Government of India 
The major, medium irrigation and multi-purpose projects located on inter-State rivers/ river basins or, such projects where State Govt. is desirous of availing assistance from Govt. of India or externally aided projects are submitted by State Govt./ Project Authority to CWC for techno-economic appraisal. The project proposals submitted by State Govt. are examined for their techno-economic viability through multi disciplinary appraisal mechanism. Techno-economic appraisal process is a multi-disciplinary task which involves CWC as well as other Central Agencies like CGWB, CSMRS, CEA etc. After establishment of techno-economic viability, the proposal is placed before the Advisory Committee of DoWR, RD & GR which is headed by Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR and having members from other ministries/departments.
APPRAISAL PROCESS: As per the existing procedure, appraisal process has to be completed in two stages, i.e. at Preliminary and DPR Stage. The time lines for completion of examination of Preliminary Report/ Pre- Feasibility Report is 8 weeks and “In Principle” consent for preparation of DPR is accorded by the screening committee of CWC. The time lines for completion of examination for DPR is 4 months for projects duly certified by the Central Design Organisation of the State Govt. and 6 months in other cases.
Major Irrigation (CCA more than 10,000 ha) and Multipurpose projects are submitted to CWC HQ and examined for various planning and design aspects in specialized CWC Directorates, DoWR,RD&GR, CSMRS, CGWB, GSI, CEA, and MoA&FW. The medium irrigation projects (CCA upto 10,000 ha and more than 2,000 ha) are examined in Regional Field offices of CWC. Besides these, the Hydro-power projects proposed by State Power Corporations/ Electricity Boards/ Private Sector Organisations for Techno-Economic Clearance by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) are also scrutinized in CWC on aspects like hydrology, civil design, inter-State issues and cost aspects of civil components.
During appraisal process, project proposal is vetted as per the water availability, design aspects, cropping pattern, crop yield and other agricultural inputs as per the standards, construction material and soil survey, benefits and cost analysis, inter-State water sharing issues, and international aspects etc. After establishment of techno-economic viability of the project, the Advisory Committee of DoWR, RD & GR on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects headed by Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR considers the projects for acceptance and thereafter recommends the same for investment clearance.
Once, projects are accepted by Advisory Committee, Investment Clearance to these projects are accorded by DoWR,RD&GR. The State Govt. submit the proposals for Investment Clearance to CWC for examination, CWC examines all such proposals and send them to DoWR,RD&GR with recommendations for consideration by the Investment Clearance Committee (ICC). While processing these proposals, CWC takes into account implementability of the project without affecting other projects under irrigation sector, overall State plan size, the year-wise allocation for the project including allocation for all other ongoing projects and capacity of State Government to incur financial expenditure and bottlenecks in implementation of the projects. Investment clearance is then granted after recommendation of ICC by the Hon'ble Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
- The guidelines of Investment Clearance are uploaded on official web site of Ministry;
- Various Guidelines related to preparation and appraisal of PFR/DPR/ERMs
- Composition of Advisory Committee of DoWR, RD &GR on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects
- Composition of Screening Committee of CWC headed by Chief Engineer, Project Appraisal Organisation, CWC
- Projects Appraisal Management System (e-PAMS)
