On occasion of World Water Day on March 22, 2021, a historic Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh,in the presence of the Prime Minister, to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project.
Salient features of Ken-Betwa Link Project
- The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. Under this project, water from the Ken river will be transferred to the Betwa river. Both these rivers are tributaries of river Yamuna.
- The Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases. Under Phase-I, one of the components — Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses — will be completed.
- In the Phase-II, three components — Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage — will be constructed.
- The project will provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha, drinking water supply to about 62 lakhs people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.
Panna Tiger Reserve in project
- According to a written reply given by Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria, out of the 6,017 ha of forest area coming under submergence of Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project, 4,206 ha of area lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.
