Inter-Linking of River (ILR) is a water conservation method to reduce the irregular distribution of water and for providing solution to minimize floods and droughts in India. The Rivers in semi –arid drought –prone tahsils are life-line of livelihood. The rivers play a vital role in the lives of the drought – prone tahsils people. Proper management of river water is the need of the hour. Indian agriculture largely depends upon Monsoon which is always uncertain in nature. Hence, there is a severe problem of lack of irrigation in one region and water logging in others. Damage to crops due to drought and pitiable drainage facility could be managed. Depleting and decreasing status of water resources may be one of the most critical resource issues of the 21st century. To overcome the major problems of droughts, water scarcity and floods in different parts of Maharashtra, a massive river interlinking project has been considered for implementation by the Government of India recently. It is expected to provide extra irrigation intensity in the country, increasing water availability for drinking and industrial purposes, mitigating effect of drought and floods and power generation capacity to a certain extent. In order to study and examine the probability of diverting the excess waters, the Government of India constituted the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) in 1982. This paper highlights the concept of inter-basin transfer of water, related issues and concerns of interlinking of rivers, economic and ecological benefits leading to sustainable development of region as well as adverse impacts due to inter-basin water transfer. Drought and Flood are natural disasters caused by climate change which are the major water concerns in the country happens due to heavy and low rainfall. However, it summarizes the findings of the Strategic Analysis of this Project. Considering the future demands, conservation and management of water resources are very essential.
