Dear Friends/Co-sailors,
The union cabinet is all set to OK inter-linking of Ken-Betwa rivers today. If this happens, then we can say that the beginning of the final doomsday for Indian Rivers has begun.
Let's strongly oppose this as River-Linking is not only socio-economically and politically disastrous but also ecologically devastating.
Please see the link to the news below and do the needful.
Thanks and regards,
Ranjan
The union cabinet is all set to OK inter-linking of Ken-Betwa rivers today. If this happens, then we can say that the beginning of the final doomsday for Indian Rivers has begun.
Let's strongly oppose this as River-Linking is not only socio-economically and politically disastrous but also ecologically devastating.
Please see the link to the news below and do the needful.
Thanks and regards,
Ranjan
Cabinet set to OK inter-linking of Ken-Betwa rivers today
SC had in Feb 2012 directed the Centre to effect river
inter-linking project.
NEW DELHI: After almost a decade of political objections and
green opposition, the cabinet on Thursday is likely to clear the ambitious
inter-linking of rivers project, beginning with the process of connecting the
Ken-Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh.
The Ken-Betwa river link is one of the 30 inter-linking
projects to be green lighted by the Supreme Court following a tripartite
memorandum of understanding signed between the water resources ministry and
chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The apex court had in February, 2012 directed the Centre to
implement the inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project in a time-bound manner and
appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementation.
The proposal has been given a fresh thrust by water
resources minister Harish Rawat and the government claims that on completion of
all 30 projects, water will be available for irrigating 35 million hectares,
generate hydro electricity to the tune of 34,000 MW and control floods in many
states.
Though initially mooted in 1982, the proposal was actively
taken by the NDA government but fell off the radar once UPA came to office. A
section of environmentalists opposed the project on the grounds that it is
unviable and the proposal also came to be seen as a NDA hobby horse.
Rawat, who has been keen on implementing the project at the
earliest ever since the Supreme Court had given its nod to it in 2012, will
bring the proposal before the Cabinet on Thursday.
"Since all the related matters including environmental
issues have already been resolved for the Ken-Betwa and couple of more
projects, the government's apex decision making body may not find it difficult
to give its go ahead on Thursday," said an official who is privy to the
details of the projects.
He said, "The move will see beginning of actual works
on the ground for linking Ken and Betwa rivers in early 2014." Though
nearly 8,650 hectare of forest land - including a part of the Panna National
Park — in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be submerged if the Ken-Betwa river
project is implemented, the MoU (signed in 2005) had factored in these issues.
The proposal is also meant for inter-linking of rivers in
Bihar and Maharashtra which will be taken up for implementation during the 12th
Five-Year Plan period.
So far, detailed project reports (DPR) comprising cost of
three out of 30 river-linking projects have been prepared. Though total cost of
all the river linking projects has been estimated at around Rs 5,60,000 crore,
the actual cost will be known only after the DPRs of all the 30 rive link
projects are drawn up.
The full ILR project has two components - the Peninsular and
the Himalayan. The Peninsular component - involving the rivers in southern
India - envisaged developing a 'Southern Water Grid' with 16 river linkages in
different states. This component included diversion of the surplus waters of
Mahanadi and Godavari to the Pennar, Krishna, Vaigai and Cauvery rivers.
The Himalayan component is finalized for building storage
reservoirs on the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their main tributaries both in
India and Nepal in order to conserve the waters during the monsoon for
irrigation and generation of hydro-power, besides checking floods.
The Himalayan component is comprised of 14 links including
Brahamputra-Ganga, Kosi-Ghagra, Kosi-Mech, Ghagra-Yamuna, Gandak-Ganga,
Yamuna-Rajasthan, Rajasthan-Sabarmati, Sarda-Yamuna, Farakka-Sunderbans,
Subernarekha-Mahanadi, and Ganga-Damodar-Subernarekha.
-
Vishwa Mohan & Dipak Kumar Dash,TNN | Jan 2,
2014, 01.15 AM IST
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