River Link Scheme: Awaiting a Big Disaster

On February 27, the Supreme Court of India gave directions to the Union Government to constitute a special committee to take forward the controversial project of national-level linking of rivers. The Supreme Court’s judgement was highly favourable towards this project, but past experience regarding such gigantic projects would suggest the need for a lot of caution. Also, it may be recalled that the previous Union Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, had warned against the hazards of such a venture and a similar warning has been given by several other experts. So carefully we should examine these warnings as well as the experience of other such projects in the world, apart from looking at cheaper alternatives which can avoid these hazards.

The problems encountered in the case of various high dam projects earlier are all too familiar. The river-link project is likely to lead to simultaneous pushing together of several such mega projects by emphasising the linkages of such projects. It’ll be difficult for the affected people of any one project to voice their democratic opposition as authorities will emphasise the inter-linkages of a ‘national’ project. So displacement and environmental problems can increase rapidly while the space for democratic opposition shrinks.

What is more, there are inherent problems in such massive engineering which force rivers to leave their natural flow patterns for engineered paths. This may prove to be very expensive and energy-intensive, and after all the effort rivers may yet try to find their old natural path, leading to large-scale floods. What is more, even if the effort is successful, the mixing of the water of two rivers may not be good for aquatic life and biodiversity.

What looks good and easy on paper may not be so on the real land with all its hills, plateaus, rocks, curves, and slopes. Also we can’t forget that any large-scale transfer of water is inevitably accompanied by tension and disputes on various sides. Even single-project dams have created endless problems, and one shudders to think of what will be the fake of several such inter-linked projects being taken together as part of a gigantic project.

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INDIA, like most other countries of the world, is in the middle of a serious water crisis. Lack of minimum water for quenching the thirst of the people and their animals has become the main reason for their migration from thousands of hamlets and villages. In cities extreme water shortages are leading to sporadic outbursts of violence. Most rivers are polluted and depleted. The water-table has declined at most places, in many cases to an alarming extent.

This has happened despite billions of rupees invested in massive dams and irrigation projects in recent decades. At the same time, however, the much cheaper option of conserving and collecting rainwater received much lesser attention.
Another major factor behind the water crisis in many areas is the massive extraction of water much beyond the capacity of the area. In the name of ‘green revolution’ and ‘modern’ farming, traditional, time-honoured crop rotations and varieties were discarded in favour of new water gulping ones to earn some quick money for bigger, more prosperous landowners. The same govern-ment policies which destroyed the livelihood of artisans and cottage industries led to the rapid spread of water gulping big industries and mines in remote rural areas, often making first claim on scarce water resources and using water much beyond the capacity of the area.

The result of these mistakes is not only a serious water crisis for us, but, if these mistakes persist, a much worse crisis awaits future generations.
However, instead of remedying these mistakes (or even property acknowledging them) the government and the water establishment appear to be all too eager to make even more massive mistakes in the name of offering solutions for the water crisis. If adequate caution is not exercised, we may end up with a big disaster in the name of linking our rivers.

The author is currently a Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.