KEN BETWA RIVER INTERLINKING PROJECT


Ken Betwa interlinking or Rivers (ILR) project was lauded as the first river inter-link project under the National Perspective Plan (NPP). It was given the Union Cabinet's approval in July 2014 but was stalled because of protests from environmentalists and wildlife conservationists. In this article, we can see all the aspects about KBLP

On the occasion of World Water Day on March 22, a tripartite memorandum of agreement was signed between Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to implement the ambitious Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP). Under this project, water from the Ken river will be transferred to the Betwa river to irrigate the draught prone Bundelkhand region. Both these rivers are tributaries of Yamuna River, which is the largest tributary of the Ganga River. The catchment of the river extends to the states of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, the project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand, especially in 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.

The Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases. Under Phase-I, one of the components — Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses — will be completed. While in the Phase-II, three components — Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage — will be constructed.

Once complete, the project will provide an annual irrigation to 10.62 lakh hectares of land — 8.11 hectare in MP and 2.51 hectare in UP. It will provide drinking water supply to a population of 62 lakh in the two states and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

According to the Comprehensive Detailed Project Report, the cost of Ken-Betwa Link Project is estimated at Rs 37,611 crore.

Will the project affect the Panna tiger reserve?

    Out of the 6,017 ha of forest area coming under submergence of Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project, 4,206 ha of area lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.

Previous examples of river-linking in India?

    In the past, several river linking projects have been taken up. For instance, under the Periyar Project, transfer of water from Periyar basin to Vaigai basin was envisaged. It was commissioned in 1895. Similarly, other projects such as Parambikulam Aliyar, Kurnool Cudappah Canal, Telugu Ganga Project, and Ravi-Beas-Sutlej were undertaken.

Recent developments on interlinking of rivers in India

    In the 1970s, the idea of transferring surplus water from a river to water-deficit area was mooted by the then Union Irrigation Minister (earlier the Jal Shakti Ministry was known as Ministry of Irrigation) Dr K L Rao, who himself was an engineer, suggested construction of a National Water Grid for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas. Similarly, Captain Dinshaw J Dastur proposed the Garland Canal to redistribute water from one area to another. However, the government did not pursue these two ideas further.

    It was in August, 1980 that the Ministry of Irrigation prepared a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water resources development envisaging inter basin water transfer in the country.

The NPP comprised two components:

  1. Himalayan Rivers Development;
  2. Peninsular Rivers Development.

 


    Based on the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 river links—16 under Peninsular component and 14 under Himalayan Component. Ken Betwa Link Project is one of the 16 river linking projects under the Peninsular component.

Water distribution between MP and UP

    According to the new Memorandum of Agreement signed Monday, of the over 6,590 mcm (million cubic metres) annual yield in Ken basin up to Daudhan dam, Madhya Pradesh shall utilise a total of 2,350 mcm while Uttar Pradesh shall get 1,700 mcm.

    During the lean season (November to May), the water released to MP and UP from the storage in Daudhan reservoir shall be 1,834 mcm and 750 mcm, respectively.

Clearances required for a river-linking project

  • Techno-economic (given by the Central Water Commission);
  • Forest Clearance and Environmental clearance (Ministry of Environment & Forests);
  • Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan of Tribal Population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) and
  • Wildlife clearance (Central Empowered Committee).

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