River interlinking in limbo as states not co-operating:Kataria

The Centre is ready with its river-linking plans but states are not co-operating on the project due to "vote bank politics", Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Singh Kataria said on Monday.

At this moment, the central government cannot make it compulsory for states to implement the project, he told reporters here.

"The central government has worked on the river interlinking project. There are many rivers which can be interlinked. Detailed project reports (DPR) of four are also ready. But state governments are not co-operating on it," Kataria said.

"Many states are not ready to share water inspite of having it in excess. They fear that they may lose votes if they agree to this project," he said.

The minister was in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district to address a workshop on 'Increasing water use efficiency in agriculture', organised by the National Water Mission.

Addressing the workshop, he said there is a need for diversification, and less water consuming crops should be taken by farmers in drought-prone areas like Marathwada in Maharashtra.

"Cultivation of crops should be decided according to the land topography and the state governments should encourage farmers for it," he said.

A scheme to encourage farmers on this has been undertaken in Haryana where incentives are paid to cultivators who sow crops other than sugarcane and rice, he pointed out.

Kataria also said that Maharashtra needs to re-think its crop policies.

"Maharashtra has 55 per cent population dependent on farming directly and indirectly. But the land irrigated in the state is just 18 per cent," he said.

Cotton and sugarcane consume huge amount of water and these crops are taken up extensively here, he noted.