Parliament Question: Delay in Implementation of River Linking Projects

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1907 ANSWERED ON 30.07.2026 DELAY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF RIVER LINKING PROJECTS 1907. Prof. SOUGATA RAY: Shri KISHORI LAL: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the reasons for the undue delay in the implementation of various river linking projects envisaged under the National Perspective Plan; (b) the details of river linking projects that are under implementation, under appraisal and at the planning stage along with their present status, estimated cost and the expected date of completion; (c) whether the Government has assessed the impact of such delays on irrigation potential, drinking water availability, flood moderation, drought mitigation and regional water security and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether any time-bound mechanism has been evolved to expedite pending river linking projects through consultation with the concerned States and other stakeholders and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to accelerate the implementation of river linking projects, ensure timely clearances, resolve inter-State issues and achieve equitable and sustainable water resource management across the country? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) Implementation of Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) projects requires consensus among the concerned States on issues relating to sharing of waters, land acquisition, rehabilitation & resettlement, environmental and statutory clearances and other local 1issues. As the process of arriving at such consensus involves consultations among multiple stakeholders, the implementation of these projects may take time. (b) Presently, works under the Ken–Betwa Link Project (KBLP) have commenced, with a completion target of 2030. The status of all 30 ILR projects identified under the NPP are placed at Annexure. (c) to (e) Planning of ILR projects is progressively refined at each stage of study— Pre-Feasibility Report, Feasibility Report and Detailed Project Report—in close consultation with the concerned States. Consensus building among party States remains the most critical requirement for any ILR project to reach the implementation stage. The Government of India is pursuing the ILR programme in a consultative manner and has accorded top priority to it. Concerted efforts have been undertaken at various levels to build the necessary consensus among States for implementation of ILR projects. A “Special Committee on Inter-linking of Rivers” was constituted in September 2014 to facilitate and monitor the ILR programme; 25 meetings of the Committee have been held so far with active participation of States. Further, a “Task Force for Inter-linking of Rivers” was constituted in April 2015 to expedite ILR-related works; 22 meetings of the Task Force have been held so far. In addition, the Annual General Meetings (AGM) of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), meetings of its Governing Body, and various negotiation meetings convened on different platforms both bilateral and multilateral, provide structured forums for States to deliberate on water sharing, technical parameters, project benefits, cost-sharing arrangements and other implementation-related issues. The implementation of ILR projects ultimately depends on the party States reaching consensus on water sharing and other project-related issues. The Government continues to engage with States and stakeholders through these institutional mechanisms to expedite pending ILR projects and advance the objectives of equitable and sustainable water resource management across the country. *** 2ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1907 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 30.07.2026 REGARDING “DELAY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF RIVER LINKING PROJECTS”. THE DETAILS OF RIVER LINKING PROJECTS WITH THEIR PRESENT STATUS: Peninsular Component Sl.No Name States benefited Status 1 Mahanadi (Manibhadra) - Godavari Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Feasibility Report completed (Dowlaiswaram) link Odisha Alternate Mahanadi (Barmul)- Rushikulya–AP and Odisha Feasibility Report completed Godavari Dowlaiswaram) link 2 Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna AP, Karnataka, Feasibility Report completed (Vijayawada) link @ Maharashtra and Telangana 3 a.) Godavari (Inchampalli) - Krishna Telangana Feasibility Report completed (Nagarjunasagar) link b.) Alternate Godavari (Inchampalli) - DPR completed Telangana Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link * 4 Godavari (Inchampalli/ SSMPP) - Krishna Telangana and AP DPR completed (Pulichintala) link 5 a.) Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar AP Feasibility Report completed (Somasila ) link b.)Alternate Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - DPR completed AP Pennar (Somasila ) link * 6 Krishna (Srisailam) – Pennar link AP DPR Completed 7 Krishna (Almatti) – Pennar link Karnataka &AP DPR completed 8 a.) Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery (Grand AP, Tamil Nadu and Feasibility Report completed Anicut) link Puducherry b.) Alternate Pennar (Somasila) - Cauvery AP, Tamil Nadu and (Grand Anicut) link * Puducherry DPR completed 9 Cauvery (Kattalai) - Vaigai -Gundar link Tamil Nadu DPR completed 10 a) Parbati –Kalisindh - Chambal link Madhya Pradesh (MP) Feasibility Report completed and Rajasthan b) Modified Parbati – Kalisindh-Chambal MP and Rajasthan MoA for implementation has link been signed by both the States 11 Damanganga - Pinjal link Maharashtra (only water DPR completed and dropped supply to Mumbai) from status of “priority links” 12 Par-Tapi-Narmada link Gujarat and Maharashtra DPR completed and dropped from status of “priority links” 13 Ken-Betwa link Uttar Pradesh (UP) and DPR completed and project is MP under implementation 14 Pamba - Achankovil - Vaippar link Tamil Nadu and Kerala Feasibility Report completed 15 Bedti - Varda link @@ Karnataka DPR completed 16 Netravati – Hemavati link** Karnataka Pre-Feasibility Report completed 3* Due to pending consensus on Manibhadra and Inchampalli dams, Phase-I of Project to divert unutilized waters of Godavari river, Study was carried out and DPR of Godavari (Inchampalli) – Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) - Pennar (Somasila) – Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link projects (combined) called as Godavari- Cauvery link was completed. The report has further been updated terminating the link canal at Manimukhtanadi, a Tributary of Vellar river flowing adjacent to Cauvery basin. @@ Bedti – Varda Link - DPR was prepared directly after preparation of its PFR, no FR was prepared. @ Godavari (Polavaram) - Krishna (Vijayawada) Link- the project has been taken up by Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and is under execution by Polavaram Project Authority. ** Netravati – Hemavati link: Further studies not taken up after PFR preparation since after implementation of Yettinahole project by Govt. of Karnataka, no surplus water is available in Netravati basin for diversion through this link. Himalayan Component Sl.No Name States/Countries benefited Status 1. Kosi-Mechi link Bihar and Nepal PFR completed 2. Kosi-Ghaghra link Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Feasibility Report completed and Nepal 3. Gandak - Ganga link UP and Nepal Feasibility Report completed 4. Ghaghra - Yamuna link UP and Nepal Feasibility Report completed 5. Sarda - Yamuna link UP and Uttarakhand Feasibility Report completed 6. Yamuna-Rajasthan link Haryana and Rajasthan Feasibility Report completed 7. Rajasthan-Sabarmati link Rajasthan and Gujarat Feasibility Report completed 8. Chunar - Sone Barrage link Bihar and UP Feasibility Report completed 9. Sone Dam - Southern Tributaries of Bihar and Jharkhand Draft FR completed Ganga link 10. Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga (M-S-Assam, West Bengal and Feasibility Report completed T-G) link Bihar 11. Jogighopa-Tista-Farakka link Assam, WB and Bihar PFR completed (Alternative to M-S-T-G) (The proposal has been dropped) 12. Farakka-Sundarbans link WB Feasibility Report completed 13. Ganga (Farakka) - Damodar-WB, Odisha and Jharkhand Feasibility Report completed Subarnarekha link 14. Subarnarekha-Mahanadi link WB and Odisha Feasibility Report completed ***** 4