India, March 16 -- The estimated cost of the 426.52-km Wainganga-Nalganga River Linking Project, the largest river-linking project in India, has increased by more than Rs.6,000 crore even before construction has begun. The project's revised cost has been approved at Rs.94,967.66 crore, an increase of about Rs.6,392 crore compared to the earlier estimate of Rs.87,342 crore.

The state cabinet had originally approved the project in August 2024 with the aim of diverting surplus water from eastern Vidarbha to drought-prone districts in western Vidarbha, a region that has seen a high number of farmer suicides. The irrigation project is expected to bring more than 10 lakh acres of agricultural land under irrigation.

On March 9, the state gover...