Why in the News?
- Maharashtra government has approved the Wainganga-Nalganga river linking project.
More about the News
- Under the project, water from Wainganga (Gosikhurd) river in Godavari basin will be redirected to the Nalganga (Purna Tapi) project in Buldhana district by constructing 426.52km of link canals.
- The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) presented the detailed project report in 2018.
- It will supplement the National River Linking Project (NRLP).
- Maharashtra governor also approved the Nar-Par-Girna Valley Intra-State Link Project.
- Nar-Par-Girna Valley link project is an Intra-State link proposal of Maharashtra State
- It aims to divert the surplus waters from Maharashtra portion of west flowing river basins i.e. Ambika basin, Auranga basin and Nar-Par basins to east side i.e. Girna river of Tapi basin.
About Wainganga and Nalganga River
- Wainganga River
- Source: Mahadeo Hills (Madhya Pradesh)
- The river Wainganga after its confluence with river Wardha is called Pranhita.
- The river Pranhita with its three principal branches viz. the Penganga, the Wardha and the Wainganga, is the largest tributary of the river Godavari.
- Its riparian States includes Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.
- Nalganga are the main left bank tributaries of river Purna.
- Purna, is one of the tributaries of Tapi, joins from the left.
Interlinking of Rivers
- National River Linking Project (NRLP) aimed to link different surplus rivers of country with the deficient rivers so that the excess water from surplus region could be diverted to deficient region.
- Background: The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) in August 1980.
- Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports.
- In 2021, Union Cabinet approved the implementation of Ken Betwa river link -first interlinking of rivers project.