UPA to review river inter-linking project: Pawar

Union Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would review the ambitious river inter-linking project, initiated by the National Democratic Alliance government.

"A policy decision has been adopted to review the project," Pawar, who had a meeting with Union Water Resources Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi on Friday, told reporters in Mumbai.

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The criteria for the project should be the percentage of land presently under irrigation in each state, Pawar said adding weightage should be given to states with lowest percentage of land under irrigation.

According to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, the government will make a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of the project starting with south-bound rivers.

The UPA government will also explore the feasibility of linking sub-basins of rivers in states like Bihar.