Bhubaneswar: The state government would take a decision on the Centre’s proposed Godavari-Mahanadi river linking project after thorough examination, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Wednesday.
Union water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation minister Uma Bharti met the Chief Minister here Wednesday evening and proposed the interlinking of the Mahanadi with the Godavari river.
“The ball is in the Centre’s court. Last year when officials of the Union ministry of water resources and National Water Development Agency (NWDA) convened a meeting on the river linking project, we had made our observations. They have not responded yet and we have learnt that the report is likely to reach us by the end of March,” said the chief engineer of water resources department, Janaki Mohapatra.
“The chief minister has agreed to set up a joint group of the state government and officials from the Union ministry to discuss the proposal of river interlinking. We will meet next after six months,” Bharti said.The river interlinking project would facilitate irrigation in 5 lakh hectares in the state and ensure generation of at least 240 MW of hydroelectricity, said the Union minister.
A total of Rs 30,000 crore would be spent on the project. As the river interlinking is a national project, the Centre will bear 90 per cent of the expenditure and the state will have to provide only 10 per cent, she said.Bharti said the project would help boost the agriculture sector and mitigate the drinking water problem.
The state government has also urged the Union minister to sanction funds for five projects. Bharti agreed to provide Rs 2,580 crore in four years, including Rs 100 crore this year, for the projects, which include the Indravati extension, Rukura, Lower Indra, Anandpur and Subarnarekha irrigation projects.
