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Court asks for report on interlinking of rivers

By Our Legal Correspondent

New Delhi Jan. 6. The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to submit a status report by April 23 on the progress made so far in the project for interlinking of the country's major rivers by 2016.

A Bench, comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, gave this direction after the Attorney-General, Soli Sorabjee, submitted that a feasibility report regarding the peninsular component would be ready by March this year. The matter was then directed to be listed for further hearing in the last week of April. In its report filed in the court on the action taken so far by the Task Force under the chairmanship of the former Union Environment Minister, Suresh Prabhu, the Centre said that the Task Force had already identified 30 major links in the networking of rivers to minimise the devastation caused by floods and hardship caused by drought.

It said that the interlinking of rivers as envisaged by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) had two major components — Himalayan (14 links) and Peninsular (16 links). The Himalayan links required an understanding with neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Nepal. Two links in the peninsular component — Ken-Betwa and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal — could be implemented quickly and talks were already on with the State Governments concerned.

It was submitted that while Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had agreed for implementation of the project, talks were on with Uttar Pradesh and the Task Force was hopeful of arriving at a consensus and a feasibility report would be ready by March. The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad had been assigned the task of evolving an organisational structure for the implementation of the project, considering the time-frame, quantum of works, execution and available best possible options.

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