RAS question
The National River Linking Project (NRLP) proposed by India aims to connect rivers through canals. Under which component does the Ken-Betwa Link fall?
Correct answer: (C) Peninsular Rivers Component.
The Ken-Betwa Link falls under the Peninsular Rivers Component of India's National River Linking Project.
Explanation
The National River Linking Project is framed around two major components: the Himalayan Rivers Component with 14 links and the Peninsular Rivers Component with 16 links. The Ken-Betwa Link belongs to the Peninsular side. NWDA's official About Us page supports this classification by noting that the DPR work for the Ken-Betwa link was taken up as one of the priority links under the Peninsular Component of the National Perspective Plan. The project is meant to transfer surplus water from the Ken River to the water-deficit Betwa River basin, which is why it is treated as an inter-basin river-linking project within peninsular India. It is also significant as the first project to receive Cabinet approval in 2021.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Trans-boundary Rivers Component is not one of the two NRLP components; the Ken-Betwa Link is classified by NWDA under the Peninsular Component.
- (B) Himalayan Rivers Component covers a different set of proposed links, while the Ken-Betwa Link is identified as a Peninsular Component priority link.
- (D) Coastal Rivers Component is not one of the NRLP's two major components, and it does not match NWDA's classification of Ken-Betwa under the Peninsular Component.
Concept
This tests the river-linking and inter-basin water transfer part of Indian geography. RAS repeats such questions because major water-resource projects often combine physical geography with current policy significance.