‘Game changer’ river interlinking project in Bihar set to get union cabinet nod

The much anticipated Kosi-Mechi project to interlink the two rivers in north Bihar, billed as a game changer for irrigation and flood management in the flood-prone region, is likely to get union cabinet nod soon, a top state government official said.

Chaitanya Prasad, additional chief secretary of the state’s water resources department, said the project has already got various clearances from environment and other ministries and awaiting approval from the Public Investment Board (PIB). “Once the PIB approves , it will go to the union cabinet for approval,” Prasad said, adding the project already has a working detailed project report (DPR) prepared after consultation with various departments.

The project, estimated to cost a total of about ₹6300 crore, was included in the union budget 2024-25 and the Centre had agreed to the 60:40 split of the total cost between the union government and the state. It was also accorded the national project status.

The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has prepared a DPR, which aims to provide irrigation to around 2.10 lakh hectares (ha) in the Seemanchal area of Bihar.

According to NWDA, the project envisages extension of the Eastern Kosi Main Canal (EKMC) up to river Mechi, a tributary of Mahananda.

The link would help irrigate areas in Araria, Purnia, Kishanganj and Katihar districts and also help in mitigation of floods, a perennial problem in Kosi and Seemanchal areas of the state.

Barrages on rivers in six districts

Meanwhile, the Bihar government is planning to construct barrages on several rivers in six districts in the northern part of the state bordering Nepal to mitigate the recurring flood problem, water resources department minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on Friday.

The proposed barrages will be built on the Gandak, Masan, Kamala, Kosi and Mahananda rivers.

“The Bihar government has started the process of finalising DPRs pertaining to the construction of more barrages in East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Kishanganj, Madhubani and Supaul districts as part of its flood mitigation measures,” Chaudhary told reporters in Patna on Friday.

The NDA government at the Centre recently announced financial support of ₹11,500 crore for Bihar to deal with flood-related issues that are an annual phenomenon for the state, he said.

The DPRs are being finalised for the construction of barrages on Gandak at Areraj in East Champaran, on Masan in West Champaran, Bagmati at Dheng in Sitamarhi, on Kamala at Jainagar in Madhubani, on Kosi at Dakmara in Supaul and on Mahananda at Taiyabpur in Kishanganj, said the minister.

The state government’s plans of linking Kamala-Purani Kamala-Bagmati rivers and Burhi Gandak-None-Baya-Ganga rivers will also get a boost from the Centre’s flood mitigation projects for Bihar, he added.

The minister said the state government has been asking the Centre to manage floods by rivers originating from Nepal. “It was during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government when India and Nepal agreed to build high-level dams on river Kosi, Bagmati and Kamala in Nepal and set up a joint project office at Biratnagar (in that country) to prepare the related DPRs in 2004,” he said.

However, the DPRs could never see the light of the day due to certain issues related to Nepal, the minister said. “Later, the Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar ji decided to finalise the projects within the state’s territorial jurisdiction,” the minister said.

The state government has taken several measures to rejuvenate and revive dying rivers, he said, adding that this has to be done in a coordinated manner by the Centre as well as other states.”Heavy silt deposit slows down the water flow, posing a big challenge to the existence of certain rivers. The Centre should formulate the national silt management policy at the earliest”, the minister said.

“Ganga is fast losing its incessantness and cleanliness due to silt. The condition of the river from Patna to Farakka is very serious. In such a situation, we have to think seriously about this,” he said.

Bihar on verge of water scarcity

Chaudhary said Bihar has reached the threshold of water crisis. “Now if there is any wastage of water at any level, Bihar can be hit by a water crisis. The water of our rivers flows into the Bay of Bengal and becomes useless. Especially during floods, a huge amount of water flows into the Bay of Bengal,” he said.

“Our plan is to store the water of the rivers during the flood period and use it for irrigation as well as drinking water. Keeping this in mind, we are preparing our plans. On the lines of the Ganga water supply scheme to Bodh Gaya, Gaya, Rajgir and Nawada cities, a plan is being made to supply drinking water from the river and reservoir to many other cities,” said the minister.

Water to every field

The minister said the WRD is close to its target of completing the scheme of providing irrigation water to every field, as part of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s “seven resolves” .