compensated.
• Controlling floods: Some people express doubts as to the capability of this project to control floods. Although theoretically, it is possible, India’s experience has been different. There have been instances where big dams like Hirakud Dam, Damodar Dam, etc. have brought flooding to Odisha, West Bengal, etc.
• Inter-state disputes: Many states like Kerala, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, etc. have opposed the river interlinking project. Read more on interstate river disputes in India at the linked article.
• International disputes: In the Himalayan component of the project, the effect of building dams and interlinking rivers will have an effect on the neighboring countries. This will have to be factored in while implementing the project. Bangladesh has opposed the transfer of water from the Brahmaputra to the Ganga.

Road Ahead

• The Government needs to holistically handle the supply as well as the demand side of water management and everybody in the society, i.e. the central government, the state governments (water, being the state subject), citizens, NGOs and companies need to come together to tackle water crisis in the country.