Ken-Betwa Project: Why Govt Needs To Reassess Its Plans To Link Ken And Betwa Rivers
The government needs to have a law-bound, transparent system for approval and compensation, without which the public will lose faith in the project.
Published : May 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM IST
|Updated : May 5, 2026 at 2:55 PM IST
Last month saw an unprecedented protest by villagers in the Chhattarpur region over the linking of the Ken and Betwa rivers. Farmers and residents were protesting the BJP government’s flagship river linking project, citing various concerns. After days of demonstration, assurances were given by the district officials, and the protest has subsided for now. But let us examine what the need for the protest was. From the government’s point of view, the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is proposed to be India's first national river-interlinking project, potentially transferring excessive water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the water-scarce Betwa River in Uttar Pradesh.
Approved in 2021 with an estimated cost of ₹44,605 crore, it aims to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares, provide drinking water to 62 lakh people, and generate 103 MW of hydropower. But on the downside, it will eventually submerge roughly 10,500 hectares of wildlife habitat, including a large part of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, as per the Supreme Court committee. The project directly affects about 30 per cent of the core zone of the Panna Tiger Reserve, a key tiger habitat.
About 2.8 million trees will be uprooted, and over 35 villages will be completely or partially submerged, displacing millions in the process of building the entire project. Meanwhile, the building of the Daudhan dam construction within the KBLP requires relocating 10–24 villages. These are some of the reasons why villagers have openly challenged the project.
Among people’s demands is transparency in land acquisition. Many protesters have repeatedly said that their consent was not sought in the gram sabha before the eviction notices were put up in the villages. They allege that the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, needs to be complied with in case land acquisition is unavoidable.
There is also a demand for land for land, so the government should provide land with similar agro-climatic conditions. Most of the villagers have deep cultural ties with the land and hence want dignified resettlement with complete fairness.
Currently, there are also reports pointing to the fact that some of the displaced families were paid Rs 5 lakh, whereas the minimum compensation due was Rs 7.86 lakh. So, adequate compensation has not been paid as per the law, and there are also issues of financial mismanagement. The demand is to have a transparent system for equal compensation given to all the affected people, depending on their land.
The residents demand that newer water and environmental feasibility tests be done to evaluate the project before proceeding and further cancelling the entire project, but the government hopes to achieve a middle ground.
The Middle Ground
As PM Modi has assured the nation of ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’, the view of the protesters should be considered, as they will be the worst affected. They are also important stakeholders in the projects as they are the inhabitants of the land and for centuries have known the land.
They have evolved because of these two rivers and the Panna tiger reserve, which provides the means of sustenance for them. These communities have a deep knowledge of the rivers and ecosystem, which may not be known by modern planners and engineers. If they, in light of a fast-changing climate, demand an ecological survey be redone with presentation from the community, it's only a reasonable ask. The Modi government needs to get a reassessment done, especially since the Supreme Court committee also warns of extensive damage to the environment and water availability for the regions.
The government needs to have a law-bound, transparent system for approval and compensation, without which the public will lose faith in the project and also in the government. If the government is very keen on this project, it must follow a corruption-free method and pay special attention to the ecological and social costs of such a project.
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, should be followed at all costs, and also the wildlife protection laws should be followed to ensure that the Panna tiger reserve is not damaged beyond a certain limit.
In case the ecological and social costs run too high, the government needs to keep the same goal of bringing irrigation to Bundelkhand but change the method of it. The government needs to look at decentralised community-driven models of water rejuvenation and conservation, which are based in constructions of a dense network of smaller ponds and reservoirs situated in the villages and forest areas. These structures are based on the indigenous wisdom of the land and can act as a cost-efficient way to safeguard water, and also help activate the subterranean hydrological channels. This approach can help increase the level of water in the rivers and also improve rainwater harvesting in the region.
Also its important to note that both these rivers are rain-fed and depend on the forest ecosystem. With climate change and deforestation both plaguing our country, the flow of these rivers has already been reduced. If we risk a massive project that further cuts trees and disturbs the ecosystem, it may be detrimental to the health of the river. Hence, in times like these, the government should hold another round of all stakeholder discussions, backed by an eco-social assessment for the project, and then only think of linking the rivers of Ken and Betwa, because if the project fails, not only will it be a fiscal disaster, but also destroy the region’s ecosystem, creating eco-refugees and dead tigers.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of ETV Bharat)
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