The Godavari–Cauvery link: three links that carry Godavari water south to the Grand Anicut

Background

This backgrounder is tied to Tamil Nadu's request on 11 October 2026 that the Godavari–Cauvery link be declared a national project. The link is made up of three links: Godavari (Inchampalli/Janampet) to Krishna (Nagarjunasagar), Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) to Pennar (Somasila), and Pennar (Somasila) to Cauvery (Grand Anicut). As per the draft Detailed Project Report, about 247 TMC of water could be diverted from the Godavari, lifted to Nagarjunasagar dam and moved south to serve the Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery basins. The National Water Development Agency completed the draft Detailed Project Report and sent it to the party States in March 2019. The project reaches the implementation stage only after the DPR is prepared with the consensus of the States concerned and statutory clearances are obtained; the draft DPR put its cost at ₹60,361 crore at 2018-19 prices.