Budget 2022: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Five Major River Interlinking Project

The Minister said that the Detailed Project Report for the interlinking project has also been finalized.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Chennai: The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Tuesday the interlinking of five major rivers in the country. The Minister said that the Detailed Project Report for the interlinking project has also been finalised. 

In the budget speech, the Finance Minister said, the Detailed Project Report has been laid out for the implementation of five other river-inter-linking projects. As a result of the move, the rivers including Daman Ganga Pinjar, Par Tapi Narmada, Krishna Godavari, Krishna Pennar and Pennar Cauvery will be interlinked. 

Once a consensus is reached among the beneficiaries' states the Centre will support the implementation, she said.

The Finance Minister also made a mention of the Ken-Batwa river interlinking project and said that the implementation of the project for Rs 46,000 crore will be taken up to provide irrigation to 9.05 lakh hectares and 65 lakh people.

The interlinking of rivers originating from northern India to the rivers in southern India is expected to help the water crisis faced by the farmers of the south and to solve major water-related issues between the southern states.

The Finance Minister who presented her budget for the fourth consecutive time also made other major announcements. Nirmala Sitharaman slashed the custom duty on diamonds and gems by 5 per cent, reducing corporate surcharge to 7 per cent. She allocated Rs 1 lakh crore to help the states. She also allowed taxpayers to file an updated return within 2 years from the relevant assessment year.