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Extracts from report of the National Commission for Integrated water resources development 1999.
The assessed needs of the basins could be met from full development and efficient utilisation of intra-basin resources except in the case of Cauvery and Vaigai basins. Therefore, it is felt that limited water transfer from Godavari at Inchampalli and Polavaram towards the South would take care of the deficit in Cauvery and Vaigai basins, make more optimal use of water and also improve river ecology. Some of the transfer may be achievable by gravity, and rest by pumping to practicable heights. Efforts should be made to utilise existing links like Telugu Ganga as far as possible. Though surplus is available in Mahanadi also, the transfer from the river would require much longer link and is in any case not required for the immediate future as the projected shortages could be met from Godavari itself.
Although the present studies indicate the need for only limited transfer from Godavari towards the South, the Commission would like to stress the limitations of these studies. The possibility of the mean flows, as assumed in the present study, being overestimated has been brought out earlier. Also, the deficit and marginally surplus basins may require maintenance of higher flows than those adopted in the downstream reaches. Accordingly, balances have also been worked out on the basis of 60 percent use of the 'difference'. There are some uncertainties about the ground water estimation also. In view of these limitations and uncertainties, the Commission is of the view that further studies as to the future possibilities of interbasin transfer in the east flowing rivers, need to be continued.
Water availability and culturable area are not spread evenly in the vast basins of Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna. Consequently, water balance situation is not uniform. for getting a more realistic picutre, water balance should be prepared at varius locations of thelarge river basins. Water available upstream of Sriramsagar Project of Godavari is not sufficient to bring the available culturable area under irrigation. The yield available below Sriramsagar project gives rise to sizeable surplus after meeting the demand of the lower reaches. Such surplus cannot be utilised for irrigating areas in the upper reaches as it involves lifts exceeding 300 m.
It may be pointed out that Orissa and andhra Pradesh have claimed that all the waters of Mahanadi and Godavari could be utilised within the basins and that there are no surpluses. Leaving aside the legal issues, the Commission is unable to agree with this view. The water balance study (Table 7.3) is based on a several fold increase in irrigated area over and above the present irrigated areas, for example, in the case of Mahanadi, irrigated area increased from 2.02 to 7.617 M ha and in case of Godavari from 4.12 to 14.072 M ha. It is most unrealistic to postulate that technically and economically feasible schemes can be planned to irrigate more areas within the basins.
The Godavari Water Disputes Award envisaged construction of a dam at Inchampalli with an inter-state agreement between Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh million unit of energy annually. The high would submerge an area of 92,555 ha and displace over one lakh people. An alternative has been proposed to build a low dam at Inchampalli with pond level of 95 m to lift water from Godavari to meet the demand of Warangal plateau and to transfer certain quantum (6.31 km3) of water from Godavari basin to Krishna basin. In view of the magnitude of the human problem involved in rehabilitation, it will be more appropriate to go for a low dam, and utilise about 6.3 km3 of additional water. This could be used partly in Krishna basin and partly transferred farther to Cauvery and Vaigai. Studies have to be made to find out the optimal quantity of transfer to individual basins and to examine how far the existing links can be utilised to effect such transfers.
Report of
The National Commission for Integrated
water resources development
Volume I.
Government of India Ministry
of Water resources
New Delhi.
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