Ramesh demands govt abandon interlinking of rivers

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday made a demand for abandoning the interlinking of rivers, claiming it will have a disastrous environmental impact, but members from AIADMK and DMK objected to his views.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Ramesh welcomed the creation of a new integrated Ministry of Jal Shakti, but cautioned on the "perils" of moving ahead with the interlinking of rivers.

"Interlinking of rivers could also profoundly impact the very integrity of Indias monsoon system by reducing fresh water flows into the sea. Vast areas of land will be submerged and millions of people will be displaced," the Congress leader said.

He said in the sub-continent, given the dependence on the monsoon the periods when rivers have surplus water are generally synchronous.

A recent study finds a significant decrease in monsoon rainfall over water surplus river basins in India, he noted.

"Given the topography of India and the way the links are envisaged, they might totally ..