Environmentalists and policy experts have raised concerns over the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, accusing the government of proceeding with it due to “political motivations.” They argue that the project should never have been approved in the first place.
The project, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 at a cost of Rs 44,605 crore and launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2024, aims to connect the Ken and Betwa rivers—tributaries of the Yamuna.
The government claims that the project will irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares of land (8.11 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 2.51 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh), provide drinking water to around 62 lakh people, and generate 103 megawatts of hydropower and 27 megawatts of solar power.
Estimates suggest that the project will displace 6,600 families and result in the cutting down of around 45 lakh trees.
Water expert Himanshu Thakkar while speaking at a public discussion on “Assessing the River Interlinking Project,” criticized the project and said that while it is presented as a solution to Bundelkhand’s water crisis, the “detailed project report says that this project’s primary objective is to provide water to the upper Betwa region, which is not part of Bundelkhand.”
“Essentially, this project is facilitating the export of water from Bundelkhand,” he added.
Thakkar, the coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), highlighted that the Supreme Court-mandated Central Empowered Committee (CEC) had delivered a critical report on the project, but it was ignored.
He also referenced the Forest Advisory Committee’s (FAC) recommendation in May 2017, which stated that “ideally, this project should not be given a clearance.” Thakkar pointed out that the FAC had never written such a strong objection before.
Thakkar also recalled a 2016 incident when then-water resources minister Uma Bharti had “threatened to go on a strike” if the project did not receive clearance.
Additionally, Shashi Shekhar, a former secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, argued that the region’s hydrology does not justify a project of such scale.
“They have justified it by manipulating data. If you consider the correct data, the ground reality and ecological factors, this project should not have gone through,” he said to PTI.
Shekhar also questioned the government’s claim that the project would irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares, calling it “coming out of the air” and inconsistent with the ground reality. He also criticized the Supreme Court for failing to act despite the CEC’s objections and the known ecological concerns.
When asked whether the Jal Shakti Ministry had explored alternative solutions for Bundelkhand’s water crisis, Shekhar responded, “To the best of my knowledge, the alternatives were never discussed.”
Jasbir Singh Chouhan, the former principal chief conservator of forests in Madhya Pradesh, also expressed that experts had warned against the project, but the government proceeded anyway.
One of the most contentious aspects of the project is the construction of a dam on the Ken River inside the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve, which faced local tiger extinction in 2009 but has since seen a successful tiger reintroduction program.
“As far as wildlife is concerned, it will be a huge loss to a place that revived its tiger numbers after completely losing the big cat,” Chouhan said to PTI.
According to the Centre’s National Tiger Conservation Authority’s “Status of Tigers – 2022” report, the Panna Tiger Reserve is connected to the Ranipur Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh through the North Panna and Satna forest divisions. It is also linked to the Bandhavgarh and Noradehi wildlife sanctuaries to the south, providing an extensive tiger habitat.
“The current estimated population of tigers in this block is 79 individuals occupying an area of 2,840 square kilometres. This represents a significant increase in the tiger population and range expansion,” The report stated.
“A substantial portion of the biodiverse Panna Tiger Reserve is currently under the threat of submersion due to the proposed Ken-Betwa river-linking project, which poses a significant risk to the conservation efforts in the area,” the report further added.
Chouhan further warned that at least three to four tigresses live in the area that would be submerged by the dam, resulting in significant habitat loss. He also mentioned that around a million trees are expected to be felled in the core tiger area alone. Additionally, the tiger reserve is home to a critically-endangered vulture population.
An expert body under the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife had also called for “an independent hydrological study of the river Ken” and stated that “no developmental project should destroy the ecology of the remnant fragile ecosystems and an important tiger habitat in the country.”