Strategic Analysis of Indias National River-Linking Project

[NRLP]

Contours of NRLP

Building 30 links, 3000 small and large

reservoirs, 12500 km of canals to link 36

Himalayan and Peninsular rivers to effect 178

km3 of inter-basin water transport.

35 MHa of new irrigated area; 35 GW of

hydro-capacity; navigation and flood control

benefits.

Gestation Period: Proposed=2016; Most

Likely=2050

Cost = Rs 560,000 cr. at 2002 prices (US $

120 Billion); 1 - 1.5% of Indias GDP for the

next 3 decades.

Largest infrastructure project anywhere, ever. Five times the size of the

Three Gorges Project.

Why do we need a Research Project

Hardened positions with little analysis Critics complaint that government has not done good

analysis of alternatives

Government says that considering the magnitude of the crisis, NRLP is the only option

Key Missing Issues: What is the magnitude of crisis itself?

How was interlinking chosen as the best available option

What is the scope of the alternatives?

How do we ensure that there will be implementation efficiency - time and cost overruns - and O&M would be done better than before?

What would it takes to implement alternative solutions on national scale?

Project Goal

Promote a balanced, analytical and informed national discourse on India's Water Future 2050, and approaches to shaping it, including through the River-Linking project

Support South Asias quest for food livelihoods and water security

Capitalize on the uncommon opportunity created by the NRLP

and Purpose

Specific Objectives Build scenarios of what India will be likeits

economy, society, demographics, habitat, and environment in 2025 and 2050, and with what implications for its water future?

Analyze whether NRLP is an adequate, cost effective and sustainable responsein socio-ecological as well as political terms--towards meeting the water challenge.

Sew together a clutch of institutional and policy interventions into a National Water Sector Perspective Plan (NWSPP) as a fallback strategy.

Identify best practices to implement the NRLP as well as the NWSPP

Concluding Workshop VI: Planning for a Food, Livelihoods and Water Secure India 2050

Phase III

12 Months

Phase II

15 Months

Phase I

9 Months

OUTPUT ACTIVITIES PHASE

11 Studies, Synthesis &

National Workshop I

A Sharp, Well-Rounded Prognosis of

Indias Water Future - 2025/2050 &

of the Water Challenge Facing the

Nation

Phase II A Phase II B

16 Studies,

Synthesis &

National

Workshop

II

7 Studies,

Synthesis &

National

Workshop

III

Phase III A Phase III B

14 Studies,

Synthesis &

National

Workshop IV

8 Studies,

Synthesis &

National

Workshop V

Phase II A Phase II B

How adequate,

complete and cost-

effective a response

is the River-Linking

Project to Indias

Water Challenge

2050?

How to maximize

net social benefit of

the River-Link

Project

Phase III A

If NRLP fails to

take off, how else

can India effectively

meet its Water

Challenge 2050?

Phase III A

How best to put into

operation the

National

Perspective Plan

Phase-wise Activities and

Methods

The 3 years ahead

A Sharp, Well-Rounded Prognosis of Indias Water Future - 2025/2050 & of the Water Challenge Facing the Nation

Environmental

Water

Demand

Indias Macro

Hydrology

Domestic and

Industrial

Water

Demand

Indian

Agriculture

and Irrigation

Food Security

and Trade

Liberalization

Regional

Patterns in

Economic

Growth

Demographic

Projections

Phase I

Revisiting

Water

Availability

and Demand

[1] How adequate, complete and cost-effective a response is the River-Linking Project to Indias Water Challenge 2050?

[2] How to maximize net social benefit of NRLP?

Institutions

and Political

Economy

Envtal and

Ecological

Valuations

Economic

Analysis

Financial

Feasibility

Technical

Feasibility

Implementation

Effectiveness

Social Cost-

Benefit

Analyses

Phase II

[1] If the NRLP fails to take off, how else can India effectively meet its Water Challenge 2050?

[2] How best to put into operation the NWSPP?

Water

Institutions

and Policies

Water

Demand

Management

Virtual Water

Transfers

Ganges Water

Machine

Decentralized

Water

Harvesting

Alternative

Energy

Sources and

Scenarios

Inter-Sectoral

Competition

Water Use

Efficiency and

Productivity

Phase III

Key Strengths

Impart substance and quality to the national discourse on NRLP;

Help India think through its long term water challenge and evolve a fall-back strategy to meet it;

Rally a broad alliance of Indian researchers and institutions to participate in a distributed research and dissemination program;

Allocate over 70% of the resources requested to NARES institutions; and

Leverage substantial knowledge equity and funds IWMI contributes as matching resources.

Thank You