NRLP concept proposes water transfers to Mahanadi and Godavari river basins. First it transfers water from Brahmaputra to Ganga and then from Ganga to Subarnarekha (links 10 and 13 of the Himalayan component in Figure 1). Water transfers from Subarnarekha to Mahanadi (link 14 of the Himalayan component) partly substitute for water transfers from Mahanadi to Godavari (link 1 of the peninsular component, Figure 1). The water transfers from Mahanadi to Godavari partly substitute water transfers from Godavari to Krishna (link 4 of the peninsular component). Because of these substitution water transfers, the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers can have substantial surplus even after meeting the EF demand under higher EMC classes. The key donor river basins in the NRLP have surplus river flows under different environmental management conditions. The Brahmaputra River has surplus flows under any environmental flow management regimes. The Mahanadi and the Godavari can have surpluses under moderately modified environmental conditions. However, inter-basin transfers to Mahanadi and then to Godavari allow them to have surplus river flows, while managing them under slightly modified environmental flow conditions. However, if these surpluses are to transfer elsewhere, the overriding requirement is to safeguard their environmental flow requirements in the low-flow months.