A Question of Answers: Linking India's rivers is biggest challenge - Prabhu

It was a project called the "garland of rivers", meant to connect all the rivers of India in a bid to save water from scores of rivers in the country flowing wastefully into the sea when millions of acres of land remained parched and millions of people remained thirsty.

The idea is identified with an engineer-turned-Congress politic-ian, K.L. Rao, way back in the Sixties. But it was not his alone. There were other technocrats and visionaries like Karnataka's Mokshagundam Visweswaraiah who had talked about it as well. But it was considered a little too fantastic and economically unfeasible.

The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has revived the idea as a means of proving that the BJP is not merely a reactionary party pursuing the agenda of Hindutva, and that it has some constructive ideas as well.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has set up a national task force headed by the Shiv Sena's Suresh Prabhu to study all the aspects of the project and submit a feasibility report.

Prabhu, a promising politician, and a chartered accountant by profession, who is also pursuing a doctoral degree in economics, has held key portfolios in the Vajpayee government, including that of environment, industry and power.

Dropped as power minister last July because he apparently fell out with Shiv Sena's dictatorial leader Bal Thackeray, Vajpayee wanted to retain him, but Thackeray would not brook the idea.

Prabhu sees a great opportunity in heading the task force about connecting the rivers. He has understood the tremendous significance of the project, and is applying himself to the job with much diligence. He has been holding a series of meetings with industry organisations, concerned state governments, experts and political leaders. Even opposition party leaders concede that Prabhu is serious and sincere in his work.

In an interview with Gulf News, Prabhu spoke of the work of the task force, and what it means for the country, and for him.

How is the work of the task force on connecting the rivers getting on?
It has been satisfactory. We are considering all the aspects of the issue – economic feasibility, technological hurdles, social aspects relating to the displacement of people as a consequence of the project. We are also looking at the ecological aspect of the project.

Has there been much resistance to the idea?
No. On the contrary, everyone is enthused about it. Political leaders from different states and different parties are all for it because they know that it will help in the development of the country.

The idea of connecting the rivers had been mooted in the Sixties by K.L. Rao. So, are you starting afresh, or taking up from that idea?
We have considered the suggestions made by K.L. Rao. There were also others like Dastur, Patel and Visweswaraiah, who had talked of such a project. But we are improvising on their suggestions. There was also a report on the issue made in 1982.

For example, K.L. Rao talked of connecting the rivers of south and north India, which would result in the Ganga-Cauvery link. But we are making two distinct plans for the peninsular rivers on the one hand, and the Himalayan rivers on the other.

What are the advantages of the project?
It is a gigantic project. It will generate employment for millions of people while the work of linking the rivers goes. It will generate 34,000 megawatts of electricity.

Are you disappointed after being dropped from the cabinet?
It is part of the political career. I do not see it as a setback. Every job is important. The present task is one of the most challenging ones. It has great importance for the future development of the country.

You had faced hurdles in the power ministry where you tried to deregulate the whole setup. Are you facing similar hurdles in this project as well?
No. But what I have learnt at the power ministry is quite useful in tackling the issue of connecting the rivers. The fact that I also held the environment and industry ministries has given me a better perspective of the project.

Are the costs of this project in terms of people and environment going to be heavy?
We are trying to minimise the displacement of people that this project would entail. Similarly, we are trying to tackle the environmental aspect of the project.

Is it true that you have to submit the task force's report by the end of this month?
This is a gigantic project. It will not be possible to submit a report at a short notice. It will require a much longer time to look into all the aspects.