Inter-Basin Transfer of Water
Inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) is the withdrawal or diversion of water from one river basin,
followed by use and/or return of some or all of that water to a second river basin. The river basin from
which the withdrawal or diversion occurs as the “donor” basin or “basin of origin” and the river basin
to which all or a portion of the water is diverted and returned as the “receiving” basin.
Benefits of Inter-Basin Water Transfers
Interbasin transfer of water is a management practice that addresses water supply and/or water quality
needs in some parts of the receiving basin. While many political controversies and fierce litigation
arise out of proposed or actual use of interbasin transfers of water, interbasin transfers have a long
history of use around the world. Important benefits of IBT are:
Increased water supply to meet growing residential, commercial, agricultural, hydropower
demands
Increased flow to enhance the assimilative capacity of the water body in the receiving basin
Flood Protection in the donor basin
Manage wastewater concerns
Impacts of Inter-Basin Water Transfer
Potential impacts to a donor basin as a result of reduced stream flow may include changes to:
natural flow regime
water quality and the ability of the source water body to assimilate pollutants
habitat for native aquatic communities of fish and wildlife, including threatened and
endangered species
wetlands and riparian habitat
availability of water-based recreational activities
aesthetic qualities
Inter-Basin Water Transfers in India
The basins of Ganga,
Brahmaputra, Meghana and west
flowing rivers (in the Western
Ghats) constitute 27% of the
drainage area and receive 72% of
total rain fall of India.
Brahmaputra and Ganga
particularly their northern
tributaries, Mahanadi, Godavari
and West Flowing Rivers
originating from the Western
Ghats are found to be surplus in
water resources and can act as
donor basins for inter-basin
transfer of water in India.
National Water
Development Agency (NWDA)
proposes to build storage
reservoirs on these rivers and
connect them to other parts of the
Haris Hasan Khan
Department of Geology, AMU
country, so regional imbalances could be reduced significantly.
There are several existing inter-basin water transfer schemes in India. These include:
Periyar - Vaigai Project (Kerala 1985)
Kurnool - Cuddapah Canal ( Andhra Pradesh 1863-1870)
Parambikulam - Aliyar Project (1962-82)
Telugu - Ganga Project
Beas - Sutlej Link (1983)
Indira Gandhi Canal (Rajasthan Canal, 1958)
Sarada - Sahayak Project (1960 )
Ramganga - Ganga Link (1978)
Tungabhadra – Pennar Project
Mahi Project
Tehri Multipurpose Project
The NWDA has proposed future interlinking of rivers in India in two broad components:
Himalayan component with 14 river links
Peninsular component with 16 river links
Himalayan Component
This component mainly proposes to link Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the river Ganga and
Ganga with Mahanadi. In addition it also proposes to transfer surplus flows of the Eastern tributaries
of Ganga to the West. This component envisages construction of canal systems and storage reservoirs
on the principal tributaries of Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan. This
component would provide additional irrigation to about 22 MHa and power generation of about 30000
MW besides flood control in Brahmaputra and Ganga basins. The 14 links of Himalayan component
are:
Kosi-Mechi Link
Kosi-Ghaghara Link
Gandak-Ganga Link
Ghaghara-Yamuna Link
Sarda-Yamuna Link
Yamuna-Rajasthan Link
Rajasthan-Sabarmati Link
Chunar-Sone Barrage Link
Sone Dam-Southern tributaries of
Ganga Link
Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga Link
Jogighopa-Tista-Farakka Link
Farakka-Sunderbans Link
Ganga-Damodar-Subernarekha Link
Subernarekha-Mahanadi Link
Peninsular Component
In this component a network of interconnected river basins of Peninsular India is considered. NWDA
carried out water balance studies of all the major river basins such as Mahanadi , Godavari , Krishna
Haris Hasan Khan
Department of Geology, AMU
,Pennar , Cauvery , Vaigai, West flowing rivers of Kerala , Karnataka , North of Bombay and South
of Tapi and Southern tributaries of Yamuna to find out water surplus and deficit basins. The 16 links
of Peninsular component are given below. From Peninsular Component it is possible to irrigate about
13 million hectare of land and about 4000 MW of Hydropower can be generated. This component
involves the construction of storage reservoirs at potential sites in addition to the existing /ongoing
reservoirs and a network of canals for water transfer. The following Table gives the details of
proposed Interlinking of rivers
Mahanadi-Godavari Link
Inchampalli-Nagarjunasagar Link
Inchampalli-Pulichintala Link
Polavaram-Vijayawada Link
Almatti-Pennar Link
Srisailam-Pennar Link
Nagarjunasagar-Somasila Link
Somasila-Grand Anicut Link
Cauvery(Kattalai)-Vaigai-Gundar
Link
Ken-Betwa Link
Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal Link
Par-Tapi-Narmada Link
Damanganga-Pinjal Link
Bedti-Varada Link
Netravati-Hemavati Link
Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar Link
Haris Hasan Khan
Department of Geology, AMU
