Interlinking of Rivers
Context:
The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released an update on the progress, clearances, and funding of the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) programme.
National Perspective Plan (NPP):
The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 link projects under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) prepared in 1980
These are divided into two components:
Peninsular Component (16 link projects)
Himalayan Component (14 link projects)
Progress of Key Projects:
Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) Link:
This project was taken over by the Andhra Pradesh government and is part of the Polavaram Irrigation National Project.
Water connectivity in the link canal has been established
Five links have been designated as priority projects for implementation:
Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP)
only priority project under the NPP that has entered the implementation stage
Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) Link Project
Godavari-Cauvery Link Project
This link is comprising of three sub-links:
Godavari-Krishna
Krishna-Pennar
Pennar-Cauvery
Funding and Clearances:
The implementation of these projects requires statutory clearances from various agencies (including environmental and forest clearances)
The government is pursuing the consensus of concerned states for the implementation of the priority links.