The Union cabinet, on Wednesday, approved the funding and implementation of Ken-Betwa interlinking of rivers project, which will help the drought-prone Bundelkhand area in Uttar Pradesh.
The cabinet approval has come after governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh signed an agreement with Union jal shakti ministry in March last for interlinking project. The project, which was envisaged nearly 40 years ago, and pushed by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee will cost over Rs 44,605 crore at the current price levels.
The project involves transfer of water from Ken to Betwa River through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal, linking the two rivers—the lower Orr project, Kotha Barrage, and Bina complex multipurpose project. The project will provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha, drinking water supply to a population of about 62 lakh, and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW solar power. The project is proposed to be implemented in eight years with state of the art technology.
“The project will be of immense benefit to the water starved Bundelkhand region, spread across the states of MP and UP. This project 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,” a cabinet note said.
The project 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.
By approving the project, the ruling BJP will have an effective poll plank in the upcoming UP elections.
The total cost of Ken-Betwa link project has been assessed at Rs.44,605 crore at 2020-21 price levels. The Union cabinet has approved central support of Rs.39,317 crore for the project, covering grant of Rs.36,290 crore and loan of Rs.3,027 crore.
The government said this project will pave the way for more interlinking of river projects in India and also showcase to the world our ingenuity and vision. This project also comprehensively provides for environment management and safeguards. For this purpose, a comprehensive landscape management plan is under finalisation by Wildlife Institute of India.
