Godavari-Cauvery link project

The Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari announced that the Centre would soon take up a major project to Link Rivers Godavari and Cauvery.
The detailed project report for linking rivers Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery has been finalised and will be presented before the cabinet soon for approval.

Objectives of the Project

The objectives of the project are:

• The project aims to make good use of about 1100 tmc ft of Godavari water that is currently getting drained into the Bay of Bengal.
• The project would take the water from river Godavari to the tail end of Tamil Nadu.
• The government aims to raise finances for the project either from the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank as the project cost is about Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore.
• The government aims to address the water deficit being faced and the resulting water dispute among the riparian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry over sharing of the water from river Cauvery.

The project would use low thickness steel pipes with a special treatment for linking Godavari and Cauvery rather than canals as it results in water loss due to evaporation losses. The use of use low thickness steel pipes would also aid in reducing the project costs.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2019