The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner. Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three judge bench, headed by Justice S H Kapadia, appointed a high-powered committee to chart out and execute the project. The committee will comprise Union Minister of Water Resources, the Secretary in the department, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and four expert members appointed by the Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry and Planning Commission. Representatives from state governments, two social activists and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been assisting the court in the case, will also be the members of the committee.