Supreme Court okays interlinking of rivers

Monday, February 27, 2012: The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementation.
Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three-judge Bench headed by the Chief Justice, Mr S.H. Kapadia, said the Centre and the State Governments concerned should participate for its “effective” implementation “in a timebound manner“.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Swatanter Kumar and A.K. Patnaik, appointed a high-powered committee comprising representatives of various Government departments, ministries, experts and social activists to chart out and execute the project.
The committee will comprise the Union Minister of Water Resources, its secretary, Secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and four expert members appointed by Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and MoEF.