Debate these rivers link project proposals.

1. Strategic Analysis of India’s
National River-Linking Project
[NRLP]

2. Contours of NRLP…
 Building 30 links, 3000 small and large
reservoirs, 12500 km of canals to link 36
Himalayan and Peninsular rivers to effect 178
km3 of inter-basin water transport.
 35 MHa of new irrigated area; 35 GW of
hydro-capacity; navigation and flood control
benefits.
 Gestation Period: Proposed=2016; Most
Likely=2050
 Cost = Rs 560,000 cr. at 2002 prices (US $
120 Billion); 1 - 1.5% of India’s GDP for the
next 3 decades.
 Largest infrastructure project anywhere, ever. Five times the size of the
……Three Gorges Project.

3. Why do we need a Research Project…
 Hardened positions with little analysis
 Critics complaint that government has not done good
analysis of alternatives
 Government says that considering the magnitude of the
crisis, NRLP is the only option
 Key Missing Issues:
 What is the magnitude of crisis itself?
 How was interlinking chosen as the best available option
 What is the scope of the alternatives?
 How do we ensure that there will be implementation
efficiency - time and cost overruns - and O&M would be
done better than before?
 What would it takes to implement alternative solutions on
national scale?

4. Project Goal…
Promote a balanced,
analytical and
informed national
discourse on India's
Water Future 2050,
and approaches to
shaping it, including
through the River-
Linking project
 Support South
Asia’s quest for
food livelihoods and
water security
 Capitalize on the
uncommon
opportunity created
by the NRLP
…and Purpose

5. Specific Objectives…
 Build scenarios of what India will be like—its
economy, society, demographics, habitat, and
environment – in 2025 and 2050, and with what
implications for its water future?
 Analyze whether NRLP is an adequate, cost
effective and sustainable response—in socio-
ecological as well as political terms--towards
meeting the water challenge.
 Sew together a clutch of institutional and policy
interventions into a National Water Sector
Perspective Plan (NWSPP) as a fallback strategy.
 Identify best practices to implement the NRLP as
well as the NWSPP

6. Concluding Workshop VI: Planning for a Food, Livelihoods and Water Secure India 2050
Phase III
12 Months
Phase II
15 Months
Phase I
9 Months
OUTPUTACTIVITIESPHASE
11 Studies, Synthesis &
National Workshop I
A Sharp, Well-Rounded Prognosis of
India’s Water Future - 2025/2050 &
of the Water Challenge Facing the
Nation
Phase II A Phase II B
16 Studies,
Synthesis &
National
Workshop
II
7 Studies,
Synthesis &
National
Workshop
III
Phase III A Phase III B
14 Studies,
Synthesis &
National
Workshop IV
8 Studies,
Synthesis &
National
Workshop V
Phase II A Phase II B
How adequate,
complete and cost-
effective a response
is the River-Linking
Project to India’s
Water Challenge
2050?
How to maximize
net social benefit of
the River-Link
Project
Phase III A
If NRLP fails to
take off, how else
can India effectively
meet its Water
Challenge 2050?
Phase III A
How best to put into
operation the
National
Perspective Plan

7. Phase-wise Activities and
Methods…
The 3 years ahead…

8. A Sharp, Well-Rounded Prognosis of India’s Water Future -
2025/2050 & of the Water Challenge Facing the Nation
Environmental
Water
Demand
India’s Macro
Hydrology
Domestic and
Industrial
Water
Demand
Indian
Agriculture
and Irrigation
Food Security
and Trade
Liberalization
Regional
Patterns in
Economic
Growth
Demographic
Projections
Phase I…
Revisiting
Water
Availability
and Demand

9. [1] How adequate, complete and cost-effective a response is the
River-Linking Project to India’s Water Challenge 2050?
[2] How to maximize net social benefit of NRLP?
Institutions
and Political
Economy
Env’tal and
Ecological
Valuations
Economic
Analysis
Financial
Feasibility
Technical
Feasibility
Implementation
Effectiveness
Social Cost-
Benefit
Analyses
Phase II…

10. [1] If the NRLP fails to take off, how else can India effectively
meet its Water Challenge 2050?
[2] How best to put into operation the NWSPP?
Water
Institutions
and Policies
Water
Demand
Management
Virtual Water
Transfers
Ganges Water
Machine
Decentralized
Water
Harvesting
Alternative
Energy
Sources and
Scenarios
Inter-Sectoral
Competition
Water Use
Efficiency and
Productivity
Phase III…

11. Key Strengths…
 Impart substance and quality to the national
discourse on NRLP;
 Help India think through its long term water
challenge and evolve a fall-back strategy to meet it;
 Rally a broad alliance of Indian researchers and
institutions to participate in a distributed research
and dissemination program;
 Allocate over 70% of the resources requested to
NARES institutions; and
 Leverage substantial ‘knowledge equity’ and funds
IWMI contributes as matching resources.

12. Thank You…