Unmindful of the blunders of the past and refusing to take lessons from the communities, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held a national conference on interlinking of rivers on March 5, in Federation House, New Delhi. "The interlinking of rivers will change the shape of India. It should be seen as an opportunity to integrate and synergise the country," says Suresh Prabhu, Chairman of the Task Force on Rivers Interlinking. Making out a case for interlinking rivers at a national conference organised by FICCI, indulging in the sophistry of worst kind, Prabhu said "everyone who is opposing the project or raising apprehensions, should not be seen as an opponent, but as a participant because they are just as concerned about the country".

It was a gathering of the confirmists-who espouse government stance on riverlinking and there were others who had reservations about the project but still felt that the project was good. There were no civil society representatives.

The theme of the conference was to discuss interlinking of rivers in the next 10 years and "try and arrive at a viable and feasible strategy for better implementation of the project.'' The list of participants at the conference included members who were recently nominated on the Task Force and those who are likely to be on it. The chairman of the Task Force, Suresh Prabhu, inaugurated the conference and the Minister of State, Bijoya Chakravarty, delivered the keynote address.

Describing the massive interlinking of rivers project as an artist’s impression of how things will materialize on the canvass, B G Verghese, former editor, The Hindustan Times said, in practice the project will be quite different from how it is being visualized. Terming the claim by the government about completing the project in 10 years as a gigantic fraud, Verghese said, it will take at least 100-200 years to complete the project. The best that can be done is to expedite the process of the project and complete it within 50 –75 years. Calling the attempts by the Water Resources Ministry to keep information on water classified and in a veil of secrecy as absurd, he sought transparency. Warning government of falling into self made traps, Verghese said, rehabilitation policy of offering land for land as a forged promise. He recounted how he started his journalistic career 45 years ago writing about Mahakali project and still he continues to write about it.

In the context of the project, criticising India’s foreign policy for its bilateralism, he emphasized the need for multilateralism because the project involves neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Pakistan. Urging the government to have a 21st century mindset instead of 19th century one, he said, the maximum we can do is to attempt the least. It was strange that all the issues and anecdotes, which Verghese raised and narrated, led to the conclusion of the non-sustainability and non-viability of the project, he drew a contrary inference to the effect that interlinking of rivers project is a dynamic concept requiring holistic approach, grand vision and a Herculean effort.

Prabhu said, the project to link 37 rivers is estimated to cost Rs 5,60,000 crore is a very preliminary government estimate. We are in the process of doing a fresh cost assessment and expect the final amount to be lower. The government would have incurred a substantial part of the project cost anyway in the normal course of business. For example, the project is expected to create at least 30,000 MW of hydro-electric capacity. At an estimated rate of Rs 4 crore per MW of hydroelectric capacity addition, that adds up to Rs 1,20,000 crore. There are the enormous navigational benefits that the project offers. On a rough estimate, the cost of setting up a navigational project of this magnitude would cost another Rs 1,20,000 crore. Both the hydro-electric and navigational projects are commercially viable and getting them financed should not be a problem. The project will provide additional irrigation of 22 million hectares. I see no reason why we can’t levy user charges on the landowners. Some part of the project will come under social cost: employment generation, poverty alleviation and so on. We can recover this amount through a dedicated fund on the lines of the model adopted for the roads sector.

On the issue of submergence of estimated 80,000 hectares and displacement of people, Prabhu said, some people are spreading such baseless estimates. Our estimate says only 4.5 lakh people will b0e displaced. This is unfortunate but can’t be helped in the larger interest. We will try our best to ensure that the number of displaced people is kept to the minimum. Displacement is anyway taking place in India due to migration resulting from lack of development in backward areas. I am talking about a planned displacement. We will make sure that the cost of resettlement is built into the project cost. We will also create a special purpose vehicle to ensure that this money is utilised properly through the participation of the affected people.

It is worthwhile quoting three people in the context of development and its sustainability, since it is relevant to the proposal for interlinking rivers:

“The river linking project cannot translate into reality. Once industrialists and capitalists invest money, water will become a commodity. Eventually, the poor will be deprived of their water rights’.

--Anna Hazare, pioneer of watershed management, March 2003

"Let us face an uncomfortable truth. The model of development that we are accustomed to has been fruitful for a few and flawed for many. A path to prosperity that ravages the environment and leaves a majority of humankind behind in squalor will soon prove to be a dead-end road for everyone."

-- Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General at Johannesburg, 2002

"In reality, development for the vast majority of the peoples of the world has been a process in which the individual is torn from his past and propelled into an uncertain future only to secure a place on the bottom rung of an economic ladder that goes nowhere."

-- Wade Davis in "The Ticking Bomb", July 2002

There are others who have suggested that the right way to resolve water-sharing issues is to focus on watershed development, conservation of rain water and water harvesting. The important thing is to make optimal use of the existing projects, maintain traditional water harvesting projects, recharge ground water and involve the people at every stage. Formation of water users associations and the success of decentralised projects taken up by NGOs such as those headed by Rajender Singh and Anna Hazare need to be replicated.

But Prabhu feels, (only) some people will have to be displaced because of the high density of population but that does not mean it would not be in the future. If any link adversely causes more damage to ecology than bringing benefits, then it will be abandoned. It is possible to assess with new technology how ecological damage can be addressed.The project will provide an opportunity for coming up with waterways and navigation, which is an efficient, cheaper mode of transportation. It will enhance the per capita consumption of energy and the utilisation of water in totality. However, each State must take up projects to renew water at ground-village level.

The list of speakers included R. K. Pachauri, member of the Task Force, A.K. Goswami, Secretary, Water Resources, R.K. Sharma, Commissioner (Projects), A.D. Mohile, former chairman, National Water Development Agency, Z. Hasan, Former Secretary, Water Resources, C.D. Thatte, member-secretary of the Task Force, V.B. Patel, chairman, Water Management Forum, and B.G. Verghese of the Centre for Policy Research. Besides these, there was A C Muthiah, president FICCI who delivered the welcome address and there was Prafulla Maheshwari, owner, editor, Central Chronical, Navbharat, member of Parliament, co-chairman –FICCI water Resources Committee and Joint President, Federation of Madhya Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry who gave vote of thanks. There were presentations by Yogendra Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited Sanjay C Kirloskar, Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd

Although this ecologically disastrous nature project raises questions like where’s the money for this massive project and even as economists argue that the present state of the economy can’t support such a costly scheme, which amounts to nearly a fourth of India’s GDP. It may be impossible for the government to fund the project without outside help. And once it has taken a loan, it will have a substantial repayment burden which is likely to lead us in a debt trap. What kind of conditions would the lending agencies set on the government? What impact would it have on river rights?

Instead of addressing these questions Prabhu hypothetically and callously says, “But look at the macro picture. Considering that the project has to be completed within 15 years, we will be spending merely 1.5 per cent of the GDP every year on the project. Assuming that the GDP will grow by at least two and a half times in 15 years, the cost comes to even less than 1 per cent of GDP. Marginal farmers obviously can’t pay for water, and I am not even considering it. But the large beneficiaries must pay. The irrigated land will be as valuable as gold, and if the government is giving them such a wonderful gift, they should be willing to make sacrifices”.

It’s time we start treating water as a valuable commodity. Pricing must be used as a tool for conservation. We should not be obsessed with big projects only, minor irrigation projects can be of great help in our country but the questions we need to ask are these: can minor projects solve the raging inter-state disputes? Can they solve the entire issue of navigation as an alternative mode of transport? Can they help resolve the problem of India’s energy security, asked Prabhu.

He added, consider the fact that India’s population is expected to go up by 50 per cent to 1.5 billion in 50 years. India would need to double its food production to 450 million tonnes even as the demand for water rises from 634 bcm to 1,447 bcm. To create food security for such a huge population, we need a big project like this. Look at the model in China. Realising that the country faces the prospect of a water crisis, China is linking two major rivers the Yangtse and the Yellow River. Maintenance has been a major problem, whether it is roads or even a school building. So when I am talking about user charges, I have the maintenance aspect in mind. This has to be in-built. Otherwise we will be like an emperor who keeps acquiring new territories and keeps losing the old ones. We are in regular discussion with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. External affairs minister Yashwant Sinha is taking up the issues with his counterparts in these countries. It’s a project from which they will gain in a major way. This project will benefit the domestic economies of each SAARC country will improve bilateral relations. It’s like a healthy marriage: neither the husband nor the wife will claim that only one of them have benefited from the relationship. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has also written to her chief ministers asking them to support the project, informed Prabhu.

Evincing indifference to the rejection of the river interlinking by environmentalists, he says the project has ecological benefits. Our forest land is not more than 19 per cent despite the aim of a 33 per cent forest cover. This project will make land available for forest, says Prabhu.

The proposal to link six major rivers, the Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Brahmaputra, to mitigate the growing menace of flood and drought has become a major matter of concern and discussion. A three-judge Bench (Chief Justice Mr BN Kirpal, Mr Justice YK Sabharwal and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat) had passed the interim ruling on a public interest litigation. The Centre appears determined to bulldoze its way through, despite fears among the public, especially on river-dependent communities, about the project’s details and consequences.

Z Hasan said, “Environment Protection Act, Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act should be amended to facilitate this project and all water projects of this nature be declared green projects”. He cited the example of “attractive” Inchampalli project and the callousness of ministry of environment and forests towards it.

Responding a question about why the statistics about the quantity of water is not available while claims about irrigation and electricity generation from that water is well publicized, C D Thatte said, the reason for not doing so is guided by defence considerations. Amidst demands for the need for the NWDA maps and feasibility reports to be made public, A K Goswami said, states are privy to the details and NWDA is keeping them briefed.

Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakravarty, said that illegal migration in the Ganga and Bharamputra basins in West Bengal and Assam can seriously jeopardise the government's plans to inter-link rivers. Surplus water available in the basins of the Ganga and the Bharamputra during the monsoon may not be made available to the needy states because a large number of illegal migrants have already settled there. These illegal migrants across the Ganga and Brahamputra basin in Assam and West Bengal have their own agriculture and surreptitious irrigation. ''Not only they are multiplying rapidly but continous pouring of new illegal migrants will strain our available water resources and seriously jeopardize our dreams of inter-basin linkages. Only when Ganga, Brahamputra basin states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and others resort to grassroots' level monitoring and control of population can we hope to provide quality consumption to our people,'' She said.

Although speaker after speaker toed the government stance of water being an economic good instead of it being a community resource, when the question of state getting royalty for their water, A D Mohile said, water is not a property so royalty cannot be asked.

Bangladesh water resources minister has criticised the plan, because his country is a lower riparian. Government seems oblivious of the fact the rivers are not merely rivers, they are people's the lifeline.

Gopal Krishna