New Delhi: On December 25, on the 100th birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Ken-Betwa River Linking National Project in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, the Congress has hurled criticism at the PM for laying the foundation stone of the project and said that project is a threat to the Panna Tiger Reserve. In this article, we will know more about this project.
What is the Ken-Betwa Link Project?
The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is a project which aims to transfer water from the Ken river to the Betwa river with both being the Yamuna river’s tributaries. The length of the Ken-Betwa Link Canal is going to be 221 km and it will have a tunnel of 2 km. The Jal Shakti Ministry has stated that the project’s objective is to provide annual irrigation to 10.62 lakh hectares of land out of which 8.11 lakh hectares is in Madhya Pradesh and 2.51 lakh hectares is in Uttar Pradesh. Also, it will provide drinking water to about 62 lakh people, apart from generating 27 MW of solar power and 103 MW of hydropower.
While the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers was prepared in 1980, the KBLP is the first project under it. Under its peninsular component, the plan has 16 projects including the KBLP. In December 2021, the Union Cabinet approved Rs 44,605 crore for the KBLP project.
The two phases of Ken-Betwa Link Project
There are two phases in the Ken-Betwa Link Project. The first phase includes the construction of the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units like the Ken-Betwa Link Canal, High Level Tunnel, Low Level Tunnel and power houses. The second phase will have three components, Bina Complex Project, Kotha Barrage and Lower Orr Dam. On December 25, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the Daudhan Dam whose contract has been given to infrastructure company NCC Ltd.
The deadline and beneficiary regions of the project
The Jal Shakti Ministry has stated that it will take eight years to complete the KBLP project. On March 22, 2021, the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh signed a MoU to implement the project.
The project covers Bundelkhand which is spread across 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The Jal Shakti Ministry has said that the Ken-Betwa Link Project will bring immense relief to the water-starved region, especially the districts in Madhya Pradesh like Tikamgarh, Panna, Sagar, Chhatarpur, Datia, Damoh, Shivpuri, Vidisha, and Raisen and Mahoba, Banda, Lalitpur and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.
Will the Ken-Betwa Link Project impact the environment?
According to reports, the Ken-Betwa Link Project will lead to massive deforestation in the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve. Last year, scientists of IIT-Bombay published a study which found that moving large quantities of water as part of river linking projects impacts the interplay between the land and the atmosphere and leads to reduced rainfall.
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court had questioned the project and raised questions on its economic viability. The project will reportedly affect the tigers in the Panna Tiger Reserve and notably, the Daudhan dam is located inside the national park. As per the CEC, the project can undo the successful tiger reintroduction which lead to an increase in the tiger population in the area. The CEC reportedly further stated that the Daudham dam can also affect the Ken Gharial sanctuary’s Gharial population along with vulture nesting sites. Also, the dam will reportedly lead to the displacement of 5,228 families in Chhatarpur district and 1,400 families in Panna district.
The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) aims to transfer water from the Ken to the Betwa river, irrigating over 10 lakh hectares and providing drinking water to millions. However, the project faces criticism for its potential impact on the Panna Tiger Reserve and its environment. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
