Ken-betwa River Linking Project

The Project-

The Ken-Betwa project is part of the national river linking project which proposes to connect 14 Himalayan and 16 peninsular rivers with 30 canals and 3,000 reservoirs in order to irrigate 87 million hectares of land.
It has the status of a national project, as the Centre will contribute 90% of the cost.
It is India’s first river linking project and will take eight years to complete.

Benefits

The project, the government says, will enhance the irrigation potential of the water-starved Bundelkhand region in U.P. and M.P.,
facilitate groundwater recharge and
reduce the occurrence of floods.
According to the Memorandum of Agreement signed, the to-be-built Daudhan dam is expected to irrigate nearly 6,00,000 hectares in four districts in M.P. and 2,51,000 hectares in four districts in U.P. and provide drinking water supply to 41 lakh people in M.P. and 21 lakh in U.P.

Concerns

The project was on the drawing board for years mainly due to environmental concerns.
Of the 12,500 hectares of land to get submerged by the project, more than 9,000 ha are categorised as forest land.
The submergence area includes a critically important section of the Panna Tiger Reserve.
Around 40% of the area of the tiger reserve will be irretrievably damaged” if the project is implemented.
Also, the project may destroy about 7.2 lakh trees.
South Asia Network on Dams, River and People convener Himanshu Thakkar fears that this will affect rainfall in the already parched region.
Ken flows 60-70 feet lower than the Betwa and at least 30% of the 103 MW power generated will be used for pumping the water up.
The Union Ministry and the National Water Development Agency, which is entrusted with the project, have some issues to sort out. These include getting

Source: TH

Join Our Telegram

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a and MASS EXTINCTION

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a and MASS EXTINCTION

25 Dec, 24
SHARE

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a from the Paris Basin (Environment) Paper-3 PMP OAE 1a refers to a period during the Cretaceous Period (145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago) when Earth's oceans became depleted of oxygen, causing a significant disruption in marine life. Cause: The event is believed to have been

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance)

26 Dec, 24
SHARE

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance) Governance GS PAPER-2 PMP Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi’ initiative on Good Governance Day, celebrated to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative, which is part of the broader ‘Prashasan Gaon

Major programmes to control Air Pollution

23 Dec, 24
SHARE

Major programmes to control Air Pollution National Clean Air Programme? It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019. It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target. The

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India

21 Dec, 24
SHARE

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India (Environment) GS Paper-3 P-M-P Air pollution may be defined as the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere in such concentration that may be directly and/or indirectly injurious to humans or other l

Geopolitical Significance of Ports

20 Dec, 24
SHARE

Geopolitical Significance of Ports (IR) Act as geopolitical assets: Ports enhance the projection of strategic reach, which helps strengthen the country’s control over important sea and energy supply routes. E.g. Indian Navy’s staging base at Agalega Islands will enable marine patrols