Even before the Task Force on interlinking of rivers has begun its work, interested environmental and other groups have let loose a campaign of mis-information and disinformation against the proposal to solve the problem of regional imbalance of water availability in the country. One can accept issues of displacement and resettlement of people and their solutions as sensible, but it is difficult to entertain motivated opposition by vested interests to any project involving construction of irrigation-cum-power reservoirs or digging of canals to bring water to parched lands to enhance their productivity and quench people’s thirst.

The saving grace is that such interest groups, surviving on huge grants from Indian and foreign sources including governments, do not always succeed in scuttling projects, despite intervention of the courts, but only in delaying them, causing huge cost over-runs. Of course, one is inclined to disagree with the Supreme Court’s direction to complete the river linkages by 2016, because of the enormous construction work and resources involved. But, to dismiss the proposal as fanciful, impractical and violative of environmental and social norms betrays callous disregard for planning, for development and progress. Sceptics also allege that gigantism has cast an irresistible spell on the bureaucracy, the technocracy and our politicians all of whom stand to gain from public expenditure of the magnitude involved. If that is so, they stand to gain anyway, regardless of the size of the budget.

The country is fortunate because these vested interest groups were not so powerful when some of our best hydro-electric projects were constructed, such as, Bhakra, Damodar Valley, Krishna and Cauvery; otherwise we would still be importing food and remained infrastructurally backward for want of power. Who can deny that Punjab and Haryana have become the nation’s granaries because of the gigantic Bhakra project? We would have been forced to buy, beg or borrow food and import machinery for thermal or gas-fired power plants because of these groups , who have been made to believe by their donors that hydro-power is environment unfriendly, digging canals to carry water to arid areas causes displacement of people and must, therefore, the shunned. It is tragic that work on the ambitious Tehri and Sardar Sarovar projects has been stayed several times on one or the other ground, leading to cost escalation and delay in getting full benefits from them. These groups, on one hand, want the existing projects to be completed first but, on the other, cause interminable delay through court litigation, protests, the latest and dramatised version of which is called "Jal samadhi."

The Supreme Court deadline does not mean that interlinking of rivers must be pursued at breakneck speed and without proper evaluation, planning and cost-estimating. But, the work must begin and questions, such as generating resources and time-frame for execution can be settled later. Accordingly, the terms of reference of the Suresh Prabhu Task Force include coming up with a mechanism to help build a consensus among States (which are sometimes excessively assertive about their sovereignty), prioritise links, think of ways to generate the whopping Rs. 5,60,000 crore needed for the project and the mechanism for implementation. The facts of technical feasibility and resources must be reckoned with in practical terms to prevent its report meeting the fate of earlier reports, such as the Dr. K. L. Rao report on the Ganga-Cauvery link and Captain Dastur’s "Garland Canal", both of which were abandoned as fanciful and unworkable. Last year’s drought, which has caused a drop of 20 to 25 per cent in food grain and oilseeds production has, once again, highlighted the need to insulate the bulk of our agriculture against the vagaries of the monsoon and ensure irrigation when most needed from surplus waters, which are now wasted into the sea. With the population having crossed the one billion mark and its growth rate showing no sign of getting under control the country’s requirements of food, edible oils, drinking water and power will grow at mind-boggling speed. Not initiating action now to meet the fast growing demand will be catastrophic and suicidal in political, social and demographic terms. The ground water reserves are also fast depleting in the absence of recharging, which makes the picture still grimmer for the teeming millions, already hovering at the edge of starvation and malnutrition. Presently, 80 per cent of the water requirements for irrigation, which is a major consumer of fresh water, is met from ground water resources. It is, therefore, necessary to properly conserve and equitably distribute our ground water resources and fully utilise the surplus river waters which flow into the sea. As regards the misconceptions regarding the efficiency and desirability of inter-basic transfer of river waters, one should note that this is not a new idea. They have been carried out in the past with all-round benefits to the people of these areas and the country at large. The Beas-Sutlej Link, the Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, the Periyar-Vagai link and the Sardar Sarovar project, which entails a massive transfer from well-watered Chattisgarh to the arid wastes of Kutch at the Telugu-Ganga link are well-known success stories.

The Prabhu Task force need not start from scratch but should draw on the Water Resources Ministry’s National Perspective Plan for water resources development which envisages inter-linkages among peninsular rivers and Himalayan rivers. The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links under the Plan for preparation of feasibility reports and has completed six of them under the peninsular component. According to tentative estimates, the cost of implementation of identified inter-basin water transfer link schemes would be
Rs. 5,60,000 crore and the proposed diversion about 174 billion cubic metres. Prabhu also proposes to study China’s gigantic three gorges project involving river diversion for flood control, irrigation and power generation.

Regardless of what the so-called environmentalists say, inter-basic transfer is an outstanding example of effective and efficient management of water resources on the basis of need and equity. Before establishing the feasibility of any link, NWDA has meticulously studied the relevant ecological and environmental concerns to include all ameliorative and mitigating measures to keep the sustainability of the system intact. The task, no doubt, envisages construction of some new dams. The consequent displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement of project-affected people not only pose a challenge, but also offer an opportunity that should be countered with liberal and enlightened packages. As NWDA Director-General Prasad points out, the studies conducted are scientific and incorporate relevant data on surveys and investigations, geological, geophysical, geotechnical soil surveys of the command areas, appropriate cropping patterns, socio-and ecological impacts, including afforestation and compensatory afforestation. The sceptics point to certain mitigating factors that rule our planning on such a massive scale. Discord among States on water sharing is common, giving rise to litigation and delay. If water is to be moved from the Mahanadi to the Godavari and then to the Cauvery basin, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh must agree to the transfers. But if neither State agrees that a surplus exists in the two rivers, so where does the question of sharing arise? The issue can be settled by mutual discussion with the Centre’s assistance. But if some recalcitrant States, for political reasons, go against the national interest, then the Centre should assume over-riding authority through legislation in deciding the matter in a just manner. If this argument were taken too far, the National Power Grid involving transfer of power from the surplus to deficit states, would not have come into existence. Once the political roadblocks are cleared, the States will realise the substantial benefits accruing from such projects and enjoy them without hesitation.

No doubt, the proposed Brahmaputra-Ganga link project has an international aspect and Bangladesh’s consent is needed for its execution. Dhaka has turned down the earlier proposal of the link canal passing through Bangladesh territory. The government can still pursue the proposal with the proposed link canal passing through north-Bengal via Siliguri. Bangladesh will immensely benefit if surplus water from the Brahmaputra, which causes massive devastation during the rainy season, is diverted to India. .