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Interlinking of rivers can have far-reaching adverse effects on the monsoon cycle and biodiversity. This may also pose socio-economic challenges. Experts say the Ken-Betwa scheme is the first scheme being implemented under the National River Linking Project (NRLP).
Under this, an attempt has been made to bring about 11 lakh hectares of land under irrigation in the dry Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Cautioning against river-linking projects, experts said that these can create complex problems in the cycle of nature.
Which can have far-reaching adverse effects on the monsoon cycle, biodiversity and socio-economic issues. Manoj Mishra, the convener of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, which is striving to protect the Yamuna river and its floodplains, said that the long-term adverse effects of river-linking projects cannot be imagined as they will be far-reaching.
When the water of a river is diverted and it mixes with the sea, the river also carries silt with it. According to experts, river-linking projects can have environmental, social, and climate-related impacts. This will have an impact on biodiversity, impact on disasters, impact on hydrology. 23 lakh big trees will be cut to connect Ken-Betwa. A credible assessment of the environmental impact of the Ken-Betwa river linking project should be done.
- It is an estimation that the way we have planned the interlinking of rivers may affect the monsoon system.
- Thus, the thermal and salinity gradient of the ocean are two drivers of the monsoon that can be worsened by river-linking projects.