NEW DELHI: On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the long-awaited and contentious Ken-Betwa River Linking National Project by laying the foundation stone for the Daudhan Dam. Modi emphasized that the government is accelerating efforts to link rivers across the country with Madhya Pradesh becoming the first state to initiate projects under this ambitious plan.
The interlinking of rivers, considered a dream project of Vajpayee, aims to provide irrigation to parched lands. However, it also raises concerns about land submergence, displacement of people, and potential impacts on wildlife. The project has garnered both support and criticism.
The Congress party criticized Modi’s move, arguing that the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project poses a serious threat to the Panna Tiger Reserve. They claimed that this project highlights the discrepancy between Modi’s environmental rhetoric and actions.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh stated “Panna is a most remarkable success story of revival. By early 2009 its tiger population had been completely wiped out. But today thanks to the tiger reintroduction program launched fifteen years ago – India’s first – presently Panna has around 90+ tigers (including cubs and sub-adults) and is thriving with sustainable tourism-based livelihoods.”
Today the PM is giving one more evidence of the difference between his ‘talk’ and ‘walk’ on environment and forest matters.
The Ken-Betwa river linking project for which he is laying the foundation stone today poses a serious threat to the biodiversity-rich Panna Tiger Reserve…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 25, 2024
What is the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP)?
The KBLP aims to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa River, both tributaries of the Yamuna. The Ken-Betwa Link Canal will span 221 km, including a 2 km tunnel. According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, the project is expected to provide annual irrigation to 10.62 lakh hectares (8.11 lakh ha in MP and 2.51 lakh ha in UP) of land, supply drinking water to about 62 lakh people, and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
This project is the first under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking rivers which was prepared in 1980. The plan includes 16 projects under its peninsular component which include the KBLP and 14 links proposed under the Himalayan rivers development plan.
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The Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases. Phase I involves building the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units, such as the Low-Level Tunnel, High-Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal, and powerhouses. Phase II includes three components: Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project, and Kotha Barrage.
In December 2021, the Union Cabinet approved Rs 44,605 crore (at 2020-21 prices) for the KBLP project. On Wednesday, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the Daudhan Dam, which will be 2,031 meters long, with 1,233 meters being earthen and 798 meters of concrete. The dam will stand 77 meters high and submerge about 9,000 hectares of land, affecting 10 villages. Infrastructure company NCC Ltd has been awarded the contract for the Daudhan Dam and the project is proposed to be implemented over eight years.
How was the project conceptualized?
The idea of linking the Ken and Betwa rivers gained momentum in August 2005 when a tripartite memorandum of understanding for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) was signed between the Centre and the two states. In 2008, the Centre declared the KBLP a National Project. Later, it was included in the Prime Minister’s package for developing the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
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The project is located in Bundelkhand, which spans 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, the project will significantly benefit the water-starved region, particularly the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri, and Raisen in Madhya Pradesh, and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi, and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. The Ministry stated that the project would pave the way for more river interlinking projects to ensure that water scarcity does not hinder development in the country.
What are the likely environmental and social impacts?
The river-linking project has faced intense scrutiny for its potential environmental and social impacts. The project will involve large-scale deforestation within the heart of the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve. Experts have called for the hydrological data of Ken’s surplus water to be made public for thorough review or fresh studies. A study by IIT-Bombay scientists found that moving large quantities of water as part of river-linking projects can affect land-atmosphere interplay and feedback, leading to a mean rainfall deficit of up to 12% in September.
The Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) questioned the project on multiple counts while examining its wildlife clearance. The CEC raised concerns about the project’s economic viability and advocated for exhausting other irrigation options in the upper Ken basin first.
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The submergence of around 98 sq km of Panna National Park, where tigers had gone locally extinct in 2009, and the felling of about two to three million trees are among the most controversial aspects of the project. The Daudhan Dam is situated inside the national park. The Union Environment Ministry approved its construction within the core of the Panna Tiger Reserve, despite no precedent for such heavy infrastructure projects deep within national parks and tiger reserves. The CEC also noted that the project could undo the successful tiger reintroduction efforts that helped the tiger population bounce back from local extinction.
Downstream of the national park, the Daudhan Dam is likely to affect the Gharial population in the Ken Gharial Sanctuary and vulture nesting sites. The dam will displace 5,228 families in Chhatarpur district and 1,400 families in Panna district due to submergence and project-related acquisition. The acquisition process has faced protests over what locals consider inadequate compensation and low benefits for the Panna district.