It is hardly a state secret that the water engineering community in India wants to expedite the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) project. To move on the issue, the Union Ministry of Water Resources last month uploaded on its website draft policy guidelines for sharing of water amongst states, with the altruistic objective of “developing the waters of inter-state rivers for the betterment of the population of the co-basin states/union territories such that developments are not detrimental to the interests of one another and are guided by national perspective”. A few pages into the document make it clear that the draft is geared to create policy influence; states are encouraged to import from one area to another, and also export to deficit basins outside state territories.
The draft document recommends a basin authority or board be constituted including co-basin states under the aegis of the Centre with ‘executive powers’ capable of monitoring and implementing the allocations of a shared river. “What is wrong with wanting to expedite the ILR project? We in the water engineers’ community believe in it, and after the judgment by the Supreme Court on February 27, 2012, the State is duty bound to work towards it,” says Chetan Pandit, former member (policy and planning), Central Water Commission, the technical wing of the water resources ministry.
