Approval of funding and implementation of Ken-Betwa river interlinking project

Context

The Union Cabinet approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at a cost of ?44,605 crore at the 2020-21 price level.

About the Project

• It is the first major centrally-driven river interlinking project in the country.
• It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. 
• It envisages transferring water from the Ken river to the Betwa river, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
• The project involves transferring surplus water from the Ken river in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh and irrigating 3.64 lakh hectares in the Bundelkhand region of both States.
• The project involves transferring of water from the Ken river to the Betwa river through the construction of 77-metre tall and a 2-km wide Daudhan dam and a 230-km canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage and the Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.
• It has been declared as a National Project by the Government of India.
• The project is proposed to be completed in eight years.

Significance

• The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power. 
• “The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 
• It will provide enormous benefits to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh, and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
• It is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward Bundelkhand region on account of increased agricultural activities and employment generation. 
• It would also help in arresting distress migration from this region.

Hurdles

• Several obstacles have dogged the project.
• For one, the project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals. After years of protests, it was finally cleared by the apex wildlife regulator, the National Board for Wildlife, in 2016.
• Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reached an agreement on how water would be shared in March.