Interlinking river projects to tap foreign funding

The state governments have been urged to explore new financing models including low-interest loans from foreign agencies for interlinking river projects.

Making the call, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari said the time has come when “we have to look for innovative funding mechanisms for these projects”.

He wants state governments to come forward with definite funding proposals which can be taken up with foreign funding agencies, and assured his Ministry will provide all help to the states for this.

He has also stressed upon the need to design better technical models to bring down construction cost while maintaining quality, so that projects do not languish for want of funds.

Gadkari wants the state govenments to cooperate with one another and with the Central Government in New Delhi to expedite the projects for interlinking of rivers.

Among projects being implemented, the Ken-Betwa Link Project is likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding soon.

Major issues related to Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Projects have also been cleared.

India is working on a programme to divert river water to deficit regions and solve the problem of water scarcity that exists in several states.

The Minister addressed the 14 meeting of the Special Committee for Inter-linking of Rivers in New Delhi on 17 Jan 2018. fii-news.com