Nitin Gadkari says Centre to take up Rs 60,000-crore Godavari-Cauvery linking project that 'will solve water issues in 4 states'

Amaravati: The Centre will soon take up a major project to link rivers Godavari and Cauvery that would resolve water issues in four southern states, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari announced at Amaravati on Monday. The objective of the project, expected to cost up to Rs 60,000 crore, was to make good use of about 1,100 thousand million cubic feet of Godavari water that currently drains into the sea, he said, addressing a meeting of BJP workers. “The detailed project report for the Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery linking is ready. We will soon present it to the Cabinet for approval. Thereafter, we will raise finances for the project either from the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank as the project cost is about Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore,” Gadkari said. [caption id=“attachment_4804061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Mettur dam on the Cauvery river. PTI[/caption] The Godavari water would thus be taken to the tail end of Tamil Nadu, he said. “Every year, about 1,100 thousand million cubic feet of Godavari water is going to waste into the Bay of Bengal while there is a dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka…So we have taken the decision to take Godavari water to Tamil Nadu and that will resolve all water issues among four states,” Gadkari noted. A special technology, suggested by a US-based Andhra Pradesh engineer, of using steel pipes would be used for linking Godavari and Cauvery. “We have decided not to use canals as it results in water losses through evaporation. Low thickness steel pipes will be used with special treatment that will also save the project cost significantly,” the Union minister said. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are locked in a dispute over sharing of the Cauvery river water for decades. Gadkari reiterated that the Centre would bear “100 percent” of the ongoing Polavaram multipurpose project. “We have given a lot of priority to Polavaram and never discriminated against Andhra. With the cooperation of the state government and 100 percent Central funding, we are implementing the project in an expeditious manner,” he said. Gadkari, however, regretted that the Chandrababu Naidu government was not giving any credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the Central government for such efforts.