Bhopal . Ken-Betwa Link Project, this is not a single dam construction project, but a collective project of 8 dams. In this, 6 new dams are being built in Madhya Pradesh, while the irrigation area is being expanded by upgrading two already built dams for Uttar Pradesh. Under the River Linking National Project, dams will be built on Ken and Betwa rivers along with their tributaries.
In the budget of the Government of India in January 2024, the cost of the project was stated to be Rs 44605 crore, but now the cost has increased by Rs 4500 crore due to the preparation of DPR of Patne River Dam in Panna district and two barrages and a balancing reservoir on Byrama River in Damoh district. Due to this, the cost of the project will now increase to Rs 48105 crore. Under the agreement between the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with the Government of India, the Central Government will spend 90 percent of the amount on the project, while the state governments will spend 10 percent of the amount in their respective areas. Irrigation will be possible in Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari and Jhansi districts on both sides of the link canal connecting Ken and Betwa. The area of irrigation area in all four districts is being increased as compared to the DPR of 2006. Therefore, fresh DPR tenders were issued. The finalization of this DPR will also increase the cost of the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Phase-1 of the project on December 25 in Khajuraho. There has been a delay in taking shape of the project due to complications of displacement of 24 villages in the submergence area of Panna Tiger Reserve in Phase-1.
50 percent work of three dams of Phase-2 completed
Three dams are being built in Phase-2 of the Ken-Betwa Link Project. This dam is being built on Betwa and Betwa’s tributaries Bina and Ur rivers. Among these, the foundation stone of the Bina River Dam project costing Rs 4.1 thousand crore in Sagar district has been laid by the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on July 2, 2018. Similarly, construction of Kotha Barrage Scheme worth Rs 709 crore in Vidisha district and Ur River Projects worth Rs 3.4 thousand crore in Shivpuri district has also been completed by more than 50 percent. These works will be completed in the next 3 years.
Benefit of Ken-Betwa being command area of Madhya Pradesh
The command area of Ken River is 19633 square kilometers. 98% of it is in Madhya Pradesh. Same is the condition of Betwa river. All the tributaries of both the big rivers are in the part of Madhya Pradesh. For this reason, Ken-Betwa link project is more beneficial to Madhya Pradesh. However, Madhya Pradesh is also having to bear the brunt of the damage caused to the submerged areas in these projects. All the projects of Phase-2 are only for Madhya Pradesh. For this reason, 8,10,827 hectares of land will be irrigated in Madhya Pradesh. Whereas in Uttar Pradesh, 2.51 lakh hectares of land can be irrigated.
Cost increased due to Patne and Byrama river project
Under the Ken-Betwa Link Project, there was a plan to pump water from Dhodan Dam and mix it in Hata area of Panna and Damoh districts to 90101 hectares. The cost of the old plan was Rs 6 thousand crores but due to the fear of huge loss to the Tiger Reserve, the project was changed. Now a dam will be built on Patne river for Panna district. For Damoh district, 2.5 lakh hectare area will be irrigated in both the districts through two barrages and one reservoir on Byrama river. Due to this the cost has increased to Rs 10.5 thousand crores.