Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2016

INTERLINKING OF INDIAN RIVERS: A BOON FOR INDIA

Dr. Anil Kumar Sangwan

Abstract :

The idea of Inter-linking of Rivers in India proposal has a long history. During the British colonial rule in 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 South Asia, as well as to address water shortages and droughts in southeastern India, now Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. 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. A former irrigation minister proposed “National Water Grid” in 1970’s . He was concerned 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. Again in 1980, India’s Ministry of Water Resources came out with a report entitled “National Perspectives for Water Resources Development”. But abandoned the plan on political grounds. Interlinking got a boost when then President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam made a passing reference to the need for finding a solution to simultaneous floods and droughts in his address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day in 2002. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is credited with giving the interlinking programme a big push in 

Keywords :

Article: Download PDF    DOI : https://www.doi.org/10.36106/gjra  

Cite This Article:

Dr. Anil Kumar Sangwan Interlinking of Indian Rivers: A Boon for India Global Journal For Research Analysis, Vol: 5, Issue: 1 January 2016

Number of Downloads : 700

References :