HYDERABAD: Strongly opposing the proposal to interlink rivers, ‘Waterman of India’ Rajendra Singh, on Tuesday, said that river linking was nothing but commercialisation of rivers, which would create a Constitutional crisis and lead to corruption in the county.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that the heart and brain should be linked with the river but rivers should not be linked. Recalling that as per the Constitution, the Central government manages river flows while rainwater management was the responsibility of State governments, he said and added that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments also give some rights to panchayats on water.
“If the rivers were interlinked, this three-way management would be disturbed and create a Constitutional crisis,” he added. He pointed out that the detailed project reports of the river-linking projects were prepared as per the earlier flows of the rivers. Later, the flows in various rivers decreased and the DPRs were now irrelevant, he added. He also pointed that linking of rivers would lead to ecological, financial and cultural crises in the country.
“Linking of rivers will lead to destruction rather than development. It is nothing but commercialisation of water,” Singh said. Describing the river linking as a centralised water management, he said: “We need community driven and decentralised water management.” He said that a “draft river manifesto” would be finalised at the National Convention on Rivers to be held in Hyderabad on February 26 and 27. This manifesto would also oppose linking of rivers, he added.
Water varsity
Appreciating the efforts of the State government in creating a huge water bank, Rajendra Singh suggested Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao set up a Water University in the State. “We have agriculture, horticulture and health universities. Water is life. But there is no university for water. I suggest KCR to establish the country’s first water university in Telangana,” he said.He said that Telangana became ‘a hero’ in water management, which started from the ‘zero’ some eight years ago.
He said that though he was against big projects, he supports the State government for constructing Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme as it rejuvenated Godavari river for 200 km. He also congratulated the CM for changing the cropping pattern by reducing paddy cultivation area and encouraging the farmers to grow millets and other alternative crops.