Interlinking of Indian Rivers: Pros and Cons and Environmental Concerns
From Doug Thompson
views
comments
Policy
By logging in and using this service, you agree to comply with Connecticut College Appropriate Use Policy. Faculty and staff must comply with the Employee Infringement of Copyright Policy and students must comply with the Student Infringement of Media Copyright Policy and the Honor Code.
Related Media
2009 (Presenter Prof. Kaggere Shivananjaiah Lokesh, Dept. of Environmental Engineering, S.J. College of Engineering, Mysore, Inida) - “Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” is the famous adage that suits well to the Indian water scenario. As the countries in the world are experiencing change in terms of development and improved quality of life (QoL), India is also undergoing such a change to bring in a good quality of life for its citizens.
By the turn of 2020, India dreams to achieve the status of a Developed Nation. For its dream to come true, there is a tremendous need of functioning infrastructure and resources such as water and power. It is in this direction that the country’s water resources need a relook to be managed effectively for their efficient usage and delivery. Though the country can boast of excellent water resources, currently they are poorly managed.
There is a tremendous pressure on water – sanitation and power sectors by the increasing population and industrial development. The reason being, water is a state subject and not a federal subject. The National Water Policy promulgated in 1987 clearly states that the water resources have to be used legitimately, protected and not exploited. It brings in also the water quality aspects, but most of the time not followed by the states or the agencies involved in the water sector.
To meet the increasing demands of water for various purposes, the government of India has envisioned a long term plan of interlinking Indian rivers. Though it is in right perspective, it has several critical issues to be addressed. They are the pros of interlinking, the consequences in terms of volume of water to be diverted, the number of projects to be designed and completed, land requirement, the time frame for completion, the displacement of human population, rehabilitation efforts etc. Over and above, there is a lot of concern with respect to environmental issues such as destruction of biodiversity, changing land use pattern, deforestation, pollution aspects, soil erosion and loss of fertility, damage to flora and fauna, flood and drought mitigation.
If the interlinking of rivers is taken seriously and implemented properly by considering the above aspects along with the political issues between the states and between the countries, the huge investments in terms of money (expected to cost over US $200 billion) will be justified then through long term benefits such as secured drinking water supply systems, food security through modern agricultural practices, power generation, navigational benefits, effectively controlled floods and droughts and improved quality of life.
This lecture was recorded at "Water Scarcity and Conflict," the Elizabeth Babbott Conant Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment at Connecticut College on April 3 and 4, 2009.
https://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/majors-and-minors/goodwin-niering-center-for-the-environment/conferences/water-scarcity--conflict/
- Tags
-