Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
CONCLUSION
To sum it up, interlinking of rivers as a solution should be based
on scientific reasoning, and politics or emotions should not determine
the extent of river linking we do. Interlinking can be considered
as a flood mitigation measure. India being a tropical country with
high evapotranspiration and over-exploited groundwater resources,
interlinking will serve its purpose of irrigation augmentation if water
were to be efficiently transported in closed pipes instead of open canals.
A few interlinking projects have already rolled out. It is suggested that
the economic gains from these projects are weighed against the loss of
natural resource capital, before embarking on new projects. In India rivers
are mostly forest-fed; therefore bringing back the tree cover on the either
sides of the river is the only long-term sustainable solution to address
water scarcity and reduce the impact of floods and droughts.
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