Ken-Betwa project and five river linking projects find mention in FM Sitharaman’s Budget 2022 speech
These river linking projects are being strongly opposed by the environmentalists who claim linking of these rivers will be disastrous as it will affect the local ecology and destroy the rivers. But the government claims these projects will enhance water security.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In her Budget 2022 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a mention of the Ken-Betwa linking project and said this project to link Ken river with Betwa river would be taken up in financial year 2022-23. “The Ken-Betwa link project will irritate 9 lakh hectares of land and provide drinking water to 62 lakh people. It will also generate 103 MW hydro and 27 MW solar power,” said Sitharaman.
Apart from this project, the finance minister also said that five more river linking projects will be taken up.
These river linking projects have been in the eye of the storm as environmentalists have been opposing them warning that such projects will destroy the water bodies and also affect the local ecology.
The Ken-Betwa Link Canal received the nod of the Union Cabinet last year in December. It will be 221 km long, including a 2-km long tunnel. The project has two phases, with mainly four components. Phase-I will involve one of the components — Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal and power houses. Phase-II will involve three components — Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project and Kotha Barrage.
Environmentalists inform that the Ken-Betwa project will destroy the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.