The government is considering five river-linking projects for diversion of surplus flood water to water deficient areas, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said 30 river links were identified for inter-linking.
"Based on preliminary studies, 30 links with aggregate irrigation potential of 35 million hectare have been identified and National Water Development Agency has been assigned the responsibility of preparation of feasibility report and the detailed project reports," he said.
Of these, five projects have been prioritised and detailed feasibility reports are being prepared.
He, however, did not give a time-frame for implementation of the projects saying inter-linking of rivers was not possible without concerned states consenting to the proposals.
The total water availability in the country has been estimated to be about 1869 billion cubic meter (bcm). However, in view of hydrological feature and due to topographical constraints, the utilisable water has been assessed at 1,123 bcm which includes 690 bcm of surface water and 433 bcm of replenishable ground water.
"With a view to conserve water for optimal utilisation, storage capacity of 225 bcm has since been created," he said adding another 64 bcm is under construction and a further 108 bcm is under consideration.