Daily News Analysis

KEN- BETWA RIVER LINKAGE

stylish lining

KEN- BETWA RIVER LINKAGE

Why in the News?

The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) involving cost of Rs 44,605-crore has finally secured the final forest clearance after 6 years of getting the provisional nod.

Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP):

 

 

  1. It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. 
  2. The project intends to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa river, both tributaries of river Yamuna.
  3. The project will be implemented in 2 phases:
    1. Phase-I: Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses will be completed.
    2. Phase-II: 3 components that includes Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage will be constructed.
  4. The project will provide,
    1. Annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares
    2. Drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people 
    3. Generate 103 MW of hydropower.
  5. The drought-prone region of Bundelkhand will get benefitted as the project spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
  6. Concern:
    1. The Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project shall cause submergence of 6,017 ha of forest area.
    2. 4,206 ha of area of the project lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.

Recent developments on interlinking of rivers in India:

  1. Dr K L Rao, the then Union Irrigation Minister suggested construction of a National Water Grid for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas in 1970s.
  2. Later, a Garland Canal to redistribute water from one area to another was proposed.
  3. The govt dropped both the plans, to take up National Perspective Plan (NNP) for inter basin water transfer in the country. It comprised two components: 
    1. Himalayan Rivers Development
    2. Peninsular Rivers Development
  4. Based on the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 river links for water resource development:
    1. 16 under Peninsular component 
    2. 14 under Himalayan Component
  5. Generally, 4-5 types of clearances are required for the interlinking of river projects and they include:
    1. Techno-economic (given by the Central Water Commission)
    2. Forest Clearance and Environmental clearance (Ministry of Environment & Forests)
    3. Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan of Tribal Population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs)
    4. Wildlife clearance (Central Empowered Committee)
  6. The interlinking of rivers programme is based on the principle of consensus and agreement among the concerned States.

 

S.No

Name

Rivers

States concerned

  

Peninsular Component

 

 

  

1(a)

Mahanadi (Manibhadra)–

Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link

Mahanadi and Godavari

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana,

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra

  

1(b)

Mahanadi (Bermul)–

Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link

Mahanadi and Godavari

do

  

2

Godavari(Inchampall)-Krishna(Pulichintala)

link

Godavari and Krishna

Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra

and Karnataka

  

3

Godavari(Inchampalli)-Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link

Godavari and Krishna

--do--

  
 

4

Godavari(Polavaram)-Krishna(Vijayawada) link

Godavari and Krishna

--do--

  

5

Krishna(Almatti)

–Pennar link

Krishna and Pennar

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and Karnataka

  

6

Krishna (Srisailam)–Pennar link

Krishna and Pennar

--do--

  

7

Krishna(Nagarjunasagar)-Pennar (Somasila) link

Krishna and Pennar

--do--

  
 

8

Pennar (Somasila)–Cauvery(Grand Anicut) link

Pennar and Cauvery

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

  
 

9

Cauvery (Kattalai)–Vaigai–Gundar link

Cauvery, Vaigai and

Gundar

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

  

10

Ken–Betwa link

Ken and Betwa

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

  

11

(i)

Parbati – Kalisindh –Chambal link

Parbati, Kalisindhand Chambal

Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan requested to be Consulted during consensus building)

  

(ii)

Parbati-Kuno-Sindh link

Parbati, Kuno and Sindh

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

  

12

Par-Tapi-Narmada link

Par, Tapi and Narmada

Maharashtra and Gujarat

  

13

Damanganga – Pinjal link

Damanganga and Pinjal

--do--

  

14

Bedti-Varada link

Bedti and Varada

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

  

15

Netravati – Hemavati link

Netravati

and Hemavati

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

  

16

Pamba - Achankovil –Vaippar link

Pamba,Achankovil and Vaippar

Kerala and Tamil Nadu

  

 

Himalayan Component

 

1.

Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga(M-S-T-G)link

Manas,Sankosh,

Tista and Ganga

BHUTAN&INDIA

(Assam,West Bengal and Bihar)

2.

Kosi-Ghaghra link

Kosi and Ghaghra

NEPAL&INDIA

(Bihar and Uttar Pradesh)

3.

Gandak-Ganga link

Gandak and Ganga

  

4.

Ghaghra-Yamuna link

Ghaghra and Yamuna

  

5.

Sarda-Yamuna link

Sarda and Yamuna

NEPAL&INDIA

(Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana

And Rajasthan)

6.

Yamuna-Rajasthan link

Yamuna and Sukri

Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and UttarPradesh

7.

Rajasthan-Sabarmati link

Sabarmati

  

8.

Chunar-Sone Barrage link

Ganga and Sone

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

9.

Sone Dam – Southern Tributaries of Ganga link

Sone and Badua

Bihar and Jharkhand

10.

Ganga (Farakka)-Damodar-

Subernarekha link

Ganga, Damodar and Subernarekha

West Bengal,Odisha and Jharkhand

11.

Subernarekha-Mahanadi link

Subernarekha and Mahanadi

West Bengal and Odisha

12.

Kosi-Mechi Link

Kosi and Mechi

NEPAL & INDIA

(Bihar and West Bengal)

13.

Ganga (Farakka)-Sunderbans link

Ganga and Ichhamati

West Bengal

14.

Jogighopa-Tista-Farakkalink(Alternative to M-S-T-G)

Manas,Tista and Ganga

Assam, Bihar andWest Bengal
         

 

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