Inter Basin Water Transfer Link Project of India

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‘River-Linking Plan Not Abandoned’

BSS, NEW DELHI, October 7
New Age
Fri, October 08, 2004
 

Indian Water Resources Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi has told President APJ Abdul Kalam that the Congress-led UPA coalition government is committed to implementing inter-linking of South Asian rivers.

The highly controversial project, adopted by the immediate past BJP-led NDA government, plans to divert waters of international rivers, which if implemented would drastically affect the region's co-riparian countries, particularly the lower riparian Bangladesh.

The minister informed Kalam that the new Indian government would give priority to the south-bound peninsular rivers in the first phase of the project.

He also informed the president, an advocate of the project, that the Water Resources Ministry of India directed the National Water Development Agency to complete the full feasibility reports of 18-river links out of 30 by December next year.

Dasmunshi told him that the ministry also set up a technical group of engineers for working out a consensus plan on "priority links" by October 31.

The mega project, estimated to cost 5,60,000 crore Indian rupees, raised protests from India's neighbours, particularly Bangladesh, besides several Indian provinces as well as environmental groups, who consider it could spell disaster for the entire region.  

Source: New Age.

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