“I am not against the Ken-Betwa project. But why is there no momentum to connect the rivers of peninsular India?” DMK leader T.R. Balu said. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP T.R. Baalu on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) made a strong pitch for linking rivers in north and south India and urged the Centre to expedite the inter-state river-linking project because of its economic and logistic benefits.
Participating in the discussion on the demand for grants for the Jal Shakti Ministry in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Baalu alleged that the government was going slow on the river-linking projects, especially in connecting water-surplus Himalayan rivers with water-deficient peninsular rivers.
“In 2014, [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi ji had promised to prioritise inter-State river connections, including Himalayan and peninsular reservoirs. However, as far as peninsular rivers are concerned, not even a detailed project report [DPR] has been developed,” Mr. Baalu said.
He stressed on the need to link major peninsular rivers like the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennar and Kaveri to address water scarcity in southern India. “Things are moving at a snail’s pace. After the Ken-Betwa project, we thought peninsular India would see more connections but there has been no progress,” he said.
The DMK leader said the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, which connects rivers in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, had received an investment of ₹9,000 crore but a similar urgency was not shown for other critical projects.
“I am not against the Ken-Betwa project. But why is there no momentum to connect the rivers of peninsular India?” he said.
Listing out the economic advantages of linking rivers of the north with those in the south, the DMK leader said it could enhance cargo movement as well create avenues for power generation.
“I request the PM to ensure that south Indian projects are finished swiftly. This would be far more beneficial than the bullet train and should be developed as quickly as possible,” Mr. Baalu said.
Congress MP from Rajasthan Rahul Kaswan said previous Congress governments had the vision to implement major projects such as the Damodar Valley Corporation in the year 1948, Narmada Valley Development Project (1979), Krishna River Valley Project (1956), Godavari Valley Project (1960), Mahanadi River Valley (1957) and Sutlej River Project (1950). “The thinking then was that unless farmers and farming is strengthened, the country can’t move forward… But show us one big irrigation project in the past 10 years,” Mr. Kaswan said.
Initiating the discussion, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal questioned why Opposition-ruled States of Jharkhand, Kerala, and West Bengal were lagging behind in providing clean drinking water to rural households under the government’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission.
Mr. Pal also hailed the Ken-Betwa river-linking project and said, “By linking rivers, we will provide additional irrigation capacity to 10.06 lakh hectares in the Bundelkhand regions of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh”.
Published – March 19, 2025 11:01 pm IST
