Union Minister for Water Resources Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has stated in the Rajya Sabha on Monday in reply to a question raised by YSRCP member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy that the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) prepared a draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the transfer of the water from the Godavari River to the Krishna, the Krishna to the Pennar and the Pennar to the Cauvery and circulated it to all the States concerned in March 2019 for eliciting their views.
The Godavari - Cauvery link comprises three components namely the Godavari (Inchampalli/Janampet) - Krishna (Nagarjunasagar), the Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) – Pennar (Somasila) and the Pennar (Somasila)–Cauvery.
It envisaged the diversion of 247 tmcft of unutilised water in the Indravati sub-basin of the Godavari basin to meet the requirements between the Godavari and the Cauvery rivers.
The link project provides irrigation facility to 3.45 to 5.04 lakh hectares in Prakasam, Nellore, Krishna, Guntur, and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) besides stabilising the existing command areas under the Nagarjunasagar left and right bank canals.
The implementation stage would be reached after the DPR was prepared with the consensus of the States concerned and the requisite statutory clearances were obtained, Mr. Shekhawat said.
Mr. Reddy asked whether the Government of India received a request from A.P. Chief Minister for exploring ways to divert the water from the Godavari to the Krishna for mitigating the drought in Rayalaseema, Prakasam, and Nellore districts and its status.
