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“Political leadership has to evolve consensus on river linking”

PUDUCHERRY: “Now the ball is in the political leadership’s court and it has to evolve a consensus among the States so that detailed project reports on the implementation of river linkage projects can be taken up,” Anil Kumar Sharda, Director, National Water Development Agency, said on Wednesday.

At a press conference on the eve of the two-day 12th National Water Convention, which will begin on Thursday, Mr. Sharda said the Agency had fulfilled its “limited mandate” of looking into the feasibility of the national perspective plan on inter-linking of rivers.

“We have gone into the technical aspect and found out that these links are feasible. The next step is evolving a consensus among the States concerned. ” After detailed project reports were prepared, the question of funds allocation for the projects would be decided, he said.

At present, only one detailed project report was being prepared. That was for linking the Ken and Betwa rivers, for which the Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had signed a memorandum of understanding, he said.

In the next two or three months, the Agency would come to some conclusion on more such projects.

Mr. Sharda said the inter-linking of rivers had two components: the Himalayan component and the peninsular component. The second one would be easier to implement, as all the river sites were in India. “This [peninsular] component is not that expensive, as no link is independent.” The project could be taken up at a faster pace if the political leadership clinched a consensus.

The river-linking projects needed huge investment, but the amount would be spent in phases, spread over three-four decades.

Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz will preside over the conference.

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