The Hindu : Peninsular rivers' development component reports by 2004

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 07, 2002

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National

Peninsular rivers' development component reports by 2004

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI NOV. 6. The National Water Development Agency (NWDA), a Central Government organisation working on inter-linking of rivers, has programmed to complete its feasibility reports on the peninsular rivers' development component by 2004.

Under the component for the peninsular rivers, the inter-linking of the Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery rivers, among others, has been envisaged. It also provides for connecting the smaller rivers in the region. Totally, the cost for this component is Rs. 1,85,000 crores.

At present, the feasibility report for the link of Krishna-Pennar (from the Nagarjunasagar dam to the Somasila dam, both in Andhra Pradesh) has been completed.

Work on another important link, Krishna (from the point of the Almatti dam in Karnataka) to Pennar, is under progress.

Topographical surveys for the preparation of feasibility reports on the link of Cauvery (Kattalai)-Vaigai-Gundar and Pennar (Somasila)-Cauvery(Grand Anicut in Tamil Nadu) have been completed while details on soil and geological conditions for the links are being collected by the NWDA, says a senior official in the Agency.

"The feasibility reports, on completion, will form the basis for the States concerned to come to an understanding, as water resource is a State subject", the official points out.

Concurrently, the Central agency is working on the Himalayan rivers' development, which broadly provides for the construction of storage reservoirs across the Ganga and the Brahmaputra in India, Nepal and Bhutan, apart from linking the Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the Ganga which, in turn, is to be linked to the Mahanadi.

The estimated cost for this component is Rs. 3,75,000 crores. Two senior water experts of Tamil Nadu have suggested changes in the proposed alignment of the inter-linking of Pennar-Cauvery.

Instead of transferring water from the Somasila dam to the Grand Anicut, they say it can be taken from the Almatti dam in Karnataka to Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu via Andhra Pradesh.

According to N. Natarajan, technical consultant to the Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association and former superintending engineer in the PWD, and K. Natarajan, former Chief Engineer (Groundwater) of the PWD, the transfer can be routed through the Tungabhadra and the Vada Pennar (north Pennar) in Andhra Pradesh and the Araniar, the Palar and the Then Pennar (south Pennar) in Tamil Nadu.

"This alignment will be more beneficial to Tamil Nadu than what has been suggested by the NWDA," Mr. N. Natarajan says.

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