Ken-Betwa River Linking Project Top UPSC Coaching

13 Dec 2021 Ken-Betwa River Linking Project

Posted at 16:11h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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Recently, the Ken Betwa River Interlinking Project has been financed by the Union Cabinet.

The Ken Betwa River Linking Project is a part of the National Perspectives Project.
This scheme will benefit the people of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The project is spread over Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba districts of Uttar Pradesh and Tikamgarh, Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Rs 44605 crore (at the value of 2020-21) has been earmarked by the Central Government for this project.
The Central Government will provide a fund of Rs 39370 crore for this project, out of which Rs 36290 crore will be provided as grant and Rs 3027 crore will be provided as loan.
In this project the water of Ken River will be mixed with the water of Betwa River. For this purpose one dam (Daudhan Dam) and two canals will be constructed.
About 10.62 lakh hectares of land will be irrigated through this project and potable water will be provided to about 62 lakh people.
Hydro power project of about 103 MW and solar power project of 27 MW will be operated by this project.

Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh is expected to be partially submerged by this project.
Along with this, it will also affect the natural habitat of vultures and jackals.
The project has been opposed by environmentalists since its inception.

Ken River is an important river of Bundelkhand region and central India which flows in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
It originates from Ahir Village of Vindhyachal Mountain.
It joins Yamuna River in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh and is a major tributary of Yamuna.
Its length is 427 km.
It flows through Panna Tiger Reserve.

Betwa River originates from Vindhya Mountain in the north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh.
It flows in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
It joins Yamuna near Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
The Sanskrit name of Betwa is Vetravati.
Bina, Jamni, Dashan are its main tributaries.
The river is also mentioned in the local folk song Alhkhand.

The main objective of the National River Interlinking Project, formally called the National Perspective Plan, is to transfer water from water surplus areas to water scarce basins.
Through this project, relief can be given to drought prone areas and flood prone areas across the country.
This project was started in 1980 in independent India.
16 rivers of peninsular India and 14 rivers of Himalayan region have been identified for implementation of this project.
The nodal agency for the National Perspective Plan is the National Water Development Agency.