Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Divergent views on river networking project

Staff Reporter

Interactive session focuses on community participation in promoting conservation

CHENNAI : Representatives from non-governmental organisations in various states discussed the pros and cons of interlinking of rivers at a consultation organised by the Southern Regional Collective Forms of Cooperation here on Friday.

Experts deliberated on whether the project would be feasible and a sustainable solution to meet the growing demands.

S. Janakarajan, professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, said that the massive project with a financial estimate of Rs. 5.6 lakh crores was not feasible from the viewpoints of cost, environmental safety and land acquisition. "Even in the case of flood control, the interlinking channels can carry away only two to three per cent of the flood waters," he said. Further, States would have surplus water only for about one-third of the year and there was no consensus on water sharing.

Another disturbing aspect was the number of people it would displace. He felt decentralised and localised options would work better to meet water needs.

A.C.Kamaraj of the National Waterways Development Council argued for the project. He said that the money invested in the project could be easily reclaimed through its benefits towards irrigation, navigation, hydropower and fisheries development. Only surplus water would be shared and, hence, upstream States should not fear that they would lose their water resources.

Water expert R.K.Sivanappan stressed that massive projects such as desalination and river linking should be thought of only after exploring all traditional water conservation and harnessing methods. An interactive session explored ideas on community participation and the role of water user associations to promote conservation.

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