India, Aug. 30 -- River interlinking project promises multiple benefits: improved irrigation, drinking water supplies, hydropower generation and better flood and drought management. But the challenges are equally formidable. River systems are ecologically interconnected, and diverting water can disrupt ecosystems, forests and fisheries. Large projects may also lead to displacement of communities

The proposition may appear straightforward, link India's great rivers, from the Brahmaputra in the northeast to the Godavari and Cauvery in the south, and India could potentially overcome water shortages for decades. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently brought the idea back into public discussion when, at the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal...