Beyond Krishna and Godavari, Andhra Pradesh plans river-linking
Hyderabad: For years, Andhra Pradesh has grappled with an unusual problem: Water scarcity in some regions and water surplus in others.
All that could change now. On Monday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced a comprehensive blueprint for an integrated water grid to link major rivers across the state to address water scarcity concerns and improve irrigation systems.
Outlining the long-term vision, Naidu said the government planned to go beyond major rivers such as the Krishna and Godavari and link rivers in water-rich areas such as Srikakulam in northern Andhra Pradesh with drought-prone places such as Anantapur in the southern part of the state.
While the Godavari and the Krishna rivers were already linked in 2015 through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project, the current plan will also connect the tributaries of the Godavari and Krishna, as well as some major rivers in northern Andhra Pradesh.
The Pranahita, Indravati, Bhima, Pennar and Tungabhadra flow in the central and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, while the Vamsadhara, Nagavalli and Champavathi flow in the northern parts of the state.
Describing the water grid as a “game-changer”, Naidu said, “It (water grid) would transform the irrigation ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh and would ensure equitable water distribution, enhance agricultural productivity, and bring about water equity for all citizens of the state and across the country.”
The plan was announced at an event in Tadipatri constituency in Anantapur district, where Naidu unveiled a 100-day Jaladhara-Jalaharathi water conservation mission to irrigate the arid Rayalaseema regions. Jaladhara is a part of the larger water security mission in Andhra Pradesh.
At the event, the chief minister also launched a government mobile app to monitor the progress of irrigation projects and river-linking efforts to o distribute excess water.
Calling water the “elixir of life”, he said, “Wealth thrives where water flows. Conserving water is the backbone of the state’s economic development. Investments will land in the state only when there is water.”
The Jaladhara project also includes the construction of check dams, farm ponds, and micro-irrigation projects to improve groundwater levels.
The smaller projects are undertaken by the state using the irrigation department’s and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) funds.
However, the interlinking of rivers is undertaken jointly by states and the Centre, with the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) acting as nodal bodies, and public sector companies or private firms being roped in for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and infrastructure work.
The Government of India set up the NWDA in July 1982 under the Societies Registration Act 1860, under the Ministry of Water Resources.
Its key functions include preparing feasibility and detailed project reports of river-linking schemes for the development of both peninsular and Himalayan rivers.
Naidu recalled a discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the linking of rivers.
“When I spoke to the PM, he said intra-river linking, interlinking all the rivers in your (Andhra) state, then finally, it will be easy to link at the national level. We are working with that spirit,” Naidu said.
Also Read: In Andhra, 39 ad hoc workers win 11-yr fight for regularisation. What HC said on ‘idea of welfare state’
Andhra’s history of river linking
The idea of a national water grid for transferring water from water-rich regions to water-deficient areas was first suggested by Dr K.L. Rao in 1972, when he was minister for irrigation and power in the Indira Gandhi cabinet.
Rao, known as the Father of India’s Irrigation, was a civil engineer who designed many irrigation and hydroelectric projects. He was a Padma Bhushan awardee and a three-time Vijayawada MP.
He is credited with the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the world’s longest masonry dam on the Krishna in Guntur and Nalgonda districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
He also oversaw the Srisailam Dam, constructed across the Krishna on the border of Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts. It is the second-largest working hydroelectric station in the country.
Rao worked as a union minister in Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi’s cabinets.
He suggested a river-linking project that involved connecting two or more rivers through a network of man-made canals to provide water to areas without river water access.
Under the plan, excess water that otherwise flows into the sea is diverted landward through the canals, thereby ensuring that arid regions remain water-fed during summers and periods of drought.
In 2015-2016, Andhra Pradesh linked the Krishna and Godavari rivers through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project via the Polavaram right bank canal. This 174 km link enabled water transfer from Pattiseema (West Godavari) to the Prakasam Barrage (Vijayawada).
Linking the Krishna and Godavari rivers benefited farmers and reduced water shortages in the Krishna Delta.
Nearly seven lakh acres of the delta region were irrigated, and the linking enabled a judicious utilisation of water that would otherwise have flowed into the Bay of Bengal. The linking also helped check the water scarcity in the downstream regions of the Krishna basin and the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.
Since 1982, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has been entrusted with implementing the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) projects under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) prepared by the Ministry of Irrigation at the Centre in 1980.
The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation in August 1980 for transferring water from water surplus areas to water-deficient basins.
Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 links — 16 for peninsular rivers and 14 under Himalayan rivers — for the preparation of Feasibility Reports (FRs).
The Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) of all 30 links were circulated to the concerned state governments.
After a survey and investigations, FRs of 14 links under the Peninsular Component and FRs of two links and draft FRs of seven links under the Himalayan Component have been completed. Of these, nearly seven ILR projects involve Andhra Pradesh.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: A seat at the table—and beyond? Nara Lokesh’s dinner diplomacy earns praise, but also unsettles allies
