National Water Grid,

Peninsular Water Grid

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
Former Sr. Exec., Asian Development Bank
Sarasvati Nadi Research Centre
May 2014

IMPACT
Create 9 crore acres of addl wetland in 3 years time per SC
directive
Distribute the 9 cr. Acres to 9 cr. Landless family @1 acre per
family
With assured water to every farm, every village home, 24X7,
365 day of the year, ensure clean water supply and
Triple agri. Prodn with 3 or 4 crops per year on the arable land
of Bharatam
Mitigate annual flood damages in NE, integrate groundwater,
desalinated water, lakes and tanks in Grid, employment for 365
days under MNREGA under Grid project
Use only flood waters of Brahmaputra to reach upto
Kanyakumari by gravity flows
Inter-linking? Not an end in itself
Needed: National Water Grid (Peninsular Grid)
Potential for drinking water supplies to coastal towns/cities/industrial towns such as
Tiruppur by desalination of sea-water
Imperative of re-charging and sustaining ground-water tables, tank-networks
Restoring kudi-maraamattu (Peoples self-help)
Forestation of uplands (Sahyadri ranges)
Sharing of scarcity? Needed National Water Grid, to bring Brahmaputra to
Kanyakumari

7 Peninsular rivers: 45 mhm (rains) 8.75 lakh sq. km. (delta area)
Brahmaputra: 53.7 mhm (glaciers) 1.94 lakh sq. km. (delta area)

Potential for adding 11 m. ha. Under command area of irrigation (4.5 m. ha. directly
through canal network; 6.5 m. ha. through tank network)
Hydro-power generation: 2754 MW
National Waterway, Peninsular component: 1,000 kms.
Need for bringing waters from Hoganekal to the uplands of TN, Karnataka, Kerala
Need for a contour canal on Sahyadri ranges (paralleling the Konkan Railway)
Water management by peoples participation, designed as Peoples Project
Kerala watershed: water, water
everywhere, not a drop to drink
Desiccation of kulam-s surrounding each settlement
Sand-mining on river run-offs
Conversion of kulam-s into real estate plots and residencial
areas; resultant depletion of the ground water table without
provision for recharging groundwater
Suggestions for watershed management
Regulation of groundwater use, regulation of sand-mining
on river beds
Contour canals on Sahyadri ranges
Traditional knowledge systems for eco-friendly water
harvesting
Grain problem of Bharat
2134 kg/ha yield: India; 4664 kg/ha yield: China
1951 2001 Vision 2020
Population 33 crores 100 crores 150 crores
Agri. Prod. 65 m.t. 200 m.t. 400 m.t.
Irrig. area 22.6 m. ha. 90 m. ha. 175 m.ha.
Productivity Irrigated
Unirrigated
2.1 ton/ha
0.75 ton/ha
3 ton/ha
1 ton/ha
Water Resources of Bharat
Glaciers 1.725%
Groundwater .775%
Rivers, tanks, swamps .025%
Sea water (7500 km. coastline) 97.475%

Fresh water:
Glaciers 68%
Groundwater 31%
Rivers, tanks, etc. 1%
70% water is used for agriculture
Interlinked tanks: satellite view
Cooler temperatures at higher elevations
thoughout the globe


Glacial Inventory
Glacial ice currently covers 10 percent (16 million km
2
) of the
earth's surface.
To grow a glacier, annual snow accumulation must be greater
than the annual summer melt.
Most glaciers outside polar regions occur in mountains resulting
from collisions between tectonic plates.


Water fetishism: water as a
commodity
Water shortages (rather than land shortage) are affecting
growth in food production
Ground-water tables in Tamilnadu have dropped 30 metres
in 30 years, dangers of ingress of sea water , dangers of
arsenic poisoning
Need to maintain minimum flow levels in rivers
Water has become a commodity, is more expensive than
milk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldsummit2002/earth/story/0,12
342,777661,00.html
Concepts of virtual water (Import water? Import food!)

Rights Vs. Responsibilities
Right to life = Right to Water
Water Resource should be conserved and
perpetual access to water ensured
for people,
for food production and
for the environment
Water as a resource to be conserved for future
generations
Water Grid vs. Power Grid
Power Grid is a network --
When a consumer puts on an electric switch, power
flows
Source can be from any part of India, from hydro-,
thermal-, nuclear-power

Water Grid is a network --
When a consumer opens a water-tap or switches on
a bore-pump, water flows
Source can be from any part of India, from
desalinated sea-water, from glaciers, from river run-
offs, from swamps, from groundwater
SEASONAL
RAINFALL: JULY
2002
Drought Relief :
Rs. 15000 crores p.a.
Flood relief:
Rs.30000 crores p.a.
Avoiding these
recurring expenses
alone will justify the
Grid investment
HIMALAYAN COMPONENT
It will have 14 Links
Construction of Dams on
Tributaries of Ganga and
Brahmaputra Rivers in
India, Nepal & Bhutan
Linking of Brahmaputra
and its Tributaries with
Ganga and Ganga with
Mahanadi Benefiting
Assam, West Bengal, Bihar,
Jharkhand & Orissa
Interlinking Canal Systems
to Transfer Surplus Flows
of Eastern Tributaries of
Ganga to the West
Benefiting U.P.,
Uttaranchal, Haryana,
Rajasthan & Gujarat
HIMALAYAN COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)
NEPAL
BHUTAN

PENINSULAR COMPONENT

It will have 16 Links

Transferring Mahanadi &
Godavari Surpluses to Deficit
Basins of Krishna, Pennar,
Cauvery & Vaigai Benefiting
Orissa, A.P., Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu &
Pondicherry (with 9 Link
Canals)

Lift Essential for Transfer
of Water From Godavari to
Krishna Proposed in one of
the above 9 Links (to lift 1,200
cumec over 116 m)

PENINSULAR COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)

PENINSULAR COMPONENT

Transferring Water From West
Flowing Rivers of Western
Ghats to the East to benefit
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu &
Kerala

Transferring Water From Ken
River to Betwa River to Benefit
M.P. & U.P.
Inter linking Parbati,
Kalisindh & Chambal rivers to
benefit M.P. & Rajasthan
Interlinking of West Flowing
Rivers, North of Bombay &
South of Tapi, to benefit
Maharashtra & Gujarat

PENINSULAR COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)
LINKS IDENTIFIED FOR
PREPARATION OF
FEASIBILITY REPORTS

1. Mahanadi (Manibhadra)
Godavari (Dowlaiswaram)
2. Godavari (Inchampalli) -
Krishna (Nagarjunasagar)
3. Godavari (Inchampalli
Low Dam) Krishna
(Nagarjunasagar Tail Pond)
4. Godavari (Polavaram)
Krishna (Vijayawada)

5. Krishna (Almatti)
Pennar
6. Krishna (Srisailam)
Pennar (Prodattur)

PENINSULAR COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)
7. Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) -
Pennar (Somasila)
8. Pennar (Somasila)
Cauvery (Grand Anicut)
9. Cauvery (Kattalai)
Vaigai Gundar
10. Ken Betwa Link
11. Parbati Kalisindh
Chambal
12. Par Tapi Narmada
13. Damanganga Pinjal
14. Bedti Varda
15. Netravati Hemavati
16. Pamba Achankovil
Vaippar
PENINSULAR COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)
BENEFITS FROM
PENINSULR COMPONENT
13 Million Ha of
Additional Irrigation

4,000 Mega Watt of
Power
Drought Mitigation to
Some Extent in the
States of A.P.,
Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu & M.P.

Flood Control to Some
Extent in Mahanadi &
Godavari basins
PENINSULAR COMPONENT
(PROPOSED LINKS UNDER STUDY)
At the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project in
Kalpakkam. S.R. Jayaraman, Project Engineer (Civil), is
seen.
Use of semi-permeable membrane and pressurised sea-water
Desalination using nuclear power
Water is abundant on planet earth and in coastal cities of Bharat, with
a long coastline of 7517 kms.; about 97.3 percent occurs as sea-water.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has successfully
developed technologies of Multi-stage Flash and Reverse Osmosis
(MSF-RO) for desalination of water. The MSF and RO pilot plants set
up by BARC have been operated to study operational parameters. A
6300 cubic metre/day combined MSF-RO Nuclear Desalination
Demonstration Plant is to be set up at Kalpakam. The cost of
desalination will be 4.5 paise per litre of pure, distilled water. By
using advanced techniques for use of permeable membranes, which
can be developed indigenously, further efficiencies can be achieved.
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/powerrevolution1.htm
National Water Grid Authority; Peninsular Grid, Regional
and sub-regional Grids

Autonomous, statutory bodies (like Konkan Railway
Corpn.)

Self-financing, with peoples participation

Replace the River Board Act 1956 with Water Security
Act enacted under Entry 56 of List I (Central List)
because

Control and development of a River Valley (Entry 56
List I) is integrally linked to the four major sources:
glaciers, groundwater, run-offs and sea-water
Ecological, Social Issues,
Peoples Participation
Fragmentation of Water management
Vacuum at peak; confusion at bottom
Climate changes impact rivers
People-centred water management, transparency
issues
40% evaporation loss from reservoirs, canals
With and without Grid: desalination, recycling of
water
Watering the land? Supplying water for growth of
crops!
Flood control
Positive impacts of Flood control
Wildlife habitat management
Greenways and trails
Water Storage, Groundwater recharge
Erosion and sediment control
Sand and gravel deposits
Problems to be addressed
Pollution propagation
Subsidence
Glacial outbursts, floods
Sea-level rise
Episodic and chronic erosion
Areas of eco-importance & Challenges
Draining of Wetlands
Avoidance of water-logging
Land degradation; conversion of land for agriculture
Ecological development institutional arrangements
Introduction of exotic species of plants and animals
Dredging for river navigation has exacerbated problems of
river-bank erosion
Challenges
Use of natural resources to alleviate poverty, the greatest polluter
Involving civil society on right levels; resettlement of people
Incentives for cooperation
Aquatic ecosystems, pushing out ingress of sea-water

Co-operation imperatives
Co-operation with Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim,
Bangladesh, China, Pakistan
Co-operation among States within Bharat
Co-operation among Centre, States and Panchayats
Co-operation between National Waterways and
National Highways to minimise land-acquisition and
bridge construction costs
Conflict resolution and environmental impact
analyses through arbitration procedures in-built with
National Water Grid
3-D Satellite
radar
topography

*Superimpose
GIS data, to
expedite
choice of
optimal
waterways

*To monitor
waterflows

Available from
NASA for the
globe, 90m.
resolution

Blues and greens are lower
elevations, rising through
yellows and browns to
white at the highest
elevations.
Get on a bike,
Bhagiratha,
Gangaikonda Chola!

5000 engineering students
on motorbikes to design
alternative networks of the
National Water Grid
superimposing GIS data on
3-D Radar Topographs
- from Brahmaputra to
Kanyakumari
- from Sharada River to
Sabarmati River

Financial arrangements: options
Konkan Railway model: Floating Mahanadi-Kaveri Bonds
Distribution of 11 m. ha. (2.75 crore acres of land to 2.75 crore poor
families);
distribution of loans, pricing each acre at Rs. 25,000
this will fetch Rs. 69,000 crores from the financial system, to cover the cost of
Peninsular Water Grid and the initial capital cost of Peninsular Grid Authority
repayable over 20 years with 5 year grace period
Rehabilitation of about 5 lakh people (or, 1 lakh families)
Restoration of submerged forests (43000 ha) by afforestation in uplands
Levy of cess for new irrigated lands
Surcharge on fuel to fund the cost of canal- and tank-networks
No need for foreign loans, no need for foreign technology, no need for
Govt. budget support
Finance Commission can be asked to study the financing
arrangements to Panchayati Raj Institutions for maintaintenance and
day-to-day operations of the Grid
Social Cost-Benefit Analysis: National
Water Grid
Increase in foodgrain production (Addl. 200 m.t.)
Increase in forest cover from 19% to 33%
Enhanced livelihood for 60% agricultural population
15000 kms. of National Water Way (Multiplier
Economic effects)
Savings in imported fossil fuels due to Water Way
(Rs. 3,000 crores per annum)
Social Cost avoidance
Flood damages (Rs. 30,000 crores per annum)
Drought relief (Rs. 15,000 crores per annum)
Water-sharing disputes (denting national unity)

Potential waterways
GANGA: BETWEEN ALLAHABAD AND HALDIA
(1620 KM.)
BRAHMAPUTRA: BETWEEN SADIYA AND DHUBRI
(891 KM.)
WEST COAST CANAL, KERALA: BETWEEN
KOLLAM AND KOTTAPPURAM (168KM.);
CHAMPAKARA CANAL (14 KM.); UDYOGMANDAL
CANAL (22 KM.)
BUCKINGHAM CANAL
SUNDERBANS
BRAHMANI EAST COAST CANAL
DVC CANAL
National waterways of
National water grid
14,500 KM. OF INLAND NAVIGABLE
WATERWAYS (2002)
CANALS, BACKWATERS (KERALA),
CREEKS, RIVERS (GANGA-BHAGIRATHI-
HOOGHLY, BRAHMAPUTRA, BARAK,
GODAVARI, KRISHNA RIVERS AND
RIVERS IN GOA
3,700 KM. USE MECHANISED CRAFTS
18 M. TONNES CARGO
1760-1840 - The Canal Age in Britain

2000 Canal age dawns anew in UK
The Waterways Trust was set up by the operator of the
UK's 2,000-mile national canal network, British
Waterways, but is now an independent charity.
A Pickfords canal barge around 1800.
.
There are multitudes of old native works in various parts of India . . .
these are noble works, and show both boldness and engineering talent.

They have said, we are a kind of civilised savages, wonderfully expert
at fighting, but so inferior to their great men, that we would not even
keep in repair the works they had constructed, much less even imitate
them in extending the system . . . it was from the native Indians we
learnt how to secure a foundation in loose sand of unmeasured depth.

With this lesson about foundations, we built bridges, weirs, aqueducts
and every kind of hydraulic work . . . we are thus deeply indebted to
the native engineers.

Sir Arthur Cotton
Founder Modern Irrigation Programme,1784.
Greening of the desert: Sarasvati Mahanadi Rupa Nahar,
Mohangarh, 55 km. west of Jaisalmer, 40 ft. wide, 12 ft. deep
(Feb. 2002)
Sarasvati River valley at Adi Badri (May
2004)
Sarasvati Sarovar at Adi Badri (October 2004)
Vedic herbal garden; water harvesting with 11
check-dams; afforestation
Great Water Tower for 250 crore people
Himalaya is the source of major rivers for 2.5 billion people; Manasarovar in Tibet yields Sindhu,
Sutlej, Sarasvati, Mahakali-Karnali-Sharada and Tsangpo-Lohitya-Brahmaputra rivers; other rivers
flowing from eastern Himalaya are: Irawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtse and Huanghe.
Precipitation levels increase along the Himalaya from Karakorm (250 cm. per annum) to
Cherrapunjee, Assam (1410 cm p.a.) registering the highest rainfall regions of the world. Since
1959, Chinese government estimates that they have removed over $54 billion worth of timber.

Gangaikonda
Chola, 11
th
cent.
Tribute of Ganga
water into Chola
ganga water tank
Kallanai, Grand Anicut: 2000 years
old engineering marvel of
Karikala Chola
An engineering model which is also found in
Southern Africa
L-shaped Gabar bands on River Sindhu as
Anicuts
Dholavira: Rock-cut reservoir

The largest measures 263 feet by 39 feet and 24 feet in depth;
reservoirs together held more than 325,000 cubic yards of
water.
A profile of a Gabarband, on river Hab.
At Mehergarh Period II (Burj Basket
Market period): "The charred seeds of
wheat and barley belonging to the
species triticum sphaerococcum and
hordeum phaerococcum that,
according to L. Costantini, grow only
on irrigated fields, also were collected
from the ashy layers" of P:eriod II
(Jarrige, Jarrige, Meadow and
Quivron, 1995, Mehrgarh: Field
Reports 1974-1985, from Neolithic
times to the Indus Civilization,
Karachi, Department of Culture and
Tourism of Sindh, Pakistan,
Department of Archaeology and
Museums, French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, pp. 318-19)"
MOHENJODARO:PUSHKARINI, WITH STEPS & DRAIN
Floor of the tank is water tight due to finely fitted bricks laid
on edge with gypsum plaster and the side walls were
constructed in a similar manner. To make the tank even more
water tight, a thick layer of bitumen (natural tar) was laid
along the sides of the tank.
Bhandara


Khadin


Johad



Kere
Kul


Kuis




Kund

Naula






Pat
Singaverapura,
Allahabad
The earliest
reservoir and
dam for irrigation
was built in
Saurashtra,
Gujarat
(Western India).
According to
Saka King
Rudradaman I of
150 BCE a
beautiful lake
called
'Sudarshana'
was constructed
on the hills of
Raivataka during
Chandragupta
Maurya's time.

Adilaj Baoli, Ahmedabad
Surangam: Kerala

WATER TEMPLES
Panna Mia stepped-pond; Vasant Garh stepped-pond, Rajasthan; Rani-ki-vav, Patan,
Gujarat
Hadi Rani Well, Toda Raisingh, Rajasthan; Nimrana stepwell, Rajasthan
Stepped well in Siva vadi temple, Bikaner; Cistern, Nahgarh fort, Jaipur [After Morna
Livingstone, Milo Beach, 2002, Steps to Water; The Ancient Stepwells of India.]

Major dams resulting in increase in irrigated area rom 22.6 mha (1951) to 90 mha (2001)

[Sources: Bandyopadhyay J. and D. Gyawali, 1994, Himalayan Water Resources in: Mountain Research and Development
14 (1); Central Statistical Office, Royal Govt. of Bhutan, 1987, Statistical yearbook of Bhutan, Thimpu; UNDP, 1991,
Bhutan. Development Cooperation Report, 1990, New York].

Constraints with dams: tectonic impact; generation of electricity remote from beneficiaries; silting reduces life-span of dams;
resettlement of people; shifts in transportation routes.










Dam site River System Country Ht. of dam
(m.)
Power
(MW)
Bhakra Sutlej Bharat 226 1050
Nangal Sutlej Bharat
Pong Beas Bharat 133 1200
Parvati Parvati Bharat 167 1900
Tehri (planned) Bhagirathi Bharat 260 2200
Koteswar Bhagirathi Bharat 104
Kotlibel Bhagirathi Bharat 210 2000
Utayasu Alaknanda Bharat 246 1000
Tanakpur Sa_rada
(Mahakali)
Bharat/Nepal 6,800
Pancheswar Mahakali Nepal 232 2000
Chisapani Karnali Nepal 270 10,800
Barahashetra Kosi Nepal 230 3,600
Arun III
(planned)
Arun Nepal 68 201
Chukha
(planned)
Wangchu Bhutan 2026
Sunkosh Bhutan
Tipaimukh Barak Bharat 161 1500



Water Security is integrally linked to Gender equality

(35% of Indias population is less than 15 years of age: 2001
census)

Women in the workforce: girls should go to school, that should be
our Sarasvati Vandana

This will happen when water is available at the turn of a tap or turn
of a bore-pump-switch (water + energy = Bharat Vision 2020)