The Supreme Court on Monday 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 S H Kapadia, appointed a high-powered committee to chart out and execute the project.

The committee will comprise of Union Minister of Water Resources, its Secretary, Secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and four expert members appointed by Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and MoEF. Representatives from state governments, two social activists and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been assisting the court in the case, will also be members of the committee.