Given the enthusiasm with which the government seems to fuel the river-interlinking projects has become worrisome. To settle this debate we shall look no further than the rice bowl of India: the Krishna-Godavari delta basin’s Pattiseema Project. This is the last part of this series.
River linking is based on the basic principle that surplus water in one basin can be diverted to water deficient drainage basins. While this may seem logically sound, this makes for bad science. Since the very inception of this project, several aspects of geology, hydrology, and ecology have not been taken seriously in either government policy or the public discourse surrounding this project.
This article is an introduction to the three part series focusing on India’s National River Linking Project. Vanshika Mittal traces the background and plan proposed by the government for this project.
