'Excess water of Brahmaputra can be used to feed other areas'

SHILLONG: The Government is keen to use the "excess" water from the Brahmaputra in the northeast to feed the water-crisis farming areas above the Ganges and below the Himalayan ranges in the country, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Vincent H Pala, said today.

The idea was mooted as part of the Interlinking of Rivers Project ( ILRP) designed to ease water shortages while mitigating the impacts of recurrent floods in the major river basin, he said.

Pala said the feasibility study for the inter-linking of the river has been conducted but said the project is awaiting the nod from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment as the route has to pass through a major bio reserve forest.

The Inter-link project would consist of two parts, a northern Himalayan River Development component and a southern Peninsular River Development component, Pala said, adding that 30 links, a feasibility study for which was completed, have already been identified by his ministry.

"Out of the 30 links, the Government has prioritised five and out of these five, DPRs is in the process of preparation. Some of the states are on the verge of agreeing to the idea and so only a feasibility report was done," Pala said.

The Minister however, said, the linking of rivers could only be put into action, only if two or three states agree to implement the project. He said the decision of the states is imperative as water is a state subject.

The Supreme Court had recently approved the Government's project of interlinking rivers.