River-linking is not the solution

The Stanley Reservoir at Mettur in Salem opens sluice gates on September 1, 2026 for irrigation in the Cauvery delta districts. | Photo Credit: ANI The Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah’s speech at the Southern Zonal Council’s meeting last month in Mamallapuram has provided a few takeaways on the contentious issue of water sharing. His emphasis on the need for an early resolution of water-related issues in the southern region appears well meaning but it is easier said than done. He had also talked about linking major rivers from the Brahmaputra to the Godavari and the Cauvery, an option that, according to Mr. Shah, can ensure that India faces no water shortage for 100 years.However, water issues are not that easy to solve. This is evident from the Centre’s response to Tamil Nadu’s demand for the constitution of a tribunal to adjudicate the Pennaiyar river water dispute. Aggrieved over the “violation” of the 1892 inter-State agreement by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, in November 2019, requested the Centre to establish a tribunal. It had also moved the Supreme Court with the same demand. Since then, two negotiation committees have been formed and 11 meetings held. Eventually, the top court, this February, directed the Centre to form the tribunal within a month and, later, extended the deadline by six months.Still, the adjudicatory body is yet to be put in place. Meanwhile, the Centre asked the court whether the Pennaiyar dispute could be referred to the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal instead of constituting a new tribunal. This suggestion defies logic as there is nothing in common between the two disputes. Moreover, the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 does not permit it. This suggestion in the Pennaiyar case gives the impression that the Centre is not keen on expeditiously implementing a judicial verdict in an inter-State river dispute. To cite one more example, the Central government has not yet replied to Tamil Nadu’s demand, in March this year, to constitute a tribunal on the Mekedatu dam project proposed by Karnataka.A complex problemGiven this background, one need not delve much into the complications that would entail by the inter-linking of rivers. Proponents of river linking, including Tamil Nadu, have been saying that the idea is not to disturb the natural flow of any river but to divert a portion of the surplus water. Many experts are not convinced about this argument as they are worried that once the linking is allowed, regions that benefit may become vociferous in demanding water even in times of distress, eventually depriving original beneficiaries of their quota. This is apart from the concerns over the possible adverse consequences on ecology. In fact, Keralam has been stoutly opposing the Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar link proposal, which, if implemented, the State says, will affect the Vembanad wetland system, where the Pamba and Achankovil rivers drain. However, the National Water Development Agency says that it has accounted for improving the flow of rivers in lean periods.In the last 130-odd years, the country has seen only a handful of inter-basin transfer projects, most of which are in south India. The Mullaperiyar dam, the Parambikulam-Aliyar project, the Krishna Water Supply Project, and the Indira Gandhi Canal Project are regarded as successful examples of inter-basin transfer of river waters.After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s return to power in 2014, the Union government formed a Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers, which has held over two dozen meetings since then. Needless to say, there has not been much headway.However, in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the ₹44,000 crore Ken-Betwa Link Project. This has now led to agitations by the tribal populations in Chhatarpur.What the governments, both at the Centre and in States, and civil society should focus on is demand side management, instead of perpetually looking for supply side interventions. With land becoming scarcely available and resistance growing among people when it comes to land acquisition, the days of implementing mega irrigation projects are almost over. The priority has to be towards conserving what is available and using it judiciously. A massive programme of sensitising and incentivising farmers on the optimal use of water has to be launched. Indiscriminate extraction of groundwater, facilitated by schemes of free electricity for agriculture in many States, is paving the way for ecological disaster and has to be curbed immediately. Unless water conservation becomes the mantra of all the stakeholders and is practised genuinely, disputes will be the norm. Published - September 03, 2026 12:35 am IST