Recently, linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Godavari and Krishna
The link taken up was between the Godavari and the Krishna. In September 2015 Godavari water was carried into the Krishna delta through the Polavaram right canal, a link executed by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
- ✓ (b) The Godavari (Polavaram)-Krishna (Vijayawada) link was taken over by the State of Andhra Pradesh under the Indirasagar Polavaram Project, and water connectivity in the link canal has since been established. Godavari water reached the Krishna delta through this canal on 9 September 2015.
- ✗ (d) The Par-Tapi-Narmada link, the Narmada-Tapti proposal in the Ministry's list, was only at detailed-project-report stage; no such link was executed.
- ✗ (c) The Ministry's list has no Mahanadi-Sone link; the Mahanadi is proposed to be linked with the Godavari, and only a feasibility report exists for that.
Remember · The link executed in 2015 was Godavari-Krishna, through the Polavaram right canal in Andhra Pradesh.
Sources
- Interlinking of Rivers: progress, clearances and funding (Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India) ↗ “This link was subsequently taken over by the State of Andhra Pradesh under the Indirasagar Polavaram Project. Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the project came under the jurisdiction of the Polavaram Project Authority as part of the Polavaram Irrigation National Project, declared under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Act, 2014. Water connectivity in the link canal has since been established.”
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India: Report No. 4 of 2017 (Andhra Pradesh), Economic Sector, on the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme ↗ “Pattiseema and Pushkara LISs were proposed for deriving early benefits from Polavaram irrigation project (an ongoing project) by lifting water from Godavari river. The water lifted would be routed to the Right Main Canal of the Polavaram Project”
- Godavari, Krishna rivers are interlinked (India Water Portal, 14 September 2015) ↗ · reference work “On September 9, 2015, now a historic date for Andhra Pradesh, the Godavari water reached the Polavaram canal in the Krishna Delta region after flowing for 124 km.”
- Interlinking of Rivers: details and status of links under the National Perspective Plan (Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti) ↗ “Godavari (Polavaram) – Krishna (Vijayawada) link – The project has been taken up by Government of Andhra Pradesh.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·