India has 18% of the world’s population yet just 4% of the world’s useable water resources. The plan for river interlinking (ILR) can address not only water security issues, but also provide several additional benefits. However, there are other concerns related to river interconnection that must be addressed.

How it creates water and food security?

• Simultaneous floods and droughts wreak havoc on the country, destroying countless lives and livelihoods. Interconnecting rivers will guarantee that surplus water flows to deficit regions, resulting in flood management in surplus areas and drought control in deficit areas. It would promote more equality in water distribution by increasing water availability in drought-prone and rain-fed areas. Water will be shared between surplus and deficit areas, decreasing inequities in water supply.
• It is expected to irrigate around 87 million acres of cropland. This would minimise farmers’ reliance on monsoon rainfall by irrigating millions of hectares of cultivable land. This will not only assist farmers, but it will also aid in the reduction of agricultural stress.
• Interlinking will improve soil moisture and groundwater in the places it connects. This will result in increased crop yield and water availability. It will also improve soil quality.
• The linking of the rivers will revitalise many communities, allowing life to bloom around them. More biodiversity, including trees, plants, and animals, will flourish as a result of increased water availability. This will result in a thriving ecology.
• The river connection project would alleviate water scarcity in western and southern India while reducing the effects of recurring floods in eastern India. Meeting people’s water demands has a positive influence on their socioeconomic lives, which will aid in the abolition of poverty.

Government schemes

• The National River Linking Project (NRLP), formerly known as the National Perspective Plan, involves connecting 14 Himalayan rivers and 16 peninsular rivers with 30 canals and 3,000 reservoirs to construct a massive South Asian Water Grid.
  • The Ken-Betwa River Interlinking Project- The project entails moving water from the Ken river to the Betwa river via the Daudhan dam and a 221-kilometer canal connecting the two rivers. Both of these rivers are tributaries of the Yamuna River.

Issues

• Many people will lose their land and assets, which are their source of income. Starting over in a new location may be challenging for them. Many people may also struggle to find work and a career in their new area.
• The Shah committee stated that river connection will have an impact on the natural supply of nutrients for agricultural fields by reducing floods in downstream locations. Irrigation potential from interconnected rivers will also have a limited influence. The net national irrigated area from large dams has dropped, but India’s irrigated area has increased, owing mostly to groundwater.
• The river interconnection project will have a negative impact on land, forests, wildlife, rivers, and the livelihoods of millions of people. For this reason, land will be diverted, destroying the habitat of numerous species and threatening the environment. For example, the Ken-Betwa connection threatens over 200 square kilometres of the Panna Tiger Reserve. The interconnection of rivers would result in the loss of forests, wetlands, and local water bodies, all of which are important groundwater recharge mechanisms.
• Rivers often change course and direction every 100 years, and if this occurs after interlinking, the project will be unsustainable in the long term, wasting significant government resources.
• River interconnection is a costly project. It necessitates significant federal and state government spending. This will impose a budgetary burden on already indebted nations and result in a fiscal imbalance.
• People are displaced in large numbers as a result of it. The government faces a significant burden in dealing with the issue of displaced persons rehabilitation. Also, compensating them will be difficult and would add to the monetary load. It will also cause emotional and psychological hardship on the relocated communities.

For India, integrated water resource management is critical. Furthermore, reducing demand via effective use of existing water resources should be prioritised before making large-scale expenditures in river interlinking.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/budget-boost-for-river-linking-projects/article65080248.ece

How to structure

1. Give an intro about river interlinking
2. Explain how it can water security and food security. Use maps
3. Mention the challenges involved
4. Suggest possible measures and mention the schemes
5. Conclude