Ken-Betwa river linking project hits new hurdles
NEW DELHI: India’s first river interlinking project connecting Ken-Betwa will have to wait for a few more months. The NDA government’s project is stuck with the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments raising new issues resulting in escalation of the project cost and fresh approvals.
In September, Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced that phase–I of the project will be launched by this year-end. Now his ministry is reworking the details and a proposal for extra funding has been sent to the Finance Ministry.
“The Centre has called a meeting of senior officials from both the states next week to work out a mutually agreeable plan,” said sources in the Water Ministry.
In July, Madhya Pradesh has proposed the inclusion of Kotha Barrage, Bina Complex and Lower Orr Dam in the `16,000 crore phase-I. Earlier, these projects were part of phase-II.
“Now, Uttar Pradesh is also demanding expansion of the irrigation area. This is likely to escalate the cost of the project and water allocation between the two states as per the 2005 agreement. All this would require fresh forest clearance in some areas,” sources added.