Problem Statement

Bihar, a state in North India, faces an oblique challenge in the context of water availability and potential. Bihar experiences contrasting crises of floods and droughts in different areas of the state at the same time. To create a more balanced network of availability, the current government has given a significant thrust to linking rivers in India.

Our research took us through the water crisis faced in Bihar, Indian legislation governing river linking, arguments in favor and against interlinking rivers, socio-economic impact to the people living adjacent and dependent on the rivers, case studies in USA, Brazil, and China, alternate solutions adopted in Israel and Bangladesh, and stakeholder interactions with government representatives, government engineers, locals, and NGOs.

Outcome

The brief has analysed the feasibility of major river interlinking projects that have been proposed in the recent decades in Bihar.

Bihar faces issues of both droughts and floods at the same time, and river interlinking has often been proposed as a sustainable solution. However, there is no concrete evidence of economic prosperity or the real outcome in terms of water availability.

Hence, it was concluded that an interlinking project would not be prudent given the current research and analysis. The project will not only disrupt the flow of rivers but also potentially create new problems to the agrarian economy. Alternative solutions were proposed that would lead to a more localized and targeted approach towards the problem.