National Water Policy is formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources of the Government of India to govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum utilization. The first National Water Policy was adopted in September, 1987. It was reviewed and updated in 2002 and later in 2012.
98-414: India accounts for 18% of the world population and about 4% of the world’s water resources. One of the solutions to solve the country’s water woes is to create Indian Rivers Inter-link .c India has been successful in creating live water storage capacity of about 253 billion cubic meter(BCM) so far. In a first, the ecological needs of river have also been taken into consideration. The major provisions under
196-606: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) lodged in the year 2002, the Supreme Court (SC) refused to give any direction for implementation of the Rivers Interlinking Project. SC stated that it involves policy decisions which are part of legislative competence of state and central governments. However, SC directed the Ministry of Water Resources to constitute an experts committee, the 'Special Committee on ILR' (SC ILR), to pursue
294-419: A costly proposition in ecological, geological, hydrological and economical terms, but in the long run the net benefits coming from it will far outweigh these costs or losses. However, they suggest that there is a lack of an international legal framework for the projects India is proposing. In at least some inter-link projects, neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh may be affected, and international concerns for
392-446: A decrease below the minimum leading to direct danger for amphibian life), increased pollution of surface water , the drying out of wetlands , more and larger wildfires , higher deflation intensity, loss of biodiversity , worse health of trees and the appearance of pests and dendroid diseases. Drought-induced mortality of trees lacks in most climate models in their representation of forests as land carbon sink . Economic losses as
490-458: A demand-supply gap, that only worsens with India's rising population. Proponents claim the answers to India's water problem is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in reservoirs, and use this water in areas which have occasional inadequate rainfall, or are known to be drought-prone or in those times of the year when water supplies become scarce. In a 2007 article the authors claim inter-linking of rivers to initially appear to be
588-823: A demand–supply gap that has been worsening with India's rising population. Proponents of the river interlinking projects claim the answer to India's water problem is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in reservoirs, and deliver this water—using the planned project—to areas and over times when water becomes scarce. Beyond water security , the project is also seen to offer potential benefits to transport infrastructure through navigation and hydro power as well as broadening income sources in rural areas through fish farming . Opponents are concerned about well-known environmental, ecological, and social displacement impacts as well as unknown risks associated with tinkering with nature. Others are concerned that some projects may have international impacts. A proposal regarding
686-487: A diverse climate, ranging from hot, dry regions to cooler, wetter highland regions. The region has considerable variability in seasonal rainfall and a very complex topography. In the northern parts of the region within the Nile basin (Ethiopia, Sudan), the rainfall is characterized by an unimodal cycle with a wet season from July to September. The rest of the region has a bimodal annual cycle, featuring long rains from March to May and
784-562: A drought developing, with subsequent increased wildfire risks. Heat waves can significantly worsen drought conditions by increasing evapotranspiration . This dries out forests and other vegetation, and increases the amount of fuel for wildfires. Drought is a recurring feature of the climate in most parts of the world, becoming more extreme and less predictable due to climate change , which dendrochronological studies date back to 1900. There are three kinds of drought effects, environmental, economic and social. Environmental effects include
882-434: A factor which increases the gap between developed and developing countries . Effects vary according to vulnerability. For example, subsistence farmers are more likely to migrate during drought because they do not have alternative food-sources. Areas with populations that depend on water sources as a major food-source are more vulnerable to famine. Further examples of social and health consequences include: Wind erosion
980-526: A fraction of that land is irrigated, and most irrigation relies on monsoon. River interlinking is claimed to be a possible means of assured and better irrigation for more farmers, and thus better food security for a growing population. In a tropical country like India with high evapotranspiration , food security can be achieved with water security which in turn is achieved with energy security to pump water to uplands from water surplus lower elevation river points up to sea level. When sufficient salt export
1078-425: A growing population, and large impoverished rural population that relies on monsoon-irrigated agriculture. Weather uncertainties, and potential climate change induced weather volatilities, raise concerns of social stability and impact of floods and droughts on rural poverty. The population of India is expected to grow further at a decelerating pace and stabilize around 1.5 billion by 2050, or another 300 million people –
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#17330923939711176-498: A high level of reflected sunlight and above average prevalence of high pressure systems , winds carrying continental, rather than oceanic air masses, and ridges of high pressure areas aloft can prevent or restrict the developing of thunderstorm activity or rainfall over one certain region. Once a region is within drought, feedback mechanisms such as local arid air, hot conditions which can promote warm core ridging, and minimal evapotranspiration can worsen drought conditions. Within
1274-434: A longer duration. Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice. Droughts occur mainly in areas where normal levels of rainfall are, in themselves, low. If these factors do not support precipitation volumes sufficiently to reach the surface over a sufficient time, the result is a drought. Drought can be triggered by
1372-461: A multi-agency partnership, drought is generally defined as "a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage". The National Weather Service office of the NOAA defines drought as "a deficiency of moisture that results in adverse impacts on people, animals, or vegetation over a sizeable area". Drought is a complex phenomenon − relating to
1470-427: A network of reservoirs and canals to enhance irrigation and groundwater recharge and reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of the country. India accounts for 18% of global population and about 4% of the world's water resources . One of the solutions to solve the country's water woes is to link its rivers and lakes. The interlinking project has been split into three parts:
1568-616: A northern Himalayan rivers interlink component, a southern peninsular component, and starting in 2005, an intrastate river-linking component. The project is being managed by India's National Water Development Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Jal Shakti . NWDA has studied and prepared reports on 14 interlink projects for the Himalayan component, 16 for the peninsular component, and 37 intrastate river-linking projects. Average rainfall in India
1666-606: A result of droughts include lower agricultural, forests, game and fishing output, higher food-production costs, lower energy-production levels in hydro plants, losses caused by depleted water tourism and transport revenue, problems with water supply for the energy sector and for technological processes in metallurgy, mining, the chemical, paper, wood, foodstuff industries etc., disruption of water supplies for municipal economies. Further examples of common environmental and economic consequences of drought include: Droughts can cause land degradation and loss of soil moisture, resulting in
1764-549: A result. This means even regions where overall rainfall is expected to remain relatively stable will experience these impacts. These regions include central and northern Europe. Without climate change mitigation, around one third of land areas are likely to experience moderate or more severe drought by 2100. Due to global warming droughts are more frequent and intense than in the past. Human activity can directly trigger exacerbating factors such as over-farming, excessive irrigation , deforestation , and erosion adversely impact
1862-646: A significant role in drought. ENSO comprises two patterns of temperature anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean , known as La Niña and El Niño . La Niña events are generally associated with drier and hotter conditions and further exacerbation of drought in California and the Southwestern United States , and to some extent the U.S. Southeast . Meteorological scientists have observed that La Niñas have become more frequent over time. Conversely, during El Niño events, drier and hotter weather occurs in parts of
1960-570: A single dataset can be limiting, as it may not capture the full spectrum of drought characteristics and impacts. Careful monitoring of moisture levels can also help predict increased risk for wildfires. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective , stratiform , and orographic rainfall. Convective processes involve strong vertical motions that can cause the overturning of the atmosphere in that location within an hour and cause heavy precipitation, while stratiform processes involve weaker upward motions and less intense precipitation over
2058-666: A water supply crisis across much of the country. As a result, many desalination plants were built for the first time ( see list ). By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback . A 2005 study by Australian and American researchers investigated the desertification of the interior, and suggested that one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia. In June 2008 it became known that an expert panel had warned of long term, maybe irreversible, severe ecological damage for
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#17330923939712156-496: A widespread blanket deposit that covers areas of hundreds of square kilometers and tens of meters thick. Loess often stands in either steep or vertical faces. Loess tends to develop into highly rich soils. Under appropriate climatic conditions, areas with loess are among the most agriculturally productive in the world. Loess deposits are geologically unstable by nature, and will erode very readily. Therefore, windbreaks (such as big trees and bushes) are often planted by farmers to reduce
2254-485: Is a scarce commodity and several basins such as Cauvery, Yamuna, Sutlej, Ravi and other smaller inter-State/intra-State rivers are short of water. 99 districts of the country are classified as drought prone, an area of about 40 million hectare is prone to recurring floods. The inter-link project is expected to help reduce the scale of this suffering and associated losses. The National Perspective Plan comprised, starting 1980s, of two main components: An intrastate component
2352-481: Is a serious problem for the country. The nation sees cycles of drought years and flood years, with large parts of the west and south experiencing more deficits and large variations, resulting in immense hardship, particularly for the poorest farmers and rural populations. Lack of irrigation water regionally leads to crop failures and farmer suicides . Despite abundant rains during July–September, some regions in other seasons see shortages of drinking water. Some years,
2450-426: Is a similar concept to water scarcity . The different categories of droughts have different causes but similar effects: Several indices have been defined to quantify and monitor drought at different spatial and temporal scales. A key property of drought indices is their spatial comparability, and they must be statistically robust. Drought indices include: High-resolution drought information helps to better assess
2548-538: Is about 4,000 billion cubic metres, but most of the country's rainfall falls over a 4-month period —June through September. Furthermore, rain across the large nation is not uniform, with the east and north getting most rainfall and the west and south getting less. India also sees years of excess monsoons and floods, followed by below-average or late monsoons accompanied by droughts. This geographical and time variance in availability of natural water versus year-round demand for irrigation, drinking, and industrial water creates
2646-453: Is also negatively effected by drought stress, the reduction in crop yield results from a decrease in photosynthetic rate, changes in leaf development, and altered allocation of resources all due to drought stress. Crop plants exposed to drought stress suffer from reductions in leaf water potential and transpiration rate. Water-use efficiency increases in crops such as wheat while decreasing in others, such as potatoes. Plants need water for
2744-441: Is being criticized from various quarters. The policy also does away with the priorities for water allocation mentioned in 1987 and 2002 versions of the policy. The policy was adopted with a disapproval from many states. Indian Rivers Inter-link The Indian rivers interlinking project is a proposed large-scale civil engineering project that aims to effectively manage water resources in India by linking rivers using
2842-455: Is divided in four major parts. This component will irrigate an additional 25 million hectares by surface waters, 10 million hectares by increased use of ground waters and generate hydro power, apart from benefits of improved flood control and regional navigation. The main part of the project would send water from the eastern part of India to the south and west. The southern development project (Phase I) would consist of four main parts. First,
2940-477: Is estimated at 1,869 billion cubic meters. Of this, for topological and other reasons, only about 690 billion cubic meter of the available surface water can be utilised for irrigation, industrial, drinking and ground water replenishment purposes. In other words, about 1,100 billion cubic meter of water is available, on average, every year for irrigation in India. This amount of water is adequate for irrigating 140 million hectares. As of 2007, about 60% of this potential
3038-477: Is insufficient rainfall to support vegetation. Drought is one of the most complex and major natural hazards , and it has devastating impacts on the environment, economy, water resources, agriculture, and society worldwide. One can divide the impacts of droughts and water shortages into three groups: environmental, economic and social (including health). Environmental effects of droughts include: lower surface and subterranean water-levels, lower flow-levels (with
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3136-488: Is much more severe in arid areas and during times of drought. For example, in the Great Plains , it is estimated that soil loss due to wind erosion can be as much as 6100 times greater in drought years than in wet years. Loess is a homogeneous, typically nonstratified, porous, friable , slightly coherent, often calcareous, fine-grained, silty , pale yellow or buff, windblown ( Aeolian ) sediment . It generally occurs as
3234-431: Is not an intrastate project). The States Government of Bihar proposed 6 inter-linking projects, Maharashtra 20 projects, Gujarat 1 project, Orissa 3 projects, Rajasthan 2 projects, Jharkhand 3 projects and Tamil Nadu proposed 1 inter-linking proposal between rivers inside their respective territories. Since 2005, NWDA completed feasibility studies on the projects, found 1 project infeasible, 20 projects as feasible, 1 project
3332-694: Is not running out of water but water is running out of India. The rivers inter-linking feasibility reports completed by 2013, suggest the following investment needs and potential economic impact: The cost conversion in US $ is at latest conversion price on the historical cost estimates in Indian rupees Some activists and scholars have, between 2002 and 2008, questioned the merits of Indian rivers inter-link projects, and questioned if appropriate study of benefits and risks to environment and ecology has been completed so far. Bandyopadhyay et al. claim there are knowledge gaps between
3430-486: Is not taking place from a river basin to the sea in an attempt to harness the river water fully, it leads to river basin closure, and the available water in the downstream area of the river basin closer to the sea becomes saline and/ or alkaline water . Land irrigated with saline or alkaline water gradually turns into saline or alkali soils . The water percolation in alkali soils is very poor leading to waterlogging problems. Proliferation of alkali soils would compel
3528-473: Is received during summer months through monsoons in the Himalayan catchments of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin. The northeastern region of the country receives heavy precipitation, in comparison with the northwestern, western and southern parts. The uncertainty of the start date of the monsoons, sometimes marked by prolonged dry spells and fluctuations in seasonal and annual rainfall
3626-410: Is related to low runoff, streamflow, and reservoir and groundwater storage. An agricultural or ecological drought is causing plant stress from a combination of evaporation and low soil moisture . Some organizations add another category: socioeconomic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply. The socioeconomic drought
3724-488: Is the heterogeneous distribution of hydrologic extremes in space and time. For instance, El Niño can cause droughts in one part of the region and floods in the other. This is also a common situation within a country, e.g., in Ethiopia. The recent years with consecutive droughts followed by floods are a testament to the need to better forecast these kinds of events and their impacts. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in
3822-1056: The Amazon River Basin, Colombia , and Central America . Winters during the El Niño are warmer and drier than average conditions in the Northwest, northern Midwest, and northern Mideast United States, so those regions experience reduced snowfalls. Conditions are also drier than normal from December to February in south-central Africa, mainly in Zambia , Zimbabwe , Mozambique , and Botswana . Direct effects of El Niño resulting in drier conditions occur in parts of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia , increasing bush fires , worsening haze , and decreasing air quality dramatically. Drier-than-normal conditions are also in general observed in Queensland , inland Victoria , inland New South Wales , and eastern Tasmania from June to August. As warm water spreads from
3920-519: The Amazon basin , Australia , the Sahel region and India . For example, in 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in 100 years. Australia could experience more severe droughts and they could become more frequent in the future, a government-commissioned report said on July 6, 2008. The long Australian Millennial drought broke in 2010. The 2020–2022 Horn of Africa drought has surpassed
4018-579: The Mahanadi , Godavari . Krishna and Kaveri rivers would all be inter-linked by canals. Reservoirs and dams would be built along the course of these rivers. These would be used to transfer surplus water from the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the south of India. Under Phase II, some rivers that flow west to the north of Mumbai and the south of Tapi would be inter-linked. The water would supply additional drinking water needs of Mumbai and provide irrigation in
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4116-399: The drainage basin of the Himalayan rivers. India , China , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades. More than 150 districts in India are drought vulnerable, mostly concentrated in the state of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and its adjoining Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, northern Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra of
4214-586: The 1970s, Dr. K.L. Rao , a dams designer and former irrigation minister proposed "National Water Grid". He was concerned about the severe shortages of water in the South and repetitive flooding in the North every year. He suggested that the Brahmaputra and Ganga basins are water surplus areas, and central and south India as water deficit areas. He proposed that surplus water be diverted to areas of deficit. When Rao made
4312-650: The Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. The Scheme will benefit not only the States in the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin, but also Nepal and Bangladesh, assuming river flow management treaties are successfully negotiated. The Himalayan component would consist of a series of dams built along the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan for the purposes of storage. Canals would be built to transfer surplus water from
4410-874: The Godavari in Andhra Pradesh through rivers like Teesta - Mahananda - Subarnarekha and Mahanadi. The inter-links under consideration for Peninsular component are as follows, with respective status of feasibility studies: India approved and commissioned NWDA in June 2005 to identify and complete feasibility studies of intra-State projects that would inter-link rivers within that state. The Governments of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Sikkim, Haryana, Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar islands, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep responded that they have no intrastate river connecting proposals. Govt. of Puducherry proposed Pennaiyar – Sankarabarani link (even though it
4508-508: The Horn of Africa during the period 2020–2023 leading to the third longest and most widespread drought on record with dire implications for food security (see Horn of Africa drought (2020–present) ). Conversely, other parts experienced extreme floods, e.g., the 2020 East Africa floods in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda, and the 2022 floods in South Sudan. A key feature in the region
4606-510: The United States, South–North Water Transfer Project in China , etc. Drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy . Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of
4704-478: The ability of the land to capture and hold water. In arid climates, the main source of erosion is wind. Erosion can be the result of material movement by the wind. The wind can cause small particles to be lifted and therefore moved to another region (deflation). Suspended particles within the wind may impact on solid objects causing erosion by abrasion (ecological succession). Wind erosion generally occurs in areas with little or no vegetation, often in areas where there
4802-526: The absence of water − which is difficult to monitor and define. By the early 1980s, over 150 definitions of "drought" had already been published. The range of definitions reflects differences in regions, needs, and disciplinary approaches. There are three major categories of drought based on where in the water cycle the moisture deficit occurs: meteorological drought, hydrological drought, and agricultural or ecological drought. A meteorological drought occurs due to lack of precipitation . A hydrological drought
4900-407: The claimed benefits and potential threats from environment and ecological impact. They also question whether the inter-linking project will deliver the benefits of flood control . Vaidyanathan claimed, in 2003, that there are uncertainty and unknowns about operations, how much water will be shifted and when, whether this may cause water logging, salinity/alkalinity and the resulting desertification in
4998-555: The coastal areas of Maharashtra . In Phase 3, the Ken and Chambal rivers would be inter-linked to serve regional water needs of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh . Over Phase 4, a number of west-flowing rivers in the Western Ghats , would be inter-linked for irrigation purposes to east flowing rivers such as Kaveri and Krishna. The 800-km long Mahanadi - Godavari interlinking project would link River Sankosh originating from Bhutan to
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#17330923939715096-496: The command areas of these projects. Other scholars have asked whether there are other technologies to address the cycle of droughts and flood havoc's, with less uncertainties about potential environmental and ecological impact. Rivers may change their courses every (approximately) 100 years, so the interlinking may not be useful after 100 years. Interlinking may also lead to deforestation and cause ecological imbalances, widely expected to alter fish communities. A study concluded that
5194-448: The destruction of cropland productivity. This can result in diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock . Drought in combination with high levels of grazing pressure can function as the tipping point for an ecosystem, causing woody encroachment . Water stress affects plant development and quality in a variety of ways: firstly drought can cause poor germination and impaired seedling development. At
5292-482: The development of the rivers of the sub-continent, each state of India, as well as its international neighbours stand to gain by way of additional irrigation, hydro power generation, navigation and flood control. The project may also contribute to food security to the anticipated population peak of India. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is a major international drainage basin which carries more than 1,000 million acre feet out of total 1440 million acre feet in India. Water
5390-421: The drying of wetlands , more and larger wildfires, loss of biodiversity . Economic impacts of drought result due to negative disruptions to agriculture and livestock farming (causing food insecurity ), forestry, public water supplies , maritime navigation (due to e.g.: lower water levels), electric power supply (by affecting hydropower systems) and impacts on human health. Social and health costs include
5488-515: The eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the west. This is expected to contribute to flood control measures in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins. It could also provide excess water for the Farakka Barrage to flush out the silt at the port of Kolkata . By 2015, fourteen inter-links under consideration for Himalayan component are as follows, with feasibility study status identified: This Scheme
5586-435: The farmers to cultivate rice or grasses only as the soil productivity is poor with other crops and tree plantations . Cotton is the preferred crop in saline soils compared to many other crops. Interlinking water surplus rivers with water deficit rivers is needed for the long-term sustainable productivity of the river basins and for mitigating the anthropogenic influences on the rivers by allowing adequate salt export to
5684-410: The gravity open canal links with shortest distance and cost effective manner. BJP -led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had propagated the idea of interlinking of rivers to deal with the problem of drought and different parts of the country at the same time. The Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said in 2009 that the entire idea of interlinking of rivers was dangerous and that he
5782-459: The health of people who are directly exposed to this phenomenon (excessive heat waves ). Droughts can also cause limitations of water supplies, increased water pollution levels, high food-costs, stress caused by failed harvests, water scarcity , etc. Reduced water quality can occur because lower water-flows reduce dilution of pollutants and increase contamination of remaining water sources. This explains why droughts and water scarcity operate as
5880-419: The horrific drought in 2010–2011 in both duration and severity. More than 150 districts in India are drought vulnerable, mostly concentrated in the state of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and its adjoining Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, northern Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra of the country. Throughout history, humans have usually viewed droughts as disasters due to the impact on food availability and
5978-468: The interlinking of rivers in India has a long history. During the British colonial rule , for example, the 19th century engineer Arthur Cotton proposed the plan to interlink major Indian rivers in order to hasten import and export of goods from its colony in indian_subcontinent , South Asia , as well as to address water shortages and droughts in southeastern India, now Andhra Pradesh and Odisha . In
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#17330923939716076-399: The interlinks will add nearly 170 million acre feet of water for beneficial uses in India, enabling irrigation over an additional area of 35 million hectares, generation of 40,000 MW capacity hydro power, flood control and other benefits. The total surface water available to India is nearly 1440-million-acre feet (1776 billion cubic meters) of which only 220-million-acre feet was being used in
6174-480: The irrigated area with 20 million tube wells installed. About 15 percent of India's food is being produced using rapidly depleting groundwater . The end of the era of massive expansion in groundwater use is going to demand greater reliance on surface water supply systems. Proponents of the project suggest India's water situation is already critical, and it needs sustainable development and management of surface water and groundwater usage. Some proponents feel that India
6272-507: The lack of water in the plants, bushfires are common. Since water vapor becomes more energetic with increasing temperature, more water vapor is required to increase relative humidity values to 100% at higher temperatures (or to get the temperature to fall to the dew point). Periods of warmth quicken the pace of fruit and vegetable production, increase evaporation and transpiration from plants, and worsen drought conditions. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon can sometimes play
6370-402: The livelihoods of people who rely on specific aquatic species for their income. Lakra et al., in their 2011 study, claim large dams, interbasin transfers and water withdrawal from rivers is likely to have negative as well as positive impacts on freshwater aquatic ecosystem. As regards to the impact on fish and aquatic biodiversity , there could be positive as well as negative impacts. India has
6468-406: The matter with the governments as no party had pleaded against the implementation of the Rivers Interlinking Project. India receives about 4,000 cubic kilometers of rain annually, or about 1 million gallons of fresh water per person every year. However, the precipitation pattern in India varies dramatically across distance and over calendar months. Much of the precipitation in India, about 85%,
6566-780: The national level perhaps is the only permanent solution to the water scarcity problem in the country. Karunanidhi said the government should make an assessment of the project's feasibility starting with the south-bound rivers. DMK for 2014 general elections added Nationalisation and inter-linking of rivers to its manifesto. Kalpasar Project is an irrigation project which envisages storing Narmada River water in an offshore freshwater reservoir located in Gulf of Khambhat sea for further pumping to arid Saurashtra region for irrigation use. The National perspective plan envisions about 150-million-acre feet (MAF) (185 billion cubic meters) of water storage along with building inter-links. These storages and
6664-415: The negative effect on the health of people directly exposed to this phenomenon (excessive heat waves), high food costs, stress caused by failed harvests, water scarcity , etc. Drought can also lead to increased air pollution due to increased dust concentrations and wildfires . Prolonged droughts have caused mass migrations and humanitarian crisis . Examples for regions with increased drought risks are
6762-515: The occurrence of droughts has increased as a result of the increase in temperature and atmospheric evaporative demand . In addition, increased climate variability has increased the frequency and severity of drought events. Moreover, the occurrence and impact of droughts are aggravated by anthropogenic activities such as land use change and water management and demand. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report also pointed out that "Warming over land drives an increase in atmospheric evaporative demand and in
6860-402: The plan. In 1982, India financed and set up a committee of nominated experts, through National Water Development Agency (NWDA) to complete detailed studies, surveys and investigations in respect of reservoirs, canals and all aspects of feasibility of interlinking peninsular rivers and related water resource management. NWDA has produced many reports over 30 years, from 1982 through 2013. However,
6958-421: The policy are: The policy also deals with participation of farmers and voluntary agencies, water quality, water zoning, conservation of water, flood and drought management, erosion etc. The main emphasis of National Water Policy 2012 is to treat water as economic good which the ministry claims to promote its conservation and efficient use. This provision intended for the privatization of water-delivery services
7056-561: The problem temporarily becomes too much rainfall and weeks of havoc from floods. This excess-scarcity, regional disparity and flood-drought cycles have created the need for water resources management. Rivers inter-linking is one proposal to address that need. Due to global warming , fossil fuels use is discouraged and carbon neutral , clean, and renewable energy sources like solar and wind power are encouraged which are intermittent and variable types of electricity generation. Pumped storage hydroelectric power plants are needed to store
7154-492: The project concept and plans. Social activists campaigned that the project may be disastrous in terms of cost, potential environmental and ecological damage, water table and the dangers inherent with tinkering with nature. The central government of India, from 2005 through 2013, instituted a number of committees, rejected a number of reports, and financed a series of feasibility and impact studies, each with changing environmental law and standards. In February 2012, while disposing
7252-402: The project could reduce rainfall and change rainfall patterns in the region. Water storage and distributed reservoirs are likely to displace people – a rehabilitation process that has attracted concern of sociologists and political groups. Further, the inter-link would create a path for aquatic ecosystems to be affected by movement of species from one river to another, which in turn may affect
7350-545: The project must be negotiated. Cost of power generation by solar power projects would be below Rs. 1.0 per Kwh in few years. Availability of cheaper, clean and perennial/renewable power would favour more water lifting/pumping and tunnels in the river link projects rather than purely gravity links to economize on cost, reduce construction time and reduce land submergence by optimum use of existing reservoirs/less storage, etc. Tunnelling technology/methodology has also undergone drastic improvements to make them alternate choice to
7448-674: The projects were not pursued. The river inter-linking idea was revived in 1999, after the National Democratic Alliance formed the Government of India , but this time with a major strategic shift. The proposal was modified to intra-basin development as opposed to inter-basin water transfer. By 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Congress Party was in power, and it resurrected its opposition to
7546-452: The proposal, several inter-basin transfer projects had already been successfully implemented in India, and Rao suggested that the success be scaled up. In 1980, India's then Ministry of Water Resources came out with a report entitled "National Perspectives for Water Resources Development". This report split the water development project in two parts – the Himalayan and Peninsular components. The Congress Party came to power and it abandoned
7644-535: The rainforest towards a " tipping point " where it would irreversibly start to die. It concludes that the rainforest is on the brink of being turned into savanna or desert , with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate. According to the WWF , the combination of climate change and deforestation increases the drying effect of dead trees that fuels forest fires. The 1997–2009 Millennium Drought in Australia led to
7742-543: The reduction in plant growth and yields. Another factor influencing reduced plant growth and yields include the allocation of resources; following drought stress plants will allocate more resources to roots to aid in water uptake increasing root growth and reducing the growth of other plant parts while decreasing yields. The most negative impacts of drought for humans include crop failure , food crisis , famine, malnutrition, and poverty , which lead to loss of life and mass migration of people. There are negative effects on
7840-451: The rest of society. People have viewed drought as a natural disaster or as something influenced by human activity , or as a result of supernatural forces. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report defines a drought simply as "drier than normal conditions". This means that a drought is "a moisture deficit relative to the average water availability at a given location and season". According to National Integrated Drought Information System ,
7938-564: The same time plant growth relies on cellular division, cell enlargement, and differentiation. Drought stress impairs mitosis and cell elongation via loss of turgor pressure which results in poor growth. Development of leaves is also dependent upon turgor pressure, concentration of nutrients, and carbon assimilates all of which are reduced by drought conditions, thus drought stress lead to a decrease in leaf size and number. Plant height, biomass, leaf size and stem girth has been shown to decrease in maize under water limiting conditions. Crop yield
8036-588: The sea in the form of environmental flows . India needs infrastructure for logistics and the movement of freight. Using connected rivers as navigation is a cleaner, low carbon footprint form of transport infrastructure , particularly for ores and food grains . India currently stores only 30 days of rainfall, while developed nations strategically store 900 days worth of water demand in arid areas river basins, and reservoirs. India's dam reservoirs store only 200 cubic meters per person. India also relies excessively on groundwater, which accounts for over 50 percent of
8134-460: The severity of drought events" and "Increased atmospheric evaporative demand increases plant water stress, leading to agricultural and ecological drought". There is a rise of compound warm-season droughts in Europe that are concurrent with an increase in potential evapotranspiration . Higher temperatures increase evaporation. This dries the soil and increases plant stress . Agriculture suffers as
8232-466: The short rains from October to December. The frequent occurrence of hydrological extremes, like droughts and floods , harms the already vulnerable population suffering from severe poverty and economic turmoil. Droughts prompted food shortages for example in 1984–85 , 2006 and 2011 . The Eastern African region experiences the impacts of climate change in different forms. For instance, below-average rainfall occurred for six consecutive rainy seasons in
8330-407: The size of United States – compared to the 2011 census. This will increase demand for reliable sources of food and improved agriculture yields – both of which, claims India's National Council of Applied Economic Research, require significantly improve irrigation network than the current state. The average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic meters, of which annual surface water flow in India
8428-450: The spatial and temporal changes and variability in drought duration, severity, and magnitude at a much finer scale. This supports the development of site-specific adaptation measures. The application of multiple indices using different datasets helps to better manage and monitor droughts than using a single dataset, This is particularly the case in regions of the world where not enough data is available such as Africa and South America. Using
8526-703: The surplus electricity generated during daylight time by the solar power plants and supply the required electricity during the night hours. Water security , energy security , and food security can be achieved by interlinking rivers by envisaging multipurpose freshwater coastal reservoirs . Population increase in India is the other driver of the need for river inter-linking. India's population growth rate has been falling but still continues to increase by about 10 to 15 million people every year. The resulting demand for food must be satisfied with higher yields and better crop security, both of which require adequate irrigation of about 140 million hectares of land. Currently, just
8624-572: The tropics, distinct, wet and dry seasons emerge due to the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone or Monsoon trough . The dry season greatly increases drought occurrence, and is characterized by its low humidity, with watering holes and rivers drying up. Because of the lack of these watering holes, many grazing animals are forced to migrate due to the lack of water in search of more fertile lands. Examples of such animals are zebras , elephants , and wildebeest . Because of
8722-414: The uptake of nutrients from the soil, and for the transport of nutrients throughout the plant: drought conditions limit these functions leading to stunted growth. Drought stress also causes a decrease in photosynthetic activity in plants due to the reduction of photosynthetic tissues, stomatal closure, and reduced performance of photosynthetic machinery. This reduction in photosynthetic activity contributes to
8820-459: The west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific, it causes extensive drought in the western Pacific. Singapore experienced the driest February in 2014 since records began in 1869, with only 6.3 mm of rain falling in the month and temperatures hitting as high as 35 °C on 26 February. The years 1968 and 2005 had the next driest Februaries, when 8.4 mm of rain fell. Globally,
8918-717: The whole Murray-Darling basin if it did not receive sufficient water by October 2008. Australia could experience more severe droughts and they could become more frequent in the future, a government-commissioned report said on July 6, 2008. Australian environmentalist Tim Flannery , predicted that unless it made drastic changes, Perth in Western Australia could become the world's first ghost metropolis , an abandoned city with no more water to sustain its population. The long Australian Millennial drought broke in 2010. East Africa , including for example Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, has
9016-501: The wind erosion of loess. In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in 100 years. A 2006 article reported results showing that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought. Scientists at the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research argue in the article that this drought response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on regional climate, are pushing
9114-625: The year 1979. The rest is neither utilized nor managed, and it causes disastrous floods year after year. Up to 1979, India had built over 600 storage dams with an aggregate capacity of 171 billion cubic meters. These small storages hardly enable a seventh of the water available in the country to be utilized beneficially to its fullest potential. From India-wide perspective, at least 946 billion cubic meters of water flow annually could be utilized in India, power generation capacity added and perennial inland navigation could be provided. Also some benefits of flood control would be achieved. The project claims that
9212-645: Was added in 2005. Himalayan Rivers Development envisages construction of storage reservoirs on the main Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their principal tributaries in India and Nepal along with inter-linking canal system to transfer surplus flows of the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the West apart from linking of the main Brahmaputra with the Ganga. Apart from providing irrigation to an additional area of about 22 million hectares and generating about 30 million kilowatt of hydro-power, it will provide substantial flood control in
9310-686: Was circulated to involved States in March 2019. The concerns of involved states had been attended in September 2020. The Indian Rivers Inter-link project is similar in scope and technical challenges as other major global river inter-link projects, such as: Other completed rivers inter-linking projects include the Marne-Rhine Canal in France, the All-American Canal and California State Water Project in
9408-461: Was opposed to interlinking of rivers as it would have "severe" environmental implications. Jairam Ramesh , a cabinet minister in former UPA government, said the idea of interlinking India's rivers was a "disaster", putting a question mark on the future of the ambitious project. Karunanidhi , whose DMK has been a key ally of the Congress-led UPA at the centre, wrote that linking rivers at
9506-422: Was realized through irrigation network or natural flow of Indian rivers, lakes and adoption of pumps to pull ground water for irrigation. 80% of the water India receives through its annual rains and surface water flow, happens over a 4-month period – June through September. This spatial and time variance in availability of natural water versus year-round demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial water creates
9604-587: Was withdrawn by Government of Maharashtra, and others are still under study. On 16 September 2015, first linking was completed of rivers Krishna and Godavari . It is still under review. But it isn't considered as a true river interlinking as it is just a small lift irrigation with few lines of pipes. NWDA had drafted Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Godavari-Cauvery link project consisting of three links; Godavari (Inchampalli/Janampet) – Krishna (Nagarjunasagar), Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) – Pennar (Somasila), Pennar (Somasila)-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link projects which
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