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Ken­-Betwa interlinking Project

Posted on March 24, 2021 by admin1  1533

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The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh signed a memorandum of agreement with the Union Jal Shakti Ministry to implement the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.

Ken Betwa Link Project

  • The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the interlinking of rivers.
  • The project involves the transfer of surplus water from the Ken river in Panna district in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh.
    • Both these rivers are tributaries of river Yamuna.
  • This will be done through the construction of the Dhaudan Dam and a 221 km-long canal.

  • The project needs approval on the share of Centre and State in funding, forming a new organisation the Ken Betwa Link Project Authority to execute the project and obtaining a stage 2 forest clearance for constructing the Daudhan dam.
  • The project is expected to be ready in 8 years.

Ken River

  • The Ken River originates near village Ahirgawan on the north-west slopes of Kaimur Range in Jabalpur district and travels a distance of 427 km, before merging with the Yamuna.

Betwa River

  • It is  rising in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh
  • The  Betwa  River traverses a long distance of 654 Km.  from its source near   Bhopal in M.P. up to its confluence with river Yamuna.

Factors favoring interlinking of rivers

  • The most part of the country is monsoon dependent and the quantum of rain varies widely across different regions. Therefore, interlinking will help in balancing the uneven water availability.
  • India needs to enhance the food production for his food security needs so to meet this requirement, the country needs to expand its irrigation potential. 
  • This interlinking of river projects can help India in increasing the connectivity by creating more inland waterways, therefore, cater the logistic deficiency.
  • The interlinking of river projects will increase India’s utilizable surface water by 25%.

Significance of the Project

  • It will provide a drinking water supply to 41 lakh people in Madhya Pradesh and 21 lakh in Uttar Pradesh.
  • There is a hydropower component to this project as well which will generate just over 100 MW of electricity.
  • The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand.
    • Bundelkhand region will get water for irrigation as well as power.
  • It will pave the way for more interlinking of river projects to ensure that scarcity of water does not become an inhibitor to development in the country.

Issues

  • Submergence: The project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals.
    • After years of protests, however, it was finally cleared by the apex wildlife-regulator, the National Board for Wildlife, in 2016.
  • Disagreement between the states: The two states couldn’t agree on how water would be shared, particularly in the non-monsoonal months.
    • The cordial conditions may not last forever and disputes might arise in future when there are governments of different parties in Lucknow and Bhopal.
  • Damage to ecology: National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) – have raised serious concerns about the potential damage the project will do to the area’s ecology.
  • High Costly: There is a huge cost attached to project implementation and maintenance.
    • According to the Comprehensive Detailed Project Report, the cost of the Ken-Betwa Link Project is estimated at Rs 35,111.24 crore at 2017-18 prices.

Origin and previous examples of river-linking in India

  • In the 1970s, the idea of transferring surplus water from a river to a water-deficit area was proposed by the then Union Irrigation Minister (earlier the Jal Shakti Ministry was known as the Ministry of Irrigation)
  • Construction of a National Water Grid was suggested for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas.
  • In the past, several river linking projects have been taken up.
    • For instance, under the Periyar Project, the transfer of water from the Periyar basin to the 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.

National Perspective Plan (NNP)

  • In August 1980 the Ministry of Irrigation prepared a National Perspective Plan (NNP) for water resources development envisaging inter-basin water transfer in the country.
  • The NPP comprised two components:
    • Himalayan Rivers Development
    • 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.

Way Forward

  • The necessity and feasibility of river-interlinking should be seen on a case to case basis, with adequate emphasis on easing out federal issues.
  • Introduce public-private partnerships in the water sector and revise water tariffs to recover at least operation and maintenance costs.
  • A participatory approach to encourage behavioural changes and community engagement in groundwater management.

Source :TH

 
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