The project of Interlinking rivers in India is managed and handled by India’s National Water Development Agency, also known as the (NWDA) that is a part of the Union Ministry of Water Resources. 

The project is divided into three sections:

• A component that connects the rivers of the northern Himalayas
• A component of the southern Peninsular
• A component that connects intrastate rivers

Till now, NWDA has managed to review the River Linking Project In India details and created reports of upto 14 projects in the Himalayan component’s interlinking of rivers in India projects. And for the southern Peninsular component. 37 intrastate rivers linking project reports have been reviewed

Some major River-Linking projects include:

Damanganga: 

• The Pinjal Link Project is the name given to this River-Linking project. The National Water Development Authority of the Government of India proposed this project (NWDA)

• The main agenda of this project is to connect the river of Damang Ganga to Pinjal Reservoir, which is located on the Pinjal river to the south. After connecting it, the water will then divert to Mumbai

• In 2010, the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union of India signed a trilateral agreement. Furthermore, the Pinjal Link project was approved for implementation in January 2015

• The government intends to complete the entire project in nine years. According to 2015-16 figures, the cost of this project is around Rs 3,008 crores

Par-Tapi: 

• The Narmada Link Project is the name given to this project. The National Water Development Agency completed the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Par-Tapi-Narmada link project in August 2015. (NWDA)

• It was submitted to the Gujarat and Maharashtra governments. The primary goal of this multipurpose project is to meet irrigation needs.This project’s total cost is estimated to be Rs 10,211 crores (as per 2015-16)

Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga Link: 

• This link project was initiated as part of the Himalayan component of the National Perspective Plan (NPP). The basic concept behind this link is to divert excess water from the Sankosh and Manas rivers in order to control the flow of the Ganga at Farakka

• This will result in the transfer of water in water-stressed areas such as the Krishna, Cauvery, and Pennar basins. The reasoning behind this is to provide the best irrigation facilities possible

Mahanadi-Godavari Link Project:

• This is a link project based on one of the nine link system’s critical links. Under NPP, this includes MahanadiGodavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar

• The Ministry of Irrigation prepared this project in August 1980. The primary goal to link this project was to transfer the water to water stressed basins

• The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified atleast 30 links till date.

• There are 16 links in the Peninsular component and 14 in the Himalayan component. All the Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) have already been completed. Furthermore, they have been distributed to the relevant state authorities

Ken – Betwa Link Project: 

• The Indian government has designated the River Linking Project In India as a national project. It will also involve the dam construction on Ken river, which is also known as Karnavati in north-central India. This 22-kilometer (14-mile) canal connects the river to the shallow Betwa

• In the year of April 2015, there was the detailed proceedings and documentation of the hearing of the public under Ken Phase 1. Which were submitted to the Climate Change Authorities of Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control and the Ministry of Environment and Forests

• Clearances for this link project are currently in the advanced stages. This national River Linking Project In India project is about to be implemented by the government. Furthermore, it will be considered as part of the ILR programme

• After nearly 40 years of planning, the first River Linking Project In India , Ken-Betwa, could finally get underway. ShekhawatMinister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh Chief, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath signed an agreement to link the Ken and Betwa rivers

Intra-State Links: 

• 46 proposals have been received by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) from 9 states’ intra-state links. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Bihar are among them
• As of March 2015, NWDA had completed PreFeasibility Reports (PFRs) for 35 intra-state links out of a total of 46 proposals

List of Benefits involved:

• This will result in the addition of 35 million hectares of irrigation land
• It will increase irrigation potential from 140 million to 175 million hectares
• These projects will generate 34,000 megawatts of power
• Aside from the ones mentioned above, significant benefits will include navigation, water supply, salinity, flood control, and pollution control

Our country is progressing; we will soon become a developed country, which has been a long-held dream not only of our citizens but also of our prime ministers. If projects like these, River Linking Project In India are completed and implemented on time, the day will come when each of us will be able to see the benefits of our country’s progress and development.