New Delhi, March 21 A parliamentary panel has expressed concern over the underutilization of funds under the River Interlinking scheme in 2025-26 and has urged the government to expedite implementation to ensure the timely completion of projects.
In a report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources noted that the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has been entrusted with interlinking of rivers under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) formulated in 1980. Under this plan, 30 link projects—16 in the Peninsular component and 14 in the Himalayan component—have been identified to facilitate the transfer of water from surplus to deficit regions and improve water availability in drought-prone and rain-fed areas.
The report noted that the scheme witnessed underutilization of funds during the 2025-26 financial year.
The fund allocation at the Budget Estimates (BE) stage was ₹2,400 crore, which was revised to ₹1,808.29 crore at the Revised Estimates (RE) stage, while the actual expenditure till December 31, 2025, stood at ₹453.16 crore.
The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation informed the committee that delays in the Daudhan Dam works, slow progress in state components, canal renovation in Uttar Pradesh, and lower-than-expected progress in Madhya Pradesh were among the key challenges affecting fund utilization.
The panel said it is "disappointed" with the utilization of only about 25 per cent of the RE allocation until the last quarter of FY 2025-26, indicating poor financial prudence and slow progress under an ambitious scheme of interlinking of rivers to address water scarcity, drought mitigation, and flood control.
It recommended that the department, in coordination with states, adopt a proactive approach towards fast-tracking various works under the scheme to ensure optimal utilization of funds and timely completion of projects.
The committee also highlighted the importance of the Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (MPKC) link project, which integrates the earlier Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) river link with the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) to transfer surplus monsoon water from the Chambal basin to the water-scarce regions of eastern Rajasthan.
In view of its significance, the panel urged the Department of Water Resources to work closely with the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for the time-bound completion of the project.
