Bhopal: State to get 750 MCM water from UP

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh is set to get 750 MCM water from Uttar Pradesh during the Rabi season under the Ken-Betwa Rive Link project.

Earlier, as UP was ready to give only 700 MCM water, the project did not progress. Now, under the Central Government’s pressure, UP is ready to give 50 MCM extra water to MP. The Ken-Betwa river link project was signed by the Jal Shakti Ministry and governments of MP and UP on Monday. This is the first major project under the National River Linking Project (NRLP) of the country.

An MOU was signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.The agreement was signed by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhwat, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and MP CMShivraj Singh Chouhan.

The Ken Betwa Link Project (KBLP) involves transfer of water from the Ken to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr project, Kotha Barrage and the Bina Complex Multipurpose Project. Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said the management of river water in the country has also been discussed for decades and to save the country from a water crisis, it is now necessary to work rapidly in this direction. He said the Ken-Betwa Link Project is also a part of this vision. He lauded both the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for making this project a reality. Modi said the project will give a new direction to the future of Bundelkhand. The CM Chouhan informed that the project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand, especially to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of MP and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of UP. He added that the KBLP will provide annual irrigation of 8.11 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 41 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

It will also pave the way for more interlinking of river projects to ensure that scarcity of water does not become an inhibitor for development in the country.The reservoir involves a submergence of 9,000 hectares area, out of which 5,803 hectares comes under Panna Tiger Reserve. The later includes 4,141 hectares of forest area, which is about 7.6 per cent of the total Panna Tiger Reserve area.